If you want to see a R0 DVD of a whole play with
Chapter 21 contact me.
There have been a few different versions including starting
with Burgess' own A Clockwork Orange 2004, regular theater adaptations of that and the
BBC play with music.
1990 | 1994 |
1997 | 1998 | 2000 |
2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
2007 | 2008 | 2009
I have lots of info on the original play so it has its own page.
Starring Chris Bauer, Martha Lavey, Directed by Terry Kinney
The setting was England with Alex and Georgie played by black men. The lead was very good actor, who was in a few movies and on television. He played one of the workers in the movie "The Cider House Rules" (small part). The 21st chapter was included in the play. Compared to the movie, the inclusion of it changed the meaning of the work substantially. The play also included more direct references to writer as author of the political treatise "A Clockwork Orange". It had full frontal nudity - both male and female and many action sequences, but didn't show much of the rape scene. (from an email)
Cork, Ireland
Actor Cillian Murphy's artistic development began upon seeing a production of "A Clockwork Orange" in a Cork nightclub. It made such a "massive impression" on the youngster that he dropped his legal studies. "I never thought theater could be like that. I thought it was only proscenium arches and classic plays, and this was unbelievably affecting." He found the director of the play and begged to audition for his theater company, landing the lead role in the play — and later the movie — "Disco Pigs,"
Released on 2 CDs or cassette.
Isabelle Anderson choreographed
Russell Crowe gave $40,000 for the production. Peter Weir's daughter was the show's production designer. "We met in a bar after a performance and ended up having about a three-hour conversation, the basis of which was 'What should we do together?' " recalls Crowe.
Peter Fenton contributed the score and appeared in the play.
Amanda Lawrence was in the cast
Play was performed from February to March.
Kristen Shaw might've been in this show.
Scot McKenzie was in the cast
Costume
scan
Directed by Ted Sluberski
Costumes by Jennifer Caprio
Won a 2003 OOBR Award
177 MacDougal St. - 1st time they've done the play
All performances were at 8pm, Wednesdays-Saturdays.
Call 212.501.4751 to reserve seats.
All tickets $15.00, general admission.
10 people playing nearly 30 parts
Cast
| Character | Actor |
| Alex | Kenneth King |
| Pete | Randy Falcon |
| Chaplain | Josh Renfree |
| Minister | Jason MacDonald |
| Micheal Ariemma | |
| Rob Maitner | |
| Ryan Harrington | |
| Catherine Dyer | |
| Sophia Holman | |
| Charlene Taub | |
| Julie Torsiello |
Directed by Joe Tantalo
Original Music and Sound Design by Andrew Recinos
Lighting Design by Jason Rainone
Costume Design by Christian Couture
Fight Choreography by David Lefkowich and Josh Renfree
Production Dramaturgy Michael Maiello
Co-Artistic Director for Godlight Jim Brunt
Dallas Voice named their version as the best production of 2002.
Scan
Press Release
As Anthony Burgess's most famous book and Stanley Kubrick's most infamous film, you might think that there are no more angles to be taken on A Clockwork Orange, but then along comes a chilling new stage adaptation which bends the story once again, this time bringing it bang up-to-date.
SNAP Theatre Company, who's recent adaptation of My Beautiful Laundrette received critical acclaim for it's theatrical dynamism and appeal to young people, have transformed the Burgess classic into a story for our time. With an all female cast providing a lyrical and exhaustingly physical performance, accompanied by subliminal video images, a highly original set and a deep throbbing classical/garage soundtrack, the production is new, sexy and appealing beyond the realms of ordinary theatre.
For the few that are unaware of A Clockwork Orange, be prepared for a mind-bending, soul-searching journey through the depths of a shadowy society where anything goes. Seen through the eyes of a young rebellious street gang and their charismatic leader, Alex, A Clockwork Orange is a spiral of excess, violence and crime, with one chance standing out from the haze, a chance to change forever, a chance to escape. The choice for Alex is clear, only temptation stands in the way.
Dianne Hancock as director has provided the British public with a new insight into violence, and its effects upon society. With street violence ever present, and disturbingly vicious female attacks on the increase the production is-as Burgess intended all those years ago- a jilted premonition of the future, but nevertheless a stylish, original and endlessly witty piece of theatre.
Cast
Cathy Ryan
Clare Mckenna
Elise Davison
Taru Sinclair
Zeina Harding-Roots
Directed by Dianne Hancock
Designed by Chris Victory
Music composed by Sandy Nuttgens.
Lighting Design by Bob Bustance.
Video Design by Alistair Gentry
Choreography by Fleur Derbyshire.
