Review of Blackout

The play blackout, performed by the year 10 Brit school students, brings together various techniques to create a very effective theatre performance.

Blackout was performed in an ensemble, this meant that everyone in the group was able to make quick and easy transitions between characters, settings and move between different time periods. The ensemble made swift changes in their energy levels, which amplified and made clear to the audience the changes of atmosphere, setting or time. 

Blackout breaks  Aristotle's unities - the unity of time, the unity of place and the unity of action. However this did not take away from the performance but instead made it interesting and exciting to watch. The actors used the constant changes in the performance to their advantage, by making each scene individual and exciting, therefore always making it engaging for the audience despite the quick transitions between time and place. What Aristotle thought made a good play, was challenged in this performance because I thought it was a very strong performance, without following his rules ! 

The play uses no props or set, but despite this the actors were able to create a very clear image for the audience , they did this by using physical theatre. Throughout the play physical movements were always being used and they were strong, precise and always gave the audience a clear idea of the sort of space and setting the character was in, without the aid of props. This worked  very well and as an audience member, I forgot that there was no set or props being used, because the actors created such strong, visual movements. 

Some words or lines where performed in a chorus. This meant that things were said at the same time and all in unison. This was used to amplify specific details or emotions in the character and make the delivery of the lines more interesting. It worked well because the group listened to each other and were aware of each member of the ensemble, so they had no problem getting their lines in sync. 

It was a very creative, emotional and engaging piece of theatre, which bought together various techniques to build one strong performance.