The Other Place

On the 7th of December 2024, The Skinners' School was chosen to attend an A-level theatre conference, along with many other schools, where we met the director Alexander Zeldin, we learnt about his motives behind the play and why Greek theatre is still relevant to the modern day. The Other Place was a thrilling experience with scenes ranging from comedy to extremely disturbing. 

When we arrived we sat down in The Lyttleton Theatre where we learnt about Ancient Greek theatre from Dr Lucy Jackson who has studied Greek theatre for most of her life. This was relevant as The Other Place is based off of Sophocles' Antigone. We learnt the history behind Greek theatre: At the time Athens was the hub for theatre, this was where famous playwrights like Sophocles performed their masterpieces, however historians have discovered remains of theatres across most of East Europe (Türkiye, Italy and even all across the Mediterranean). One really interesting fact is that theatres in Ancient Greek times were built on the same road and even next to other vital institutes like the parliament etc. Theatre was too seen as a key part of society whereas in the modern day theatre is viewed as more of a luxury. Lastly we were taught about the type of staging:  

1. The Orchestra is where the orchestra would be playing music over the acting, the chorus would also use this area to dance
2. The Parados were used as entrances and exits for actors, this gives more choices for where you can have actors coming in from
3. The Skene is like backstage, it is often part of the set but covered, for example it could be a house. As in Greek theatre murder or killing never happened on stage they would sometimes have the killing happen in the skene. In Medea, the scene where she kills her children, this was performed in the Skene and all the audience would hear is the screams of children. 
4. The stage was a thrust stage with audience on three sides, this would allow them to see each other. This would distance the audience from the performance forcing them to think about the message behind the play. Nearly all Greek plays had some sort of (moral) message behind it. Antigone being Divine Law VS Martial Law. 

Set:

The set of the other place is just as impressive as the piece, the attention to detail, the similarities to a Greek stage and the clever meaning behind the designers choices. The play is set in Adam's (Oedipus) house which has been inherited by his brother Chris (Creon). The house is undergoing renovation but is not quite finished yet. In the background you can see the the trees from the forest without leaves as it is winter, this is another similarity with Greek theatre as Greek theatre was nearly always outside. As you can see in the picture, the walls are yet to be painted fully representing the families attempts to move on from their past. You can see lots of clutter around the stage which from the starts creates this slightly uneasy and chaotic atmosphere. Stage left there is a set of stairs leading to the bedrooms which is used as an entrance/ exit. The front entrance is downstage left and is similar to a parados. Stage right is a back entrance leading into the garden, this is used often and has clearly not been renovated yet. The table, placed downstage right, is interesting as 2 of the chairs around it are different from the others which I believe symbolises Anne and Issy as they aren't fully part of the family and are often left out or given less attention. However the main focus of the set is the three large glass patio doors and what they lead to. The doors are used to highlight Anne as an outsider at the beginning of the play when the situation becomes awkward. The doors allow the audience to see into the back garden constantly reminding us of the tragedy that happened there. They also represented the cave that Antigone was locked inside of when Anne is forced to stay outside in the tent. You could also say the doors are almost like a skene. Lastly, as the staging in The Lyttleton Theatre is end on the doors served the same purpose of the thrust staging forcing the audience to stare at their reflection. The deep blue tent sticks out like a sore thumb (like Anne) and is more like the skene - it is the place of her death. The lighting choice is extremely clever as it represents the heavens and the Gods. This references the Greek Gods as the Greeks were very religious. This is referenced further in the scene when Chris puts the red towel over himself like you would at a confession. 

Key Language: 

Amphitheatre -  an open circular or oval building with a central space surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators (The Colosseum).

Skene - a building behind the playing area that was originally a hut for the changing of masks and costumes but eventually became the background before which the drama was enacted, you could also perform some scenes in this area.