February 2003
Fri 7th Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage 7.45pm 08700-131030
Sat 8th Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage 7.45pm 08700-131030
Tues 11th The Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton 7.45pm 01823-283244
Wed 12th The Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton 7.45pm 01823-283244
Thurs 13th Assembley Rooms, Ludlow 7.30pm 01584-873229
Fri 14th Stafford Gatehouse, Stafford 7.30pm 01785-254653
Sat 15th Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth 7.30pm 01970-623232
Mon 17th
Tues 18th Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton 7.30pm 01902-322646
Wed 19th Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton 7.30pm 01902-322646
Thurs 20th Haverhill Arts Centre, Suffolk 8.00pm 01440 714140
Fri 21st Norden Farm Centre for the Arts , Maidenhead 7.30pm 01628-788997
Sat 22nd Camberley Theatre, Camberley 8.00pm 01276-707600
Mon 24th Mumford Theatre, Cambridge 7.30pm 01223-352932
Tues 25th Mumford Theatre, Cambridge 7.30pm 01223-352932
Wed 26th Millfield Theatre, London 8.00pm 0208-8073892
Thurs 27th The Castle, Wellingborough 7.30pm 01933-270007
Fri 28th Palace Theatre, Mansfield 7.30pm 01623 633133
Sat 29th The Courtyard, Hereford 7.30pm 01432-359252
Workshops
#1 - Text to Stage
A chance to explore Anthony Burgess's dark and violent novel.This will be an
opportunity for students to explore the adaptation process. The workshop leader
will take participants through Snap Theatre's approach to translating a piece of
writing on the stage. The session will explore the rehearsal process, the use of
language within the play and the role which music and movement takes in
conveying the moral arguments of "A Clockwork Orange".
#2 - Acting Up
A chance to investigate the themes of Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork
Orange" using Snap Theatre Company's style of strong visual imagery and
movement. This workshop is suitable for drama students at GCSE level and above
and will introduce participants to a series of different drama techniques
through acting exercises, voice
The official site: www.snaptheatre.co.uk/clockwork.htm
at the Greenway Court Theatre. 544 N. Fairfax Ave. Thurs-Sat 8 pm. $20-24. (323) 655-4402.
Review
In many ways, this version is almost a musical, featuring
sung lines and a vital score that almost becomes a character itself. But the
play retains the graphic depiction of violence and mayhem among troubled youths,
personified by the lead character, Alex (Seamus Dever). Alex spends his days
causing mischief with his band of "droogs"--one of many slang words
Burgess invented to create this hyper-real universe--including rape and murder.
He is eventually caught and offered the chance to escape his confinement by way
of a controversial procedure that makes all forms of violence physically
sickening to the individual. The play raises important questions about whether
an individual can and should be forced to be a functioning member of society, if
the choice of being anything else is taken away.
As Alex, Dever wisely avoids mimicking the film performance
of Malcolm McDowell and realistically portrays a frightening time bomb of a
teenager. He is aided by a talented ensemble of 17 performers who play multiple
roles. But the stars of this production are the amazing costumes by Pat Tonnema
and the set design by James Eric. Discarding Kubrick's stark, clean version of
the future, Tonnema has created colorful fashions that are both suitable for the
characters and remarkably eye-catching. And Eric's set, which has to represent
multiple locations, is a marvel of stairs and planks that create a jungle-gym
atmosphere--and director Rick Sparks and the spry actors use its every inch.
Also impressive is the flawless fight choreography by John Grantham.
Any faults of the production lie, oddly enough, with the
script. Whereas the book and film used Alex's narration to place the audience
inside his head, the play uses a straightforward narrative that makes it
difficult to empathize with the sadistic youth. In addition, the upbeat ending
feels forced and facile. If Burgess was attempting to suggest that troubled
youths need to outgrow their transgressions on their own, one can only wonder:
Is there truly a way to outgrow the impulse to rape and murder?
By Jenelle Riley Backstage.com
Spring 2003 in Kansas City adapting Burgess' A Play with Music.
Clockwork Orange Benefit Bash Ark
Saturday, 8/16/03
Ticket Sales Stop at 4:00:00 PM (PST) 8/16/2003
Info: Fabulous food, cash bar, costume contest, glorious entertainment! DJ
Dylan (Homemade LA) / Divine Dancing Devotchkas, oh so naughty. Pre-sale only
$10! $15 cash or check at the door. Plenty of secured parking for only $3. All
ticket sales for the Clockwork Orange Benefit Bash go to Ark Theatre Company, a
non-profit organization.
Doors Open at: 8:00 PM,
Doors Close at: 2:00 AM.
Ages: 21 and up.
Remember to bring: Valid ID and credit card used to purchase ticket.
