Total Theatre As A Model for Musical Theatre?

Working at the Barbican you get the pleasure of seeing lots of the product (be it a concert, art installation or theatre work) for free. This is great because not only does it keep you connected and engaged in the Barbican's work as an employee, but it an easy way to get your high quality art fix in these credit crunch times.

Anyway, over the last couple of visits to the Barbican main theatre, I have been really struck by something. Well, actually it was two performances by the theatre company Complicite - namely A Disappearing Number and Shun-Kin.

Complicite (I'd never heard of them before they came to the Barbican) is a theatre company which produces devised "total theatre" although I see from their website they do other things. Total theatre is an interesting concept in itself and it's something I've only seen reference too rather than ever coming across a definition, but it would seem that the main features are that it is theatre that is a complete experience (isn't every theatrical performance that?) that is non-text based and involves elements of physical theatre, drama and music. If Complicite's work is a prime example then I guess we should also include in that definition an inclusion of other media such as film, projections, puppetry and dance in there as well.

In both A Disappearing Number and Shun-Kin, the thing that struck me is how well all these elements combine to tell a story and how each of these elements works to propel the audience along the journey (which in both Complicite's works is shared by a character or two). Not only this but the use of the various elements in telling that story create such a beautiful and emotional theatrical experience. This stuff really is a pleasure to watch as well as being thoroughly engaging. I always remember Jack's line from Will & Grace when he says "some people say acting is about reacting. I say theatre is about attracting". I wonder if he had a point. The beauty and imagination of Complicte's productions really draws you in. The same material would not nearly be as effective if it had not included this imaginative use of media. Whether you engage with the characters or empathise them or not, you are still being presented with a slick, kaleidescopic journey or integrated media - you can just sit back and marvel at how inventive it all is.

Then I started thinking about how this might relate to musical theatre. I often sit through plays and think "this would be so much better as musical". Complicite's productions are the first that I haven't had those kinds of strong thoughts on - partly because they make good use of music and sound. However, I wonder if the principles of total theatre can be applied to musical theatre?

Of course, musicals have long integrated music, drama and dance into a single art form and the odd musical has often used projections and film as well - but it isn't total theatre. Why? I really don't know - perhaps because those elements are not used to tell the story in the way that it is part of the fabric. For example, when characters dance in a musical it is often because they are supposed to be dancing. There isn't that ensemble-like cohesive element of physical theatre. In Shun-Kin the ensemble carry long wooden sticks that are used to represent everything from the branches of a willow tree, to door panels in a Japanese room to the actual beams of a room to another 10 inventive uses I probably don't even remember. Pieces of paper become birds, or in the case of A Disappearing Number becomes a baby that is thrown in a waste paper bin. I definitely think that physical theatre and the integration of other media that creates total theatre is often overlooked as a medium for musical theatre which tends to be largely text based.

Can total theatre principles be applied to musical theatre? Well I'm not sure musicals lend themselves to devising. You can't devise a score - well maybe you can. The whole concept of writing for some composers is probably a case of devising in the sence that it may spring from improvisation and trying things out, being inspired by a sound or story and then playing from there. However, composing is rarely a collaborative process when it comes to writing. I've never known several composers to work on a musical theatre piece. The recent Lord of the Rings musical is the only one I can think of when AR Rahman collaborated with Vaartina and Christopher Nightingale to create the score for that show. However, on reading up on that collaboration is sounds as though each partner had specific responsibility for the different elements of the score (folk vocals by Vaartina for example) rather than them working together on all for the music although it does seem there was some cross over. That's not to say that didn't work and certainly I found Lord of the Rings to be one of the most engaging scores for a musical I have ever seen. In one interview Christopher Nightingale talks about how he worked with the collaborators across art forms so that the designers could inspire the composers in their work.

Either way this has really inspired me to think about applying a total theatre approach to a couple of the projects I am trying to progress at the moment - I find it such an inspiring and liberating medium partly because I've always drawn strength and produced my best work in collaboration with others.