How much does a minimal set affect your ability to follow along with a show's storyline?

[CurtisTaylorJr2]

Posted: 2/16/24 at 4:34pm

This is something that I started thinking about last night after I attended a small touring show called North The Musical that has a very minimal set up. During intermission I heard someone saying it was hard to follow the story with just one set (their words not mine). I didn't have any trouble following along and never have had an issue comprehending a show with a minimalist set up, but I wanted to see some other opinions on this.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/16/24 at 4:48pm

CurtisTaylorJr2 said: "This is something that I started thinking about last night after I attended a small touring show called North The Musical that has a very minimal set up. During intermission I heard someone saying it was hard to follow the story with just one set (their words not mine). I didn't have any trouble following along and never have had an issue comprehending a show with a minimalist set up, but I wanted to see some other opinions on this."

I love to look at gorgeous sets as much as the next person, but a gorgeous set does not make a bad show better...it just gives you something to look at and to distract you from the badness.  Depending on the work, a minimal set can make it easier to follow along, because you are not distracted.  That was certainly the case with A Doll's House two seasons ago.  I loved the elaborate set for the original production of Sunset Blvd, and I have every expectation that I will love the Lloyd version it does transfer.  Two reasons: it sounds like they have cut out the silly parts of the original production and it sounds like you are made to focus on the core material.

I do think that a minimalist production that is badly directed or acted may be the worst combination possible.  The production is bad and you don't have sets to distract you from the badness.  

 

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 2/16/24 at 6:39pm

it very much depends on the material and direction.

 

I had no problem to follow along for several Jamie Lloyd productions.

However, I saw Espejos: Clean with a minimal set in DC. I could not get what that show was about at all. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 2/16/24 at 7:28pm

Since the set is just one component of a whole production, the presence or absence of one just creates a more intensive focus on other elements. If the material and performances are strong (any Lloyd production I’ve seen), then a minimal set is effective 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/16/24 at 8:41pm

Not at all. There are shows where big and lavish are called for, and other times it's not.

 

I've never been hindered by a lacking set. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/17/24 at 12:50am

I enjoyed both of Doyle’s Sweeney and Color Purple but I won’t lie, I didn’t understand a lot of the plot of Sweeney and I hadn’t realized how much time had passed in Color Purple that by the end she’s way older. 

[jo]

Posted: 2/17/24 at 4:27am

It is easier for dramatic plays than maybe it would be for musicals.  Probably also depends on how close one is to the stage.

On the ground floor in seats surrounding the square stage in the center  I saw Proof ( with Gwyneth Paltrow) at the Donmar Warehouse. I could follow the entire play very well. I can't remember the other cast members now but it was an absorbing play & well acted.

I also saw A Steady Rain with Hugh Jackman & Daniel Craig more than once. I think it was at the Schonfeld and I had front row seats. The play was a duologue ( mostly monologues and some interactions between the 2 actors) with a very minimal set. The storyline unfolded dramatically without the benefit of a detailed set. The play retained its powerful & gripping atmosphere throughout.

Updated On: 2/17/24 at 04:27 AM