Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1991 - 48

lens, ir's all squashed very flar and rhere's
nor very much fore and aft: movemenr, or
you can have ir on a very, very wide-angle
lens, in which case rhere's a huge sorr of
verriginous perspecrive. Each of rhose
releases rhings which are unforeseen and
ofren you're jusr making a sharp break
wirh an accepred sparial rradirion. And I
don'r rhink rhere are any unbreakable
generic rules abou r rhaL
Condee: Do )'OU feel that there is a
fimdall/ental0' different approach required
fOr staging ill thrust theatres as opposed to
proscenium theatres?
Miller: Yes. You can'r organize consisrenrly picrorial scenery on a rhrusr.
Once ir breaks our of rhe frame (ir
depends on how far ir breaks our), once
an audience is broaching ro such a
posirion where rhey can view each orher
across rhe srage, rhen rhere's no way in
which you can really convincingly
represenr a "verismo" real iry.
I do miss somerimes rhe possibiliry of
rruly picrorial spaces in a deeply rhrusr
srage. I quire like picrorial spaces. A
funny rhing is rhar a lor of rhe avanrgarde direcrors in Europe are quire given

ro picrorial spaces. Chereau uses quire
picrorial spaces in Bayreurh. You're
definirely looking inro a space rarher rhan
all being around somerhing which is
breaking our inro your space. The same
acrually is rrue I rhink ro a very large
exrenr of rhe Schaubuhne.
I'm nor very parienr wirh specracle ar
rhe momenL I jusr rhink, "Well rhis is a
very riresome rhing ro do. I'd rarher be
encounrered wirh rhe people." (Wirh)
Shakespeare cerrainly. I rhink Shakespeare shouldn'r be visual ar all, really. I
rhink ir should happen sirring in rhe
same room, be righr up nexr ro Orhello
and Desdemona, which I believe is one
of rhe reasons for Nunn's success wirh
Dtheffo jusr recenrly. They're doing ir ar
rhe Young Vic.
Condee: V(lhen )'olt're comillg into a theatre
space that )'OU wiff be directing ill fOr the
first time, what do )'OU look fOr, or what do
)'OU do?
Miller: Take ir on irs merirs and
demerirs. You jusr simply say, "Well, I
rhink I can do somerhing wirh rhis "
There are cerrain thearre spaces which are
very insisrenr and ir depends whar sorr of

Condee: Do )'011 find that there is a
fiilldamelltal difference that affects )'our
productions in the sellse that in a
proscellium theatre most of the audience is
looking up at the performance, while in

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Condee: It's a Vel)' se![collsciousl)'
impressive theatre, right ji-om the lobb)'
when )'OU come ill.
Miller: Yes, ir is. Ir's roo damned genreel.
I don'r like rhaL And I rook ir on because
ir was rhe only chance I had ro run a
rhearre. Bur given rhe opporruniry ro
have rhe Round House or rhe Old Vic, I
wouldn'r hesirare ar raking rhe Round
House, excepr rhar rhe Round House has
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license you have ro alrer ir. The firsr
rhing I asked rhe Mirvishes when I wenr
inro rhe Old Vic was, "How much can I
muss rhis up?" Because ir is exrremely
insisrenr, nor jusr merely vis-a-vis rhe
frame, bur ir's very insisrenr in rhe sorr of
presenrarion of irself as a rhearre, in rhar
ir already implies somerhing abour
genriliry, decorum and a middle-class
rhearre-going public, which is rarher
unpleasanr, I rhink.

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1991

WINTER

TD&T

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1991