Comparrisons

Today we watched two videos of Look Back in Anger from different eras and performed in different styles. The first video was an extract containing Richard Burton who played Jimmy. This video started with a real sense of realism as it was set in an actual house with no artificial props and set which would have taken realism away from the extract. The aspect of naturalism was extremely diminished when the actors started the script as it was very theatrical and unrealistic; the character of cliff had an awful accent which wasn’t decipherable to me personally as it was clearly thrown together for the piece. The camera was used in a clever way showing specific bits of the scene giving a viewer’s perspective making the viewer feel like they are there rather than just watching it. The camera was also used to highlight the cramped conditions of the bed sit of which the scene is set. Through filming over characters shoulders it created a sense of closeness and a lack of space for the characters and the scene. The second video we watched was a more modern interpretation of the piece and included actors such as Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Gerard Horan, Siobhan Redmond and Edward Jewesbury. In my opinion Kenneth Branagh who played Jimmy in this video played the character very limp and wet, this really took away the tense mood of the piece, after research into the character I thought that he didn’t show any of the pain which Jimmy had been through in his past through his character. Also Jimmy was played very lively and energetic whereas he is described to embody slothfulness in the play; this contrasting quality really took away the believability for me and created a very simple and unnatural character. Looking at the character of Alison in this video I have noticed a lot of difference between Emma Thompson’s depiction and Mary Ure's depiction of the character. I preferred Mary's version of Alison as it had a tenderer and soft quality rather than Emma Thompson’s stern and mature characteristics when she played Alison. I personally aim for a kind of emotional instability when playing Alison as she fluctuates in her emotions throughout. The play does have the capability of being modernised through changing the acting style from the theatrical trained style of the 1950's to a modern realistic style of today. I think it is greatly improved through modernisation as it would make it more believable and would create more emotional connections with the viewers of the piece as it would fit with modern styles people are used to. I do think that every version of this play will be performed differently as actors will go with their initial interpretations of the text. When i was talking to Lauren I found that her interpretation was extensively different from my own and this supports my theory as she saw the relationship between Alison and Helena very differently than I did as I saw it as awkward and tense during my scene and she saw it as quite comfortable as Alison had excepted what had happened between her, Helena and Jimmy.