Technology and the Tempest
Combining real-time motion capture technology with a
Shakespearean play written in the 1600’s seems strange, to say the least. An
old-English script used in tandem with a hoard of top-of-the-range projectors?
Impossible, right? Well, the Royal Shakespeare Company, to mark the 400th
anniversary of the playwright’s death, took on the challenge.
What better way to engage the new generation, and to make
the most of the digital technology, than to adapt Shakespeare’s Tempest. Set on
an magical island, the plot is filled with sprites, curses and magical
creatures, all of which could now be brought to life or enhanced with the new
technology. The twenty seven projectors worked in tandem with ascending and
descending curtains, filling the stage with sprites or drowning men, creating
cages and oceans. The servant sprite, Ariel, was thrown into two: the actor,
like a puppeteer, like a shadow on the ground, and his shimmering projection
thrown high above.
Was it flawless? Not always. At several stages the
projection glitched a little, and the designs themselves were a little tart at
times. However, this exciting blend of acting and digital mirroring, the first
of its kind, marks the start of a new era of digital theatre.
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