More than a feeling?

So far I have been to see four of National Theatre Wales’ productions and since seeing the latest show in Barmouth I have decided how I would put the shows in order of preference. This was easier than I thought it would be, and has got me thinking about how I judge a production. What makes a production effective and successful? Perhaps more importantly, what makes a production memorable? Are great performances and a good technical production enough? Is there a certain extra something that takes a drama from good to great? If so, what is it?

I think I have discovered that extra magic that makes a production (at least in my eyes) great: the performance’s emotional affect, its ability to move its audience. The performances that I have enjoyed the most (both by NTW and other companies) have been those that have stirred my emotions, revived memories, and have shown a real depth in their understanding and portrayal of human feelings. This may seem a run of the mill observation, but there is a difference between a good emotional performance, or a series of good emotional performances, and a drama that actually moves its audience.

Personally, it is the small details that usually create an impact, it might be a few lines of a song that brings back memories, or has a particular resonance, a turn of phrase, piece of clothing. These things might be meaningless to the rest of the audience, but that feeling of familiarity, of a shared emotion, shared feeling, resonates after the curtain falls, and much of what was said is forgotten. It is those fleeting moments of emotion, when the dramatist or director has created an invisible string connecting the audience and the stage, that truly make a production memorable and moving.

The plays that remain fresh in my mind, those that I remember weeks and months after seeing them, the ones that play on my mind, and won’t let go, are those that wake something inside me. I don’t go into a theatre looking for an emotional rollercoaster (or even a gentle tug at the emotions), but a true piece of drama will grab hold of you, whether you like it or not.

I can forgive a production that is full of those little moments of shared joy, and sadness a multitude of other sins: over-long scenes, self-indulgence, stretching the end of a production. However, a production that is perfect, in terms of the acting, and the technical elements, but lacks a beating heart is never going to impress.