The wedding celebration begins festively, but ends with an anti-Semitic threat. The beginning of Act II is the only scene in the play to bring the hope and promise of ordinary life and the garish escapism of the cabaret together. The song at the end of Act I spoke to the promise of a new dawn, yet felt particularly ominous because of the audience's knowledge of how history would unfold.
While used initially to draw the audience into the action of the play, this space also came to represent the political stage of the influence of the Nazi party in 1929.
#SATIRICAL THEATRE STAGE LIGHTING DESIGN FULL#
Surrounding the cabaret stage was an area that included the full thrust as well as the space between the stage and the audience seating area. In "Two Ladies", an intense yellow backlight was used to highlight wigs and costumes. The costumes helped support the song's satirical commentary on capitalism.Īs the decadent slide of society continued, other garish colors were used in the design. Represented with saturated green and red lighting, elements of greed and self-preservation at all costs began to creep into the entertaining atmosphere of the cabaret. The Money Song was a turning point in the play. Side lighting was also important, particularly for the dance line numbers.
In contrast to Cliff, the naive American journalist, Sally Bowles needed to be able to seduce and charm her way into his heart, and the hearts of the audience as well.
This was accomplished with sexy, revealing costumes and a feeling of sophistication that suspended provincial mores. The decision was made to make the decadence of Germany in the early 1930's as alluring to the audience as possible. Blues and magentas were used in early cabaret scenes to help create the atmosphere of excitement and fun. Color was a key element in the lighting design for the cabaret stage.
The smaller, cabaret stage would be at center utilizing the cabaret false proscenium. One idea that emerged was an agreement to present the play with two distinct performances spaces, one surrounded by the other. “A hundred years after World War I, the black humour of The Wipers Times trench newspaper is still remarkably fresh, funny and poignant.Without having talked previously, I was impressed by how much in sync the three designers and the director were at our initial meetings when we discussed how we wanted to present our production of Cabaret. Far from being a sombre journal about life in the trenches, they produced a resolutely cheerful, subversive and very funny newspaper designed to lift the spirits of the men on the front line.ĭefying enemy bombardment, gas attacks and the disapproval of many of the top Brass, The Wipers Times rolled off the press for two years and was an extraordinary tribute to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity. In a bombed out building during the First World War in the Belgian town of Ypres (mis-pronounced Wipers by British soldiers), two officers discover a printing press and create a newspaper for the troops. The Wipers Times opened at the Watermill Theatre Newbury in 2016 and went on to have two successful runs in London’s West End, touring venues across the UK between 20. Ian Hislop and Nick Newman's The Wipers Times tells the true and extraordinary story of a satirical newspaper created in the mud and mayhem of the Somme.