Before seeing the Abbey theatre’s production of the Shadow of a Gun, we had the privilege of studying the text of the play with Andrea Ainsworth, the resident voice coach for the theatre. During the workshop Ainsworth told us a bit about the direction of the production, and that it would have elements of modernism in efforts to place the world of O’Casey’s work into the context of today. The two elements that took this play into the twenty-first century were the set design and the opening and interlude sequences. The set of the turn-room was reminiscent of a minimalist, Urban Outfitter’s hipster loft; I could imagine it being in any modern city. It was easy to place myself into that space, although the story takes place in a Dublin tenement in the 1920’s. The beautiful choreography coupled with modern music in the opening scene and interlude had a film like quality that reflected how the audience currently watches entertainment. These sequences were essential in moving the plot along, and added depth or interpretations, rather, of the characters that I could not see just by reading the text.
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