Drastic Setting Changes in a Revival — Page 2

Auggie27 said: "Who recalls the famous cancelled "South Pacific" set in a psychiatric hospital? Has to be some kind of ultimate. But in general, moving any story to a hospital - particularly one for the mentally ill -- has become its own hoary cliche. If that's any director's fresh idea, he or she might reconsider. "Sweeney" fit, but most others strain."



It is indeed a bit of a cliche, but I was thinking lately that The Mikado is another show for which it might work decently. Awhile back there was a thread about how to stage/cast/etc The Mikado these days to ensure it doesn't come across as racist... I could see a Mikado production set in Bedlam or similar, for Victorian-era English people who have tragically got so much into the contemporary Orientalism trend that they really believe they're Japanese... despite being rubbish at it. Hence, an entire "Japan" ward. (Does anyone happen to know if something like this has been done before?)

One of my best friends was in an actor/musician production of The Mikado that took place by circus performers. No one played anything Asian and any time the word "Japan" was supposed to be used they simply said "This Land." It was a clever way to do a show that on the surface is very silly without bringing any race or nationality into it at all.

Auggie27 said: "Who recalls the famous cancelled "South Pacific" set in a psychiatric hospital? Has to be some kind of ultimate. But in general, moving any story to a hospital - particularly one for the mentally ill -- has become its own hoary cliche. If that's any director's fresh idea, he or she might reconsider. "Sweeney" fit, but most others strain."


I've never been a big fan of Pippin - the story is so stupid that the only way I'd imagine it being "real" is if it was set in a mental ward with the Lead Player being the biggest whackjob of them all. The sense of "heightened realism" which book demands was totally absent for me in the 2014 revival. I wonder if the original was better else I don't get the appeal.

Trevor Nunn's 1989 production of Othello with Ian McKellen and Willard White was placed in a setting reminiscent of the Crimean War. A bit similar to the current Othello, which is set in a modern-day military barracks.

McKellen also starred in Richard III (in the UK, on Broadway, and in film), which was set in a more modern Britain that was reminiscent of 1940s.fascist Germany.