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Sarah performs with about seven different versions of herself at one time.” With theatre becoming increasingly immersive, Williams’ blending of screen and stage is a craft he has been honing throughout his whole career. “I’ve been using video in theatre for ten years in my practice,” he emphasises. “Prior to Dorian Gray , I had a number of steadfast rules that I stuck to because it had to stay true to the essence of what theatre is about. One of those was that the video had to be live – the audience could see the live performer and camera operator – and that the live images existed only in the now. With Dorian Gray and the cine-trilogy, I decided to break this rule and deploy pre-recording as well. This came out of several years spent dreaming up a form whereby one performer could deliver all roles.” Williams explains that the choice of technology across the trilogy worked to mirror key elements of the stories being presented. “They manifested in several different ways, and it’s what I refer to as ‘cine-theatre’; a synthesis of live video, live performance and pre-recordings. Each show in the trilogy has its own
WATCH ME The Picture of Dorian Gray moves from the West End to Broadway
different shots and angles. This includes six LED screens suspended from above, three Steadicam operators, three tripod cameras and four mobile phones. “I’m having to simultaneously make a feature film and a full-length piece of theatre in the same timeframe you would usually have to make a standard piece of theatre. “There’s the technical complexity of bringing that to the theatre itself, where you have the camera operators, and Sarah having to hit marks on the stage with micrometre-level precision in order for the live and the pre-recorded shots to line up perfectly. The stage manager has to call hundreds of cues to make the screens, cameras, sound and lighting all line up perfectly.” Then comes the acting challenge of not just performing 26 characters, but interacting with them in their various live and virtual formats. “There’s a club scene where all the characters come through via Snapchat filters,” Williams offers as an example, “which Sarah has to respond to with minute precision.” When it comes to directing such a feat, William says “Sarah and I come together to find the psychological landscape of the piece, and then we start to layer the technical elements on top of that bit by bit. One of the biggest challenges she faces is acting opposite the pre-recorded content; if she’s slightly too long or short with her line, then it’s going to talk over her, or there will be an awkward pause. “Sarah is virtuosic in her musical ability to effortlessly feel like she’s interacting in a way that is live and spontaneous.” The Washington Post , in its review of The Picture of Dorian Gray , describes it as being “so revolutionary, remarkable and dazzling you’ll think you’re gazing into theatre’s future.” SKATING THROUGH SOUNDSCAPES One of theatre’s biggest names, composer and musician Andrew Lloyd Webber, has been behind some of the world’s most beloved musicals. From The Phantom of the Opera to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat to Cats – which infamously led to one of Hollywood’s most viral flops, featuring an unsettlingly furry James Corden. Webber has nevertheless undoubtedly made his mark in the world of stage, owning seven theatres across
particular relationship with the technology being used. Dorian Gray is the founding work of the three, using screens but also pushing into mobile phones, which makes sense given the nature of the story. It looks at our cultural obsession with image, youth and beauty, paired with contemporary technology allowing it to grow at an alarming rate.” Over the course of the entire show, the audience witnesses hundreds of
This came out of several years spent dreaming up a form whereby one performer could deliver all roles”
The biggest challenge for the actor is landing all the positions and cues, to ensure integration of the effects is seamless
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