Mirror
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Rediscover
an old legend For instance, their portrayal of the three musketeers, Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio brings out the typical spoilt, rich kids with powerful connections. This is not to say that any of these characters are one-dimensional, as Feroze has added depth and other relevant dimensions to the characters. Merging scenes or juxtaposing scenes, is another ploy Feroze uses to show how different characters react to the same news or situation and how they relate to one another. This sort of merge-scene is used to show varied reactions to the same news or situation in keeping with their individual stage personalities, says Feroze. One such scene is when Romeo hears about him being banished when he’s in Friar Laurence’s cell juxtaposed with Juliet’s reaction to the same news, in her bedroom with her nurse. This manoeuvre has worked effectively, he says. Another tool he uses is, depicting two scenes consecutively to compare and contrast certain characters with others. This is quite apparent in the scenes where Paris serenades Juliet with the same song Romeo sings to the prostitutes; clearly highlighting that Paris was by far the better suitor for Juliet. However, it also validates Juliet’s love for Romeo, as it proves that she didn’t just jump for the first man that came her way, no matter how perfect he would have been for her. She was adamant to be with ‘her Romeo’ and nothing or nobody could stand in her way, explains Feroze. In view of the set, lights and latest technology, much thought, design and planning has gone into it, says Sirraj Abdul Hameed, of the StageLight&Magic crew. Starting off with the set for R&J, which is being created by an artistic genius, Lal Harendra, Sirraj says that “The main set is painted white to maximise visual effects and to make the most of the hi-tech lighting set-up, (handled by Michael Holsinger and Indu Dharmasena) used for this production.” “It’s a huge set!” he says adding, “It’s probably unlike anything ever set up here before!” Furthermore, this is also the first time an entire set has been constructed parallel to the actual Wendt stage. “It’s like a stage on top of a stage,” he describes. In addition to the unique white set, Lal has also structured the sets in such a way, that scene changes are done in a matter of seconds. He has also enabled an indoor scene to become an outdoor scene by simply adding or subtracting various parts of a set, he says. The set is also being built on different levels, so that there’s more of an overall impact and effect, says Sirraj. Touching on the music aspect as well, Sirraj maintains that although he hears some of the songs being used in the play on the radio, it sounds completely different when performed on stage. Hearing it live, within the context of the play, gives the song a completely different meaning and effect, he says. They’ll also be using, for the first time, a Sony Play-Back System, which is a Professional Mini-Disc Player. The main advantage in using this system is its nearly 100% reliability level, which almost eliminates the chances of any technical setbacks, he says. To further compliment the cast’s hard work, Feroze has even imported four extra sensitive microphones from Singapore that are just 5mm thick. These will aid the artistes to modulate their voices according to each mood, without worrying too much about voice projection, he said. With four weeks to go, ‘R&J’ seems to be ready to roll! Don’t miss out on the chance to re-live the greatest love story of all time! Jointly presented by Yes FM and Mobitel (Main Sponsor), with Golden Key as Co-Sponsors and HP&S Advertising (Pvt) Ltd. coming in as the official advertising agency, ‘R&J’ will take the stage this October at the Lionel Wendt. The costumes are by Sonali White. The official print media sponsors are The Daily Mirror and The Sunday Times. |
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