Biology and the Bard combine for unique performance of Shakespeare’s plays
Monday 07 April 2014
The emotional and biological responses to some of Shakespeare’s most famous scenes will be used to create a unique live performance of the Bard’s works.
As part of celebrations for the 450th anniversary of the playwright’s birth,Conducting Shakespeare will see sensors fitted to a section of audience members for a production at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
The measured responses to a particular scene will determine which is chosen to follow it, generating an audience-inspired and never seen before rendition of Shakespeare’s work.
The performance experiment – expected to last around 30 minutes – has been developed by Dr Alexis Kirke and Dr Peter Hinds, from Plymouth University, in collaboration with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama; and with sensor equipment provided by Infusion Systems.
Dr Kirke, from the University’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research (ICCMR), said: “Shakespeare always attempted to be in control of his audience’s emotions, manipulating both their mental and physical responses to his works. In essence, this is a natural extension of that but turns the tables somewhat in that the audience – consciously or subconsciously – will be the ones influencing the performance. His writing has a depth and profundity which stirs a range of feelings, but it will be fascinating to see how they can be used to create a new version of his works.”
The performance of Conducting Shakespeare, part of the V&A’s 2014 Shakespeare Festival, will take place in front of an audience of less than 100 people, with four volunteers connected to sensors which monitor their brainwaves, heart-rate, perspiration and muscle tension.
They will all watch scenes from plays including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet and Titus Andronicus being acted out by Melanie Heslop and James Mack, recent graduates of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Using a mathematical model, the “Valence-Arousal” model, Dr Kirke will then record the levels of physical and emotional response from the audience and direct the actors as to which scene should immediately follow it.
He will also aim to manipulate the emotional arc of the performance to form a patchwork of scenes which pitches the audience from comedy to conflict, and romance to tragedy.
Dr Kirke added: “When watching people like David Tennant, Sir Patrick Stewart and Dame Judi Dench playing the classic Shakespeare roles, I am always struck by how utterly engaged you become in the experience. Your whole mind and body are in thrall to almost every word, and it is hard to put into words precisely what you are feeling. Biology can perhaps allow us to view that dramatic experience, and contribute to it, in a way that words cannot.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Pictures of Dr Alexis Kirke and the actors are available. Conducting Shakespeare will take place at 7pm on Friday 2 May 2014, and more information is available through the Victoria and Albert Museum website.
For more information about this news release, and to arrange an interview with Dr Alexis Kirke, contact Plymouth University Press & PR Officer Alan Williams on 01752 588004 or email [email protected].
About Plymouth University
Consistently ranked as one of the leading universities in the UK, and awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2012, Plymouth has a strong record of excellence, enterprise and innovation across its teaching and research activities. Distinguished by its long-term engagement with business and the community, the University enjoys outstanding links with employers and plays a key role in civic and regional leadership. It is the only university in the world to have been awarded the Social Enterprise Mark in recognition of its work in support of the sector.
With around 30,000 students, including those studying higher education at its partner colleges throughout the South West, the University is one of largest in the UK. It enjoys a high rate of graduate employment and has recently invested more than £150 million in its estate and facilities to enhance the student experience and support world-class research.
Plymouth has embedded sustainability across its operations, and is the overall best performing university in the People & Planet Green League. It is the first modern university to found a medical and dental school – the Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry – and is the leading provider of Higher Education in Cornwall. For more information, please visit www.plymouth.ac.uk.
Infusion Systems http://infusionsystems.com/catalog/
Guildhall School of Music and Drama http://www.gsmd.ac.uk/