Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches

By Tony Kushner Director Eamon Flack

28 May - 27 July 2013
Upstairs Theatre & Theatre Royal
A gay fantasia on national themes.
ANGELS IN AMERICA: Belvoir 2013






TECHNIQUE
EOD: SPACE
In the 2013 Belvoir production of
Angels in America they used a bland
space; the bricks on the wall back
drop were beige in colour and
blended immediately in with the
floor; the curtain at the rear, which
occasionally provided entrances,
also blended with the beige space;
and the chairs were also beige and
the beds were equally sterile in
colour. It was a space that was
overly plain in colour and was
therefore able to be painted on with
lighting or costuming to change the
aesthetic.
EXPLAIN

This space is spacious, therein
allowing room for all the taboo
themes within the text. They beige/
bland visual aesthetics make no
judgement on the content and leave
room for an audience to decide how
they feel about the characters and
the issues they are experiencing
within their lives.
ANALYSE

Kushners challenging writing style
addresses issues in society that he
believed needed to be heard, the
audience/ viewer of this production
is allowed the time and space to
consider what they are presented
with, it is formal; like a well-
constructed debate, where each side
is respectful of the opposing
opinions but determined to present
their ideas.
APPRECIATE

Tragedy is issue based theatre and
does not necessarily present positive
outcomes; however, it does open
forums of discussion within society.
It is like a debate in which the
audience member themselves is the
adjudicator who must decide what
they believe.
TECHNIQUE
EOP: LIGHTING
The lighting in this production
EXPLAIN

This scene allows the magical
ANALYSE

Kushner overlaps realities several
APPRECIATE

Tragic heroes have their fate
completely transforms the
expectations of the spectator, They
are observing a production that has
fairly regular lighting and a
reasonably realistic stage space and
then the lighting floods the stage
with a dramatic splash of blue light.
This is the final scene in the
production, in which the Angel
arrives to directly communicate
with Prior.
realism the seep into the
production as the fairly regular
setting and stage are now overcome,
as they all become a projection
screen for the Angels entrance. Even
her costume is overcome with blue
light; therefore creating an image
where Prior has now entered her
world.
times within the text, using set
pieces bursting up through the floor
and the Angel breaking through the
ceiling. In this production the
audience have experienced a softer
transformation of space as it is
encompassed by light rather than
being broken and forever changed,
the use of lighting allows for the
world to cross but return to their
original state. There by show how
her magic can affect this world but
also leave it.
enacted upon the by higher powers,
it is an inescapable situation. Society
understands the frailty of humanity
and how different things can be
enacted upon individuals and groups
of people. Tragedy highlights this
well-known truth.











ANGELS IN AMERICA: PART ONE WOLLONGONG UNIVERSITY BCA 2010 PACT THEATRE in ERSKINEVILLE DIRECTED BY: TIM MADDOCK AND CHRIS RYAN.

TECHNIQUE
EOD: Role & Character
In the university of Wollongong
production of Angels in America
they separated the character of the
Angel into three, separating the
text and making the speech
disjointed and allowing the three
women to haunt the space at
different times in the production.
The women were not fully seen until
the end of the production.

EXPLAIN
This separating of the character
gives the role more power, the
character appears omniscient and
other worldly. Her speech is
disjointed and therefore she is also
separated from the world of people
as she requires three distinctly
different voices to communicate
fully.
ANALYSE
The audience gather that she is an
all-powerful being by her universal
presence in the space. She crosses
times and adds to the post-dramatic
style of the text. Kushner strived to
create a magical realism and here in
this production the audience can
recognise how the worlds of higher
powers and reality collide.
APPRECIATE
Tragedy carries an element of
seeking, these characters are all
seeking some kind of fulfilment in
life and it is ironic that they are
themselves followed by Angels.
There is a real God is Dead
aesthetic in this play that adds to the
tragedy of the human condition as
they live in hope and anticipation of
some form of joyful afterlife but find
out there is none on offer. Tragedy
shows the struggle with this all too
real concept and encourages society
to question the reality of their
existence too.
TECHNIQUE
EOP: SET
In the university of Wollongong
EXPLAIN

The set contains some literal
ANALYSE

Kushner wanted a text that would
APPRECIATE

Tragedy transforms the lives of a
production of Angels in America the
set is a transformational set. There is
nothing overly special about set
space: On stage right sits a large pile
of clothing, taller than any person;
across the rear of the stage they
have hung a plastic sheet scrim; and
everything else comes and goes.
They bring on IV drips, use white
benches as beds, have a variety of
chairs that both lie down and stand
upright and lighting is used to focus
each stage moment.
elements that tell the audience in
what time and place the action is
happening; however for most of the
show the audience must suspend
disbelief as they travel from an office
space, through to a hospital and into
Harper and Joes home only using
what is available on stage. This is
useful because there are no overly
clunky set changes to take away
from that fast paced rhythm of this
piece.
express a fantasia on gay themes
this interpretation access that by
using a space that becomes
somewhat magical in how it moves
through time and place. It is like a
canvas on which a story can be
painted and the audience can
imagine beyond the action.
whole society and Kushner is trying
to represent numerous tragedies
within our society. That is, the
negative way we treat homosexuals;
the way religion confines peoples
individuality; the way politics
crushes the humanity within the
political players; and how AIDS
affected the entire world. Kushners
play expresses Tragedy in a universal
way that can be felt across societys
ages, sexes and creeds. He has
created a text that can transform
into a real story for the every
human and UOW brought this
transformation to life in their set.
TECHNIQUE

EOP: LIGHTING
In the university of Wollongong
production of Angels in America
they used both darkness and light to
separate scenes, and allow them to
cross over one another. In Angels
there are many scenes that occur
concurrently and UOW managed this
through lighting. Lighting would
define space, time, become a
location itself and become a part of
the character of the Angel.
EXPLAIN

This allowed the audience to
understand the immediate scene
transitions as they were guided by
the lighting. It also gave the Angel a
sometimes haunting aspect as her
shadow appears and a glorious
radiance in her final and full
appearance.
ANALYSE

Kushner intended to use large and
dramatic stage effects, like the bible
bursting through the floor and the
roof bursting open. Lighting allowed
for a different and softer
interpretation that was more
appropriate to a university
production budget. The Lighting in
the final scene created a column of
light that shone from the ceiling and
without having the ceiling crack
open allowed the audience to
understand the other worldly
characteristics of the Angel.
APPRECIATE

Tragedy is a grandiose form of
theatre, travelling from the
auditorium style of performance in
the Dionysus festival and moving
towards a contemporary grandeur
with large special effects aided by
modern technology. This grand style
of presentation demonstrates the
incredible theatrics required to deal
with and present these tragic tales in
an appropriate way for society to
comprehend and enjoy.