Your best Clockwork Orange costume and smile.
Event Capacity: 299
Inshallah
244 S. Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Pre-order
tickets at this link
ALSO: See our production of A Clockwork Orange -- an original adaptation
from the novel - Sept. 6 - Oct. 26. Check
this link for info.
Over a year in the making - A Clockwork Orange at The Whitefire
September 12-Los Angeles, CA - ARK Theatre Company, led by
former RSC member Paul Wagar, continues its fourth season with Anthony Burgess'
masterpiece of 20th century satire, A Clockwork Orange, scheduled for an
eight-week run at The Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks,
CA from September 6 through October 26, 2003.
Over 15 months in development, ARK's production of A Clockwork Orange
is an unflinching, no-holds-barred, multi-media presentation synthesizing
meticulously rendered video elements, stunning music, intense choreography and
an ensemble of over thirty skilled and dedicated actors. Under the guidance of
acclaimed theatre/film director Brad Mays, whose sexually-charged 1997
production of Euripides' The BACCHAE was nominated for three LA Weekly Theatre
Awards including Best Director and whose previous work in New York received
serious and important attention, the production promises to be one of the most
daring and original LA offerings of this (or any other) theatre season.
A Clockwork Orange needs little introduction, of course,
except perhaps to say that the late Anthony Burgess' original novel (which
developed an enthusiastic cult following in the early to late
sixties and was ultimately put to film in Stanley Kubrick's magnificent 1972
motion picture) has been
given a particularly faithful treatment in ARK's current production. The story
itself revolves around
the 15 year old British gang leader Alex DeLarge, whose imaginative love of
rape, ultra-violence and
classical music leads him down a horrific path to murder, imprisonment and
ultimately voluntary participation in the nefarious mind-altering Ludovico Technique,
designed to
eliminate violent and sexual behavior in criminals. The piece's curious title is
derived from the Cockney expression "queerer than a clockwork orange,"
also referring metaphorically to the notion that an individual, artificially
freed from sexual and aggressive impulses, is reduced to an organic mechanism.
Anthony Burgess himself has called A Clockwork Orange a piece about
"Christian choice," pointing out that true spiritual salvation is
impossible in the absence of free moral will. Thus, A Clockwork Orange is a
piece both visceral and intellectual in its purpose, a work whose use of
invented language makes it not only a truly unique literary artifact, but a
piece virtually bursting with theatrical potential.
Determined to realize this potential to its fullest, the ARK
Theatre Company is aiming A Clockwork Orange at a strictly adult audience. The
cast includes V.C. Smith in the role of Alex, with Bob Baglia, Mary Elizabeth
Barrett, Ricky Coates, Kathi Copeland, Christina DeRosa, Erik Matthias Engman,
Michael Holmes, John Jabaley, Joanna Jocelyn, David Keller, Anna Quirino,
Fredric T. Rooney, Pab Schwendimann, Steven Shields, Danika Sudik, Dee Sudiks,
Richard Tatum, Paul Wagar and Sterling Wolfe in supporting roles. The
production's fight scenes are choreographed by Lance Smith, with sets designed
by Michael Su, costumes by Laura Angotti and lighting by Richard M. Johnson.
The production runs from September 6 through October 26,
Thursday though Sundays. Curtain is at 8:00 PM, sharp. Ticket prices are $20.00
general admission, senior, student, group and AEA discounts are available for
$15.00. All tickets are $15.00 if purchased by August 31. For reservations,
tickets sales and additional information please call (323) 969-1707.
What most distinguishes director Brad Mays' faithful production of Anthony Burgess' stage adaptation of his own novel is Mays' casting of a female, V.C. Smith as Alex, the juvenile delinquent narrator. By choosing an androgynous teenage-looking woman of slight build to play the lead, Mays emphasizes the tender age of the 15-year-old antagonist. Smith could be the bad-seed offspring of punk-rock goddess Patti Smith, with her diminutive stature, intense glare and badass swagger. She's convincingly pathological as the firecracker who goes absolutely berserk, beating up and inspiring awe in guys much larger than himself. With a psychopathic army of "droogs" (Ricky Coates, Michael Holmes, Sterling Wolfe), Alex orchestrates his "horror stories," which include crippling a middle-aged writer (Pab Schwendimann) and brutally raping his wife (Mary Elizabeth Barrett). Alex ends up in the slammer after murdering a feisty old woman (Dee Amerio Sudik), then undergoes controversial therapeutic treatment that will make him "good" and buy him an early release. But in seeking freedom from imprisonment, Alex gives up freedom of choice. Mays' visceral, fast-paced multimedia show brings into stark relief the Freudian struggle between the primal self and the civilized self for domination over the human spirit. The director deftly conveys the horror of violence by subjecting the audience to an onslaught of images of war, torture and hardcore porn projected on six TV screens. Ark Theater Company at the Whitefire Theater, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; Thurs.-Sun., 8 p.m.; thru Oct. 26. (323) 969-1707. -Miriam Jacobson (LA Weekly)
I interviewed Lorenda, the director a little bit about the play.
