Five Truths - Annotation
This post discusses a sound document:
“National Theatre: Five Truths - Theatre Practitioners.” Youtube, uploaded by National Theatre Discover, 28 June 2014, complied by author, 20 July 2017, MP3.
The multimedia presentation Five Truths, directed by Katie Mitchell, featured ten television screens of varying sizes each playing Ophelia’s madness scene as interpreted through the lens of five different directors; Grotowski, Brooks, Brecht, Artaud, and Stanislavski. Although the spectacle was undoubtably a visual and auditory experience, this sound bite focuses on the latter, capturing the entire soundscape. Five Truths works to create an immersive experience and the overlapping of sound and video allows this. The presentation starts in darkness; a small black room and blank screens, before each of the videos begins, one by one. From the outset there is a focus on the rise and fall of the action in relation to each other. The presentation stays fairly quiet at the beginning with the occasional line of dialogue, and then as can be easily identified in the audio recording, builds to its climax. One by one, Ophelia starts to sing her song and the room is transformed from a quiet isolated space, to one seemingly filled with action. By focusing solely on the auditory elements of Five Truths the listener can simultaneously pay closer attention to the layering and intertwining of sounds which were crucial to the piece, and gain a greater appreciation for the visual elements by noting their absence. The rise and fall of the audio, the layering of voices to both overlap in harmony and jarringly contrasts highlights the cohesion of the piece. While the moments of quiet show where the visuals of Five Truths are most important to carry the story. This recording does fail to capture the complete immersive experience given it is a mono recording and thus does not simulate the effect of having directional sound however it can still be used as a method to study specific elements of the production. Although Five Truths shows five very different scenes from directors known for their widely differing styles, the production does not look at them as separate entities. It is clear from the beginning that Five Truths examines how these different pieces work together. The overlaying of sound effects, the eerie echo of each Ophelia’s song slightly out of sync with the others, and the moments of harmony all captured in this recording provides the listener with an introduction to the feel of the overall piece and the director’s intentions.
Audio link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/w792qci02dsldh2/AAC8BXSauSDxvtVWepgOy4hWa?dl=0
