Acting is in the Mind of the Beholder

1.2 In groups of six, read the extract from “Bingo” by Edward Bond (Now Read On, pg 28). Discuss how you might perform the scene. Consider these elements in your discussion: number of characters, what they are doing, the mood and the setting.

1.3 Group performance of “Bingo” by Edward Bond.

That was the instruction of the activity that we had to do in the first tutorial with Miss Kasthoori. We were given an extract of a play with purely dialogue – no characters’ names, no setting and no stage direction. Using the play text, we were asked to interpret and act out the play in groups of six. One of the groups performed the play as two journalists who are sitting in the bar, talking about what news to write for tomorrow’s newspaper. As for our group, we interpreted the play as a conversation between two writers who are angrily discussing about what to write in their office, for they are having writer’s block.

However, after the tutorial, my mind was full of question marks. Are we allowed to perform a play based on our own interpretation on the characters, mood and setting? Isn’t it the playwright’s duty to fill in all the information and we have to act according to what he wants? All the while, I thought stage director should follow the playwright’s directions, while the cast of actors and theatrical backstage workers have to follow the instructions of the stage director.

Since we were using the play text taken from “Now Read On” by Malachi Edwin Vethamani and John McRae, I decided to read the explanation in the book to have a better understanding about the play, as well as the activity. After reading the book, all my doubts were cleared. According to the book,

The difference between a play and the other kinds of text we read is: a play text is mostly just the dialogue, and the performance fills in the rest.

If we cannot see a performance, it is up to us, the readers, to fill in the gaps for ourselves.

“Now Read On” by Malachi Edwin Vethamani and John McRae

Moreover, the book also explained the flexibility of “Bingo” by Edward Bond.

Since we do not know the characters’ names, or the setting, we have complete freedom to interpret the text – to build up a context, to create characters, and to make a performance.

“Now Read On” by Malachi Edwin Vethamani and John McRae

Besides “Now Read On”, I also referred to other source, which is Theatre: “The Stage of Seeing” by Milly S. Barranger. According to Milly S. Barranger,

The script belongs to the playwright, but once this original creative act – this blueprint for performance – is completed and handed over to director, designers, actors, and producers, the playwright in one sense becomes peripheral to the final process.

Theatre: The Stage of Seeing
Chapter Four: The Playwright’s Role, page 7

By Milly S. Barranger

In conclusion, my doubt about the tutorial was cleared through referring to books and other sources. I wonder what the playwright of “Bingo”, Edward Bond would think when he saw the way we interpreted his script and performed the play that day. Will he be smiling, crying, laughing or fuming?