By casting a girl in the lead is she playing a girl or is it a Sandy Duncan Peter Pan kind of thing?
We didn't start off with a concept to cast a girl. We started off with the notion of casting a fifteen year old boy and were willing to spend a few weeks auditioning to find one who can handle the text. Vanessa was playing the role of Eddie in Cloud Nine (a boy designated by the playwright to be played by a girl) and she was very, very good at it. She has a particular look and body. She's petite with long legs, slim hips, tiny waist, flat chest and fairly broad shoulders. When she's in a t-shirt and jeans, you can't tell whether she's a girl or boy. She can be androgynous in the way Bowie could be a times. She's also a very fine actress - good classical training here and in England. Anyway, we decided to give it a shot because with a young woman in the role, as opposed to the boy, we could take the stage violence much farther. The rape scene is probably the most brutal scene ever put on stage in legitimate American theatre. So far we've gotten one rave review from LA Weekly (which is LA's version of the Village Voice) and one slam from Backstage West (the reviewer hated the lack of a homo-erotic undertone).
What do you think about the last version of the play using all girls in England?
I can't make the case for an all girl gang. I saw that press release on your site and thought that it would be one tough show to pull off. Not too much harm in trying though.
Any plans on taking it on the road?
We are thinking about taking it to NY. Maybe we'll all meet up there.
The Stray Cat Theatre, which, with Nearly Naked Theatre Company staged a reworking of Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. The local production featured the author's original ending, which was rejected for the Stanley Kubrick film. Friday through May 15 at 1121 N. First St., Phoenix Arizona. $12-$18. (602) 253-8188, Ext. 2.
Since I saw the Boston play it has its own page.
Cast:
Alex - Jarrett Sleeper
Dim - Christopher Walsh
Georgie - Seth Unger
Pete - Michael Patrick Sullivan
by Anthony Burgess adapted from his novel
directed by Christopher Johnson
At Gallery 37's Storefront Theater 77 E. Randolph | Chicago
Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30, Saturdays at 3PM & 7:30,
Sundays at 3PM, Call 312-742-8497, Tickets $15
Running time 2 hrs. 20 min with Intermission
Grab a friend, head over to your local milk-bar, then come see Defiant take on this classic tale of decadent hoodlums, gruesome murder, ultra ultra-violence and a little of the old in-out-in-out, all downtown in the lovely Loop theater district.
“Clockwork is essentially a story about youthful passion and energy, about the often painful maze of error and discovery through which these live, and how we ultimately emerge from that labyrinth as different people,” says Christopher Johnson, director. “It is a story about the journey from adolescence to adulthood told through the most violent, sexual and politically charged metaphor conceivable. I can’t think of a more fitting piece of theatre to sum up the 11-year odyssey we are concluding, both personally and artistically.”
"The show - which is superbly designed in all areas - also is full of the kind of handmade visual tricks that recall such past Defiant causes celebres as "Action Movie." One moment in particular - a huge visualization of what Alex is seeing in this world of video violence - is so spectacular, you start to seriously lament what is ending here. For this and other reasons - and for a sense of closure - fans of Defiant shouldn't miss this show." - Chris Jones
Citations Wing of the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee 2005. Award for Lighting Design went to Richard Norwood.
My exclusive interview with Ryan Greaves
Based at Campsmount School, South Yorkshire was performed at 'Cabaret Voltaire' Blair Street, Edinburgh, Scotland at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2004.
| Character | Actor |
| Alex | Ryan Greaves |
| Georgie/Deltoid/Rubinstein | George Eustice |
| Dim/Governor | Jamie Jon Lloyd |
| Pete/Pedofil | Jody Whitfield |
| Brodsky/Alexander/Billyboy/Policeman | Sam Smith |
| Chaplain/Dolin/Policeman | Leanne Arnold |
| Minister/Mother/Policeman | Alison Duffy |
| Joe/Young Droog | Oli Hayes |
| The Doctor/Nurse | Carley Adams |
| Bullyboy/Police Doctor/Stoned Man | Clayton Fox |
| Branom/Old Woman | Emma Place |
| Warder/Father/Young Droog | Richard Worsley |
Directed by Sharon J. Francis-Burnett and Roy Willing
Got 4 star reviews from both 'The Scotsman' and 'The Fest' newspapers, the production was both a public and critical success.
