Rendering №6

The headline of the article is The impact of Edward Craig on stage design. The article was created on February 11, 2013. The author of the article is Annette. The purpose of the article is to give the readers some information about an English modernist theatre practitioner Edward Gordon Craig’s life and his significant influence on stage design.

The writer reports that Edward Gordon Craig was born in England in 1872 to the actress Ellen Terry and her architect partner Edward Godwin. Edward acted for the first time on a US tour with his mother, at the young age of 12. Five years later he became an actor in Henry Irving's company at the Lyceum Theatre.

The author explains that when in 1893 Craig met with the Beggarstaff Brothers, he learned wood engraving. This had a significant influence on his design ideas which started to take shape when he designed and directed "Dido and Aeneas" in 1900. His production of "Hamlet" at the Moscow Art Theatre is seen as a landmark production with regards to the development of design.

Further the writer clarifies what influenced on Edward Craig. His mother was the leading actress at Henry Irving's theatre so Craig was exposed to theatre from a very young age. Hubert van Herkomer, who staged many experimental productions at his independent art school in London, inspired Craig. He admired van Herkomer's use of lighting and creative design. Herkomer believed design should reflect the mood of the text rather than being a realistic reproduction. The art of woodblock that he learned from the Bergstaff Brothers, James Pryde and William Nicholson, influenced his perception of stage lighting. He envisioned the dark wood block as the stage and the carved white space as the light.

Moreover, the dancer, Isadora Duncan, whom he lived with for two years, introduced him to the power of movement. His father, Edward Godwin worked on providing him with archaeological evidence for Shakespeare plays and Martin Shaw, the actor, provided him the opportunity for his first productions. Craig further admired the simplicity of the medieval theatre style and specifically the pageant wagon which was the antithesis of naturalism.

Then the author tells us about Craig’s concept for design in theatre. Craig’s non-realist theatre design must be seen in the context of the late 19th-century tradition. Henry Irving’s sumptuous productions provided vehicles for the stars of the day and very little thought was given to the way the design might reflect the mood of the play. Craig, on the other hand, wanted to see a play as a sequence of moments where each moment makes a symbolic visual statement.

Further the author gives us information about key developments in Craig’s journey. Firstly, in 1900 he produced "Dido and Aeneas" which set out the principles of his career. He used symbolist images with striking colour contrasts, a false proscenium and a concealed lighting gantry behind this false arch with no footlights. He used gauze and cloth to create depth when lit.

Secondly, in 1901 it was "The Masque of Love" which he played against a light grey background with carefully designed lighting.

Thirdly, in the 1902 production of "Acis and Galatea" he used lengths of cloth and projected shadows and in the production of "The Vikings at Helgeland" he used a vertical perspective which dwarfed the actors and cast shadows on their faces. Some critics had a problem with the shadows while others noted the symbolism of the half-seen shapes.

Lastly, the "Übermarionette" in 1908 was Craig’s reply to the control of the director over an actor.  He replaced the actor with a marionette.  The production showed strong elements of the masked ritual.

In conclusion the writer say that after Edward’s success with Hamlet in Moscow he designed very few productions, but "Hamlet" remains a landmark production which established Craig’s influence on stage design and lighting.

To my mind, this article is really worth reading. Having read about Edward Gordon Craig I was really amazed by his biography. I believe that this man deserves a lot of respect because he made ​​an enormous contribution to the design in theatre. Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that production of "Hamlet" at the Moscow Art Theatre is seen as a landmark production with regards to the development of design.