Went to see 'Holmes and the Ripper' last Friday at the Assembly House, Norwich. An extremely good play that puts forward some all too possible theories as to the Ripper's identity. Although the subject matter is serious there is enough humour to stop it becoming too depressing, including the police man who arrests Watson by mistake.
However, the most surprising facet of the play was the placement of the stage. It was in the middle of the room with the audience all the way around it. This meant that no matter which way the actors where facing they always had their back towards at least part of the audience. Despite this, in many ways, the play was more intimate than many plays I have seen before, probably because there was no curtains to close between scenes. The use of lighting was extremely well down, however, to give the back stage crew a chance to more set pieces.
I had the chance to speak to a member of cast afterwards, who told me that it was the most liberating stage they had ever worked on, due to the fact that they couldn't help but have their back to the audience. This meant that they did not have to worry about turning towards the audience to say their lines and make the action seem natural, leading to movement more akin to that seen in real life. Probably another reason why the action seemed so much more intense than on a more traditional stage.
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