Theatre on the big screen: Frankenstein vs The Crucible

There is much debate over the recent trend towards screening theatre in cinema, either as a live broadcast or as an ‘encore’ performance, captured and relayed at a later date. To date I have seen two encore performances, Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein (starring Johnny Lee Miller as the creature as Benedict Cumberbatch as the creator) and Yaël Farber’s The Crucible (with Richard Armitage as John Proctor). There is an obvious draw in casting big name actors in lead roles on stage, the success of which can of course be further exploited via worldwide transmission. But I am still undecided on my feelings about the concept of theatre on screen.

Overall, I think screening theatrical productions is a good idea. It has enabled me to see performances I would otherwise have missed out on, due to cost, travel or timing. Definitely, I can see the argument for screenings opening up theatre to new audiences. 80% of The Crucible’s audience at Birmingham’s Electric Cinema were teenagers who were studying (or had studied) the play at school. How many of them would have decided to spend a Sunday afternoon with their mates at the theatre?

But something was strangely lacking as the actors took their curtain call; a mute staring audience was already picking up their mobiles to see what they’d missed since the interval. At both performances I’ve seen so far there has been a faint ripple of applause. It’s an odd concept, with audiences unsure how to show their appreciation to people who are not there to receive it. I was struck by how suddenly distant I felt from the drama I had been so expertly sucked into. I was exhausted and I wanted to share it.

Seeing the actors’ expressions close-up though is a treat rarely possible in the theatre; were it not for an intimate edit up on the big screen, I would not have been startled by Abigail’s eyes, distressed by Proctor’s wounded animal or torn by Elizabeth’s anguished sadness. And yet the close-ups afforded by the cameras remove the all seeing eye of the theatre-goer. I am not entitled to observe the other characters while the protagonist steals the limelight. I have less choice in making my own judgement.

Without doubt, the staging of a play influences its capture. The Crucible was performed in the round, the whites of the audiences’ eyes encircling the actors in the darkness, just like the residents of Salem as they hunted out the imagined evil among them. Likewise, the filming was suffocatingly close-up, the cinema-goers gaze right there in the midst of the actors on stage, pulling you into the frenzy of paranoia and resentment. Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein on the other hand, performed in the traditional set-up of stage front, audience at a respectable distance, relied heavily on overhead shots and wide-angled lenses, affording a view of the whole stage at all times. I felt more like a spectator. Would it perhaps be a step too far to suggest the overhead viewpoint was intended to be almost godlike? Emphasising the play’s moral question over the consequences of taking god’s work into human hands?

The filming of theatre then seems to give it a different dimension. Theatre is about the suspension of disbelief, and an intimacy and shared experience between actor and audience. Placing a camera in between the two alters the dynamic; the performance must be filtered through a third viewpoint. This may direct our reaction to a greater extent, but it may also enhance our understanding.

Cinema is a great normaliser, and I would utterly recommend taking advantage of big screen theatre as an affordable and accessible way of enjoying some amazing performances. However, it doesn’t beat the atmosphere of sitting in the theatre, the actors are feeding off your reactions, their craft palpably close. Were there to be a second run of Frankenstein or The Crucible I wouldn’t hesitate to see them again, for real.

A day to blow the cobwebs away

Today was a day for discovering secret places and hidden treasures. There are so many places on our doorstep in Birmingham that we have never visited, so we took advantage of it being a Heritage Open Day to start to put that right.

Our first calling point was Winterbourne House and Garden, belonging to the University of Birmingham. I used to have lectures at Winterbourne, and I lived right next to it as part of the last cohort at University House (now the Birmingham Business School). But I had never been for a look round. So it was an absolute delight to discover magnificent, expansive gardens and a fascinating Arts and Crafts style house.

Winterbourne walled garden

Winterbourne was built in 1903 for the Nettlefold family - powerful Birmingham-based industrialists who owned a factory in Smethwick which made woodscrews. Various incarnations later, and the business still survives today as GKN in Redditch.

Oriental garden

The house is now an exhibit of Edwardian family life. The drawing room focuses on the women of the family, in particular Margaret Nettlefold's creation of the garden, inspired by Gertrude Jekyll. In the study, visitors can see John Nettleford's plans for the Moor Pool estate - 'garden city' housing in Harborne similar to Cadbury's Bournville. While upstairs, the bedrooms, nursery and hobbies rooms provide an insight into how wealthy Edwardians lived.

Out in the garden, we roamed through woodland trails, strolled through pretty walled gardens, crossed still water via a Japanese bridge and ventured into hothouses full of orchids and cacti.

As the heavens opened, we moved on to our second discovery of the day - Moseley Park and Pool. Once again, I lived in Moseley for several years but had never had the chance to go in the park. Usually accessible by keyholding residents only, it had thrown open its gates today for the world to see.

We were surprised to find a sizeable lake, complete with boathouse, and swans that were clearly used to being fed! The park is also home to an 18th Century ice house. Two extremely informative guides from the Moseley Society explained to us how the ice house was constructed to function as a pre-electricity refrigerator, and how its use was primarily ostentatious - the lord of the manor used it to served chilled wine to his guests at summer dinner parties!

