At the Victoria and Albert Museum we had the incredible opportunity to see and learn about some of the most iconic pieces of entertainment. From Elton John’s music note sunglasses, to the Act 2 Elphaba dress, to Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet costume, this exhibit had relics of all areas and time periods of entertainment.
The first thing that caught my eye was a plaque on the wall titled, “COLLABORATE”. It read “Theatre thrives on collaboration. Creative teams are made up of many people with specialist skills, from directors and producers, designers and makers, to choreographers and performers. Some teams work together over many years developing a distinctive style, while new collaborations can spark fresh approaches.” Collaboration is my favorite part of theater. The ability to come together and share in the creation of a beautiful piece of art. To me, that is where the magic of theater is born. The melding of distinct and unique voices into one singular story. Finding the compassion and empathy to raise others voices and others finding that space to raise yours. I immediately thought of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. From the ensemble story telling, to the musical instruments they played together on stage, it is a feat of collaboration.
Across from that plaque was a mask from Sleep No More. Sleep No More is an immersive theatre production that was created by the British theatre company Punchdrunk. The base of the story is William Shakespeare’s MacBeth but also draws upon the genre of film noir and the lore of witch trials throughout history. The production has very little dialogue and takes places in the dimly-lit, 1930’s McKittrick Hotel. The audience members are each given a mask when they enter, the same kind of mask that was on display at the museum, and are given instructions to not remove them during the performance. They are then sent into the hotel to interact with the props and watch the performers and the scenery , while being mostly ignored by the performers. What always amazed me about Sleep No More was how intimately aware performers and crew had to be of each other and the story they were telling in order for it to work. With hardly any dialogue they are telling the entire story through movement and body language. They have to work together as a singular unit, otherwise the story would be unclear and the whole experience would fall apart.
This brought me back to thinking about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the story was absolutely dependent on the intimate collaboration between the actors. Unlike Sleep No More there is plenty of dialogue, however, if not delivered correctly it could be quite hard to follow. If the Strangers were not a well oiled machine, the waters of the story would become muddied. They have to meld into one narrator with distinct voices. They have to keep time and rhythm as they play all of the orchestrations for the entire show. There is no space for any of them to be disconnected from the group or the story. It is truly a feat of teamwork and collaboration. After having some time to sit with my experience at The Curious Case of Benjamin Button I think that is what I found so moving about the piece. It is a story told by a close knit community of extraordinarily talented people. Every time they take they stage they are not celebrating their own talent and work, they are celebrating the talent and the work of the group. It’s truly beautiful to witness what happens when collaboration takes flight.
Theatre in London U of A 