The Play of The Silver Sword [antikvár]

A NOTE ON THE ADAPTATION AND PRODUCTIONby Stuart HensonThe Silver Sword is an epic tale. The children's journey to reunite the pieces of their shattered world, their struggle to restore the family whole, strikes a deep chord in most young readers. It has the stuff of myth in it and the urgency of our need to establish order in the face of confusion and hostility. There is danger and warmth, loss and discovery, humour and sorrow. The novel presents an essentially dramatic story, but in order to realise it on the stage, some of the original has to be excluded.This script does not attempt to reproduce the reader's experience as film or television might do. To be realistic and inclusive was not our aim. Our touchstone was fidelity to the spirit of the original. Our intent was to make a play, fast-moving and episodic in structure, which would work in the tradition of Brecht's 'epic' or 'open' theatre. The choice of the 'epic' mode seemed the obvious one, allowing as it does, freedom from the constraints of verisimilitude, the energy and humour of 'rough theatre' and immediate contact with the audience.The original plan was to play our story on a simple 'thrust' stage, with the actors and musicians not involved in a scene watching and waiting on either side. As rehearsal progressed, however, it became apparent that the play demanded so many props and stretched our military costume resources so far, that it would be more satisfactory to allow the actors to prepare themselves out of the