Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead

I attended this production as possibly the only person who was not a blood relative or class mate of someone connected to the show. Understand then, this was a home-crowd who appreciated everything that happened on stage whether or not it had any artistic merit.The play originally premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 24th, 1966 before transferring with the National to the Old Vic in 1967. The plot follows the childhood friends and supporting characters to Shakespeare’s Hamlet – the story forming around the 'unseen' elements of the Bard’s work.As arguably one of the greatest plays ever written about acting it is a must-see for any child, teenager or adult who involves themselves in the performing arts, however, ‘must-see’ does not mean ‘must-perform’ – professional actors with a vat of life experience and a unique ability to channel emotions have gone mad attempting to stage this piece correctly, but, The Meadows School have attempted to perform the piece using only schoolchildren. This production would not do Mr. Stoppard proud. The effort to creatively cut the play from a three act masterpiece to a tidy 75 minutes has predictably failed. The direction was non-existent, and in fact, hampered the young actors in their connection to the text. The casting was not good, but probably the most entertaining part of the show – Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Hamlet all being female and wearing make-up yet constantly being referred to as men. Tyler Fitzgerald as the player made me laugh a few times and at least showed that he had begun to understand Stoppard’s complex dialogue.The design and lighting were very, very poor – everyone looked a little silly in a Victorian / pirate costume and one could suggest that just actors in black t-shirts would add more to the aesthetic experience for the audience. The lights failed to light sufficiently brightly and Rosencrantz definitely did not wear purple eye shadow. Or nail polish. My irritation with this production is not with the students. It is with the people who bring them to the biggest Arts festival in the world to perform a play that they have little hope of understanding or playing well. I agree that young actors are achieving more and more remarkable things every day, however, this is a seminal piece – one that is a challenge for professional directors to take ownership of. Asking young performers to explore the absolute stratosphere of emotion is downright irresponsible and potentially emotionally harmful.This attempt to stage this piece has failed and perhaps the teachers in charge of this school should go back to the drawing board for next year and choose something more achievable. I want to see young contributors from The American High School Theatre Festival doing work that means something to them and that they connect with.To the young performers on stage do note that this is “no criticism – just a matter of taste”, come back next year with something you want to perform, on a level you can perform it and if your teachers offer suggestions – just remind them that “I prefer a story with a beginning, middle and end”.