Dream and Nightmare
by Anna Millar, The Scotsman Newspaper 8/04
Putting Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and
Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange on the same bill is like inviting Gandhi
round for tea with Bill Clinton. But somehow it works in Campsmount Theatre
Company's absorbing double-header.
Moments into Clockwork, the first of the two pieces, it's
clear the venue's a gift for this production. Recognizing the pitfalls of trying
to re-create Kubrick's randomly over-indulgent, graphically stylized film
adaptation, the troupe wisely make use of the cavernous backdrop, complete with
seedy back alley ambience and limitless lighting opportunities. A projection
appears starkly against imposing brick walls and Alex and his droogs work their
way through the audience, blades in hand.
A menacing hour later, the company has executed a savvy,
surprisingly faithful, version of Burgess's cult hit. While never fully
emulating the horrors of the big screen, the talented cast do well to imitate
the frightening, chilling and tantalizing morality of Burgess's original work,
presenting a thought-provoking parable to preamble, and wonderfully conflict,
with A Midsummer Night's Dream.
The bizarre comedic masks worn by the good
"fairies" in A Midsummer Night's Dream afford a chilling reminder of
the visors worn by Alex and co as they rape and pillage. Ryan Greaves simply
explodes on the stage as both Alex and Puck. And through him the method in the
madness of presenting these two pieces, with the same cast, seems all the more
brilliant.
The hybrid, jargonistic, pun-filled language of Burgess's
text - an expressive combination of English, Russian and slang - is an insanely
fiery milieu for Greaves's later Shakespearean prose. Indeed, through Greaves,
Shakespeare's work seems darker, while Puck's manipulation of the sleep dust is
not too far removed from Burgess's own questions about free will and
responsibility.
September 15-25, 2004
Week 1 Wed. to Sat. 8pm
Week 2 Wed. to Sat. 8pm + 2pm Sat. Matinée
The theatre is jazzing up its stodgy image with a musical version of Anthony Burgess's Clockwork Orange, starring hip-hop artist (and Scarborough native) Bishop, who, according to the press release, has just completed a nationwide tour as the opening act of Busta Rhymes.
"A Clockwork Orange is a play about adolescent violence versus governmental retribution, with Hip-Hop, Rap and Beethoven scoring its violence, along with its stylized street slang screaming out from the inner city, exposing the hypocrisies of our time." - Robert Ginty (Director)
Stray Cat's adaptation not far from Burgess' book
By Chris Page | Get Out 11/9/04 Phoenix AZ
A theater production of Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork
Orange" doesn't exist in a bubble and Stray Cat Theatre director Ron May
knows it.
In the company's latest show, you can see how he struggles
against the "Clockwork" we know - the 1971 cult-classic Stanley
Kubrick film - in hopes of creating something fresh without alienating
audiences.
Which is why his cast ditches any semblance of Brit mod style
or Cockney accent but still relishes the pseudo-Russian slang (all droogies,
viddies and devotchkas with tolchocks on their litsos) that Burgess whittled to
fit in the mouth of Alex, his apathetic troublemaker teen protagonist, who is
sent to the pokey after tolchocking one woman on the litso too hard, killing
her.
What gets the "Clockwork" story ticking is when
Alex is offered up as a guinea pig for a new form of aversion therapy that makes
him violently ill anytime he feels like revisiting his old hobby of
ultra-violence. When it backfires ironically, it's a commentary on society's
desire to quell free choice for the greater good.
The lack of accent we've come to associate with
"Clockwork" is jarring, but it doesn't burst anyone's bubble, because
May and company have succeeded in elevating a familiar, if disturbing, tale to a
higher piece of art. On a set that's nothing more than three diamond plate
risers, scenes of ultra-violence and brutal sex are transformed into percussive
impressionist art - against slaps to the floor and clangs of wood and metal for
violent foley sound effects, gang rumbles become interpretive square dances,
beatings are played out in slow-motion like "Matrix"-style bullet-time
and a harsh rape is made even more cringe-worthy (but less revealing) in a way I
can't describe in a family newspaper. None of it would earn higher than a PG-13
rating, but the effect is very R.
Less successful, though, are choices in casting and
costuming. Arizona State University student Jonathan Howard's Alex has none of
the deliciously dark depth that Malcolm McDowell oozes in Kubrick's film (his
ironic sneer is the stuff of brilliance); comparatively, Howard's Alex is a
softie, with a deep stage voice and seemingly little to back it up. This cutie
is a vicious teen gang leader?
In May's contemporary update, Alex and his