Research 2 (To be continued)

Assessment Week Work	Date Set: Tuesday 10th March
UAL Level 3 Performing & Production Arts	Due in: Tuesday 17th March 1.30 pm Print out and bring to lesson.
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Exploratory Research for Unit 11
Investigate at least two interpretations of Arturo Ui. Write a report about the company that put on the show & how they interpreted Brecht’s text. Which actors featured in these versions ? How did they portray their role? (1,000 words )
I have found it quite hard to investigate this online as not much comes up on google when I type in, but I have found a company who have produced a play of Arturo Ui. It is produced by the Chichester Festival Theatre at the Duchess Theatre which is in the West End. It has not be performed yet and is "coming soon" to London.  (research link)Production of Arturo Ui
·         Watch at least two 1930’s films featuring Edward G Robinson or James Cagney. A good example is Scarface ( 1930’s version) or Public Enemy No 1. Write a film review. (500 words)
The first film I watched was the 1930's Scarface, and then I watched The Public enemy afterwards. Both films were interesting and very raw.  Scarface 1932, featuring Paul Muni and Karen Morley, these actors were very famous at the time this film was made and it was produced by the famous aviator, Howard Hughes. Scar face, is clearly a very old film and was in black and white. As I have seen many Violent action films, watching this film was an experience, as the themes and story lines in this film are about Gangster Al Capone and his gang, which was very serious in real life, but the acting was just so different back then as it is to now, or more so films are different. Nowadays, a film about Scar face would have special effects, an amazing soundtrack, lots of state of the art guns and cars, but this film purely relied on the actors. I did not find it very hard hitting, but it was interesting to watch.  I liked how the gangsters are portrayed in a slightly humorous way, they are seen as childish and remorseless for their actions, and I definitely felt that gangsters were definitely put to shame in this film, as they were not portrayed as the big, strong and dangerous men they want to be seen as, but they were shown as immature morons, who take no responsibility for their actions, and they blame the public for the existence of gang crime. This original film is a very good film, for its time it would of been shocking and raw, but at times I felt the pacing was not quite right. I feel the reactions of the characters were not very good, and serious situations were not believable at some points. For example, the part when Cesca, Tony Camonte's sister returns home late, and is seen kissing a boy in the hallway. Tony tells her off and says she is not to see him any more, Cesca weakly protests, and then Tony gives her a wad of cash and she happily accepts this and skips up the stairs to her room! I find this reaction very un natural,and Tony just seems to get away with everything and does as he pleases in this film, and the characters reactions did not always match the objectives of the film/scene. This film is not naturalistic at all, and it more follows in the footsteps of Brecht and Epic Theatre. I feel because I have seen the Al Pacino version of Scar face before I have watched this one, I am comparing the two, which I shouldn't do as the more recent Scar face was filmed 50 years after, when acting for film had changed style, and the soundtracks and effects had improved. Another factor of this film which I found slightly disturbing, is about Tony and Cesca. I feel Tony's jealously of his sister and the way he feels about her seems to be slightly incestuous at some points, he acts as though they are married throughout the film and at one point I thought she was his wife, I had to rewind the film! Although, I do not think Paul Muni's character would have been aware of this, I just think his behaviour towards her is somewhat different from how brothers should act around their sisters. This characterisation was definitely a choice from Howard Hawkes and Howard Hughes, as they were both very versatile and risqué film producers/directors, and I feel they would of wanted the audience to question Tony's feelings for his sister, it adds an element of underlying perverseness to the film.
·         Write a short summary on a play that you have seen which has used Brechtian techniques or was in a Brechtian Style. You can refer to more than one play. (500 words)
A play I have seen and researched is Blood Brothers written by Willy  Russell in 1982. The play was originally written as a school play, but gained maximum exposure when it was portrayed to the public and became a massive hit, and led to a UK tour in 1984. Blood Brothers is essentially a musical, but the play does portray Brechtian techniques and styles throughout. This play is about two twins,Mickey and Eddie, who were separated at birth, and the play follows both their lives. As both twins were bought up in different areas, their social classes are complete opposite, one twin is a councillor, and the other is in prison. The main aspect that pulls the two together, is that they are both in love with the same girl,Linda. The story line to this play is fairly Naturalistic, but the scenarios and character relationships are Brechtian as it is not something that would happen in real life just by chance, and the acting is not Naturalistic at all.  The main points of the play that I noticed which had a Brechtian style was the fact that in parts of the play, including right at the beginning, it is being narrated by an actor, which would remind the audience that this is not real, and the story is being told to them directly by a narrator. This does not allow the audience to become too involved with the storyline and characters, as there is a constant reminder it is a play due to the narration. I feel having the narrator open the play is very Brechtian, as the playwright clearly wants the audience to be aware from the beginning. As I watched the stage performance on line, I noticed that the lighting was always very brightly lit, which is a typical Brechtian technique, to keep the audience awake and aware that they are in a theatre watching a production.  Every time the narrator spoke, the lighting would dim, and become very eerie, as the narrator had an unnerving sense about him, he was quite creepy and his acting was very epic theatre, he was seen as the "villain" and appeared in the middle of scenes, standing right in front of the actors, then coming off stage and the scene would then resume. This is Brechtian as something like that would not happen in real life, the scenes would be fairly naturalistic, like the scenes between the mother and Mickey, and also between Mrs Lyon and the mother, and then suddenly the narrator would appear and completely change the dynamic of the scene, by causing it to not appear naturalistic any more. I feel another element of this play which indicates Brechtian styles is the "selling the baby" story line. Although this does happen in reality, you read about it on-line or in magazines about women selling their babies for money and for a better life, but the emotions of this scenario were not portrayed in this play. The mother did not seem that upset after selling her baby, and the other woman Mrs Lyons, gladly paid the mother off and completely pushed her out of the picture, without a flicker of emotion for the mother. This is not naturalism, as the emotions from the characters were not foreseeable, especially in these scenes. It is also very unlikely that her husband Mr Lyons did not notice she was pregnant, and didn't  even stop to think about how strange the set up was, and especially as the mother Mrs Johnstone would have had the twin boys at a hospital, she would have been expected to see a midwife and post natal nurse regularly after having the twins,so the idea that she could just give away one son is so unrealistic, even though this is set in the 80's, it still would have been hard to fool the authorities, and even more so now.  I really enjoyed this play as it was humorous, unpredictable and interesting.The characters were very funny, especially the twins Eddie and Mickey. At one point, the actor was playing Mickey, who was supposed to be seven at the time, and the actor looked at least 18 and was about 6ft tall! This is another Brechtian style, as it was completely un believable that he was actually a seven year old! It was interesting to see a musical interpreting Brecht, as opposed to a play itself. It proves that Brechtian techniques work on other types of theatre, and not just serious political plays.
How has Brecht used music in his plays. Who has he collaborated with and what has influenced his musical style? Write about one play that has used music. (5oo words)