Created by L McCarry

When the curtain rises:

☺A man and woman are seated on two high backed chairs, one down left and one down right, at the edge of the stage.

☺They are the commentators.

☺They are in their late fifties and carefully dressed in good black clothes.

☺Each has a book on his knee – preferably a bound manuscript.

Created by L McCarry

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Audience

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☺Between the commentators and slightly upstage is Ardnageeha, the hill that overlooks the town of Ballymore.

☺Friel suggests a large pentagonal platform, approached by four or five shallow steps all round. This is the only stage furniture.

Created by L McCarry

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Audience

Created by L McCarry

The stage is divided into three equal areas:

The portion right is the backyard of a working-class terrace house

The centre portion is the kitchen/living room

The area left is the bedroom (left and right from the point of view of the AUDIENCE).

Created by L McCarry

There should be no attempts at a realistic division of the stage areas, no dividing walls, no detailed furnishings: frames will indicate doors.

The backyard will be suggested by a dustbin and by two high stone walls (one back stage and one right, highlighted in pink). It is a grey, grimy, gloomy, sunless place.

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Audience

Backyard

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The kitchen is furnished with a table and a few chairs, and with a disproportionately large horsehair black couch.

The couch sits along the imaginary wall between the kitchen and the backyard.

There are three doors leading out of the kitchen: one to the yard, one to the scullery (unseen) and one to the hall/stairs (unseen).

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Audience

Backyard

Hall/Stairs

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Scullery

The bedroom area is raised on a shallow platform which is approached by two steps (because this room is supposed to be directly above the kitchen).

It is furnished with a big iron double bed, a chest of drawers (the ‘altar’), and a few chairs.

Except where indicated the bedroom will be hidden from the audience by a large draft screen.

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Audience

Backyard

Hall/Stairs

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Scullery

These slides have aimed to give you an insight into Brian Friel’s original ideas for the set and staging of the play. Now complete the following tasks:

1.Look at the Ground Plan revision presentation on the website to see the way in which you will be taught to draw the set and staging for the play. Click HERE

2.You should now consider how you would stage the play and what you would change and why. Think about design concepts and the use of set dressings, stage furniture and any technology that you could use. Create a mood board to represent your ideas. Click HERE for some great examples.

3.Now create your own presentation to demonstrate your ideas to the rest of the class. The focus of this is to explain why and how your staging, set and design will communicate important ideas/themes in the play. This will involve giving specific examples of moments from the play or quotes to demonstrate what your design ideas will help to highlight e.g. you may use a projection of a broken heart to communicate the theme of Frustrated Love. You could also use religious relics or images to represent the constant presence of the religion in the characters lives.

Created by L McCarry

You have now completed revision on the original

staging of the play Lovers by Brian Friel.

Created by L McCarry