Moseley Pool

Heritage Open Days take place every September, and offer free access to places that are normally not open to the public, or that charge an entry fee. Moseley Park has various open days throughout the year, usually coinciding with the Moseley village farmers market. Winterbourne House and Gardens are open every day, except for over Christmas.

Journeying cross countries

Readers of my crafty blog will know that I spent a rather fabulous few days in Devon recently with some wonderful friends and a gorgeous new baby, and that travelling there meant the equivalent of a full working day sat on a train.

This could be boring you might think. But those said crafty readers will already know I had my knitting to get on with. What I also had though, was some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy from a track side seat.

It wasn't boding well for my journey, I have to admit; while the outward leg whizzed down to Devon in not much over three hours, the Sunday lunchtime return was scheduled to take well over four with a detour via Wales. Wales! My geography may be rusty but I'm pretty sure South Wales doesn't really sit en route between Torquay and Birmingham.

Anyway, on I hopped at Newton Abbot and within about 10 minutes I was treated to this:

Seeing windsurfers from a train... that's new

Hang on... that's the sea!

Look there's cliffs! And someone water skiing!

And boats!

So while I got myself a little over-excited at the sight of the sea, it seems that the main cross-country railway line runs not ten metres from the shore in this part of the world. From Newton Abbot (going east/north), the line runs along the Teign estuary, right along the coast between Teignmouth and Dawlish, and then turns up to track the River Exe as far as Exeter.

From hereonin, while the countryside was lovely, we were accompanying the M5, which is a slightly less glamorous than surfers and speedboats, so I packed away my camera and whipped out my knitting. On we sped through Tiverton and Taunton and soon we were pulling into handsome Bristol. "Not far now", I thought, but then no!, the train did a 180 degree turn (if trains could do that; in truth, I just started going backwards) and we were off on that weird trajectory to Birmingham via Newport.

After a short while, I realised I hadn't seen any landscape for a while - were we going through a tunnel? Then it dawned on me, we were travelling under the River Severn! Sure enough, we emerged at the Severn Tunnel Junction, having sneaked under water into a new country without me even realising it!

Having reached Newport, we changed direction again, and this time headed inland along the Severn Estuary, with some great views of the Severn Bridge.

Leaving Wales behind

Looking out to sea again

This time, we were finally back on course via Gloucester and Cheltenham to the new Birmingham New Street. So thank you Cross Country trains - I thought you were going to bore me to tears with the tedium of your extra long Sunday timetables, but you actually treated me to some wonderfully watery landscapes which kept me entertained all the way home.

It's squawk o'clock

Living almost as far away from the sea as it's possible to be in the UK, having the screech of seagulls as the soundtrack to my life is a constant source of amusement.

The Jewellery Quarter seagulls have become somewhat infamous; they are notorious for making a right old mess of your car and in the summer months negate all need for an alarm clock. It's some dawn chorus alright.

The gulls even have their own Twitter account and recently wrote a guest post on the Birmingham Favourites blog.

But lately I had observed some unusual behaviour from my noisy neighbours. It started with seeing a lone seagull perched for hours on the roof of the building opposite. No flying, no screeching, just standing, watching the world go by.

This continued for a couple of weeks, until (very) early one morning, we woke up to one almighty din. As I got ready for work I noticed that one seagull kept whizzing past the window and dive bombing anyone that walked past on the other side of the road.

Then after a couple of days it all became clear. Opening the curtains one morning, I caught a glimpse of a fluffy grey blob tentatively tottering about on that very same roof. Here was the reason for all that fuss: one little newborn seagull chick.

Since then, our daily soundtrack of screeches has been complemented by some gentle squawking; but it's lovely to have a little bit wildlife in the middle of the city. Even if it does mean I have to keep washing my car...

It seems it's not just Birmingham that has a big urban gull population - here's some more information from East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service about the gull nesting season.

A tranquil oasis in deepest Wolverhampton

Every now and again, you stumble upon something that takes you completely and utterly by surprise. Wandering one lunchtime in Wolverhampton, that place came to me in the form of the Wolverhampton City Archives.

There's a ring road there somewhere

Tucked between the ring road and the Molineux, and behind the rather unforgiving-looking and sadly now defunct Wanderer pub, you'd be hard-pressed to find a less salubrious location. But believe it or not, nestling right there is a beautiful little garden which makes for a very pleasant and tranquil spot to eat your sandwiches.

At this time of year, the gardens are abloom with lavender and some lovely flowering yuccas (thanks to The beet route for that plant knowledge). You can gaze across at St Peter's Church and relax as bees buzz busily beside you and butterflies elegantly flutter by.

The Archives themselves are housed in the Molineux Hotel Building. Dating from the mid-18th Century the building was originally the home of Wolverhampton's wealthy Molineux family (yes, as in the football ground), and became a hotel in the 1870s. It remained a hotel for over 100 years, before closing in a dilapidated state. Thankfully, it was restored with funding from English Heritage, among others, and reopened as the Wolverhampton City Archives in 2009. If you're interested, there's more information about the history of the Molineux Hotel Building on the WAVE website.

The very grand Molineux Hotel Building

The Wolverhampton City Archives are located on Whitmore Hill and are open every day except Sunday and Monday. The building (and gardens) are accessible on foot from Ring Road St. Peters - in between Waterloo Street and Molineux Street.