Terra Nova playwriting review

I took some issue with this STF production. While I felt that parts of it were good, it had some serious flaws.

The main one for me was that the direction proved to be frustrating. Now, since this is a theatre-in-the-round show, literally every single seat in the audience will give you a unique experience of the play. Unfortunately, for my particular seat, I missed out on much of the action. The scene where Scott is talking to Evans inside the tent was completely lost for me because the other men were all standing in perfection formation to block my view. I could tell it was a pivotal scene because of the dialogue, but unfortunately I saw almost nothing of it. The same thing happened later when they reveal Oates' frozen foot. I could tell from the audience reaction that his foot was supposed to be hideous, but from my distance and angle I could only see what looked like a bloody sock. It was very disappointing.

I also have another quibble that may or may not have merit. I liked the acting. I thought all of the actors did a great job bringing intensity and honesty to their roles. However, I did not like the fact that only Amundsen had a Norwegian accent, and the other actors did not have English accents. This asymmetry created two problems. First, it gave too much inequality to the characters. While I understand that Amundsen is supposed to be an outsider, he seemed to be too much outside of the scope of the production when he was the only one with an accent. Second, it highlighted how the English dialogue was an awkward fit for American tongues. Every time someone used a decidedly English word, like "bloody," it sounded unrealistic in an American accent, and took me out of the play a little.

As far as the plot goes, it was pretty good. I liked how Scott's memories, dreams, and perception of reality were all blended together. I didn't like how much the first half seemed to plod along a lot, and same with the beginning of the second half. The last part of the show was really interesting to watch, though.

As far as the set goes, I wasn't too amazed by the floor design. The sheets hanging from above looked pretty interesting. I think I was most impressed by the equipment and the sled they used; those were fantastic. The sound design was good; I liked the effects of the wind. The lights were okay. Sometimes I lost sight of their faces. Oh, and how could I forget the makeup! It was extremely well-done. I especially enjoyed the windburned look on the actors' faces.

This play seems like it doesn't fit quite well in a round stage. I think it really needs a proscenium staging in order to work.