Bethan Power: Writer/Director/Producer
When I first came up with the concept for this piece, It was not a linear narrative, but a selection of isolated scenes in my head that I felt could be tied together through devising. And, in the wild untamed world of my imagination, these scenes were all played to music. Music is an incredible medium to work with. The same dialogue can, with the right backing track, make an audience laugh or cry. And it's a wonderful medium to devise with as it is completely open to endless interpretation.
Films are a perfect example of this. When one watches films such as The Shining or American Psycho, the tension is increased ten fold by the slow crescendos and runaway tremolos. Watch it in mute and I guarantee it will not have the same effect. It's the same with virtually any genre. Without music, you will find your emotions dulled when watching a rom-com, your heart not race as fast when watching an action, and a lack of lump in your throat when watching a tragedy. It adds to the emotion invisibly and yet it is integral.
With Guinevere's Beard (title only provisional) I wanted to create a semi hybrid of film and theatre, by using music as an emphasis on certain emotional points. The soundtrack I have chosen for the piece is by no means conservative; on the contrary it's a audacious mix of vocals, strings and drums, but in the context of the scenes it will be used in I am hoping it will fit perfectly. And I know the risk I have taken in doing so will pay off if, when the play is viewed, the music itself is not viewed as an addition, more like an integral part of the drama that is almost unnoticed.
And so my semi hybrid will have been created. And, through the combination of live drama and cinematic effects, i hope it will be pulled off as a multi-platform artistic achievement. A grand ambition indeed.
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