After reading the play with the rest of the class I noticed the play had a very religious and spiritual significance throughout. I also thought it was interesting how it incorporates both religion and science and suggest how some religious beliefs are formed around the knowledge of science, for example the drink that is poison unless you spit in it and wait for the chemical reaction to take place so that it neutralises the poison. This shows religion and science colliding and working as one. A group said they see the play as a mixture of Tarzan and Eldorado which gives us an idea of the story line and a clearer picture of how it should look.
Furthermore there are a lot of scene changes, therefore we need to be able to have props in the play to show where we are and change the setting, so the space needs to be flexible.Luckily we have found a Victorian building which fits the concept of the play brilliantly and will allow us to adapt the space. Some fun aspects of the play are the songs, chants and dances because I believe we can really make them our own and they will be parts of the play that all of us can join in and do together as the nation. One of the more difficult tasks will be the animal interaction areas with the sharks and dolphins because we will want to make it as believable as possible.
Overall the whole play is centred around nature and we see this is a story that is being passed on to children at the end of the play. I can see how the nature has power over the people and because of the great wave we see their survival instincts taking over. In the play we will be exploring the contrast of cultures by costume, speech and the difference between Victorian England and islanders from Polynesia. Other issues such as colonisation are explored and we see through Daphne that she is an influential character because even though she is a woman she can think for herself, understands science, adapts to island life and is able to fall in love by herself. These things would not be common for women in the Victorian period.
There are some areas of the play that are going to be difficult to show, for example the language barrier might be difficult and the supernatural elements that Terry Pratchet has included like the fight scene on water. In order to achieve a believable performance we will need to make the space come alive and keep the transitions and energy high and fast moving.
Polynesia
The islands of the eastern Pacific are known as Polynesia, from the Greek for ‘many islands’. They lie across a vast stretch of ocean from Hawaii in the north, to New Zealand in the south and Easter Island in the east. The western Polynesian islands of Fiji and Tonga were settled approximately 3,000 years ago, whilst New Zealand was settled as recently as AD1200.In the past, Polynesians were skilled navigators and canoe builders, creating double-hulled vessels capable of travelling great distances. Their societies were hierarchical, with the highest ranking people tracing their descent directly from the gods. These gods were all powerful and present in the world. Images of them were created in wood, feathers, fibre and stone. (Source One)
The Polynesian people consists of various ethnic groups that speak Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic languages, and inhabit Polynesia. (Source Two)
Staging Idea - Magic Moment
My group had an idea for the beginning of the play when Mau is talking to his father. While they are talking we thought the nation could be forming a circle around the father and son wearing masks. When Mau tells them to remove their masks they will be facing outwards towards the audience and one by one they would remove their masks and fall to the floor creating a domino affect. When falling they would be distorted and screaming making it scary and interesting for the audience to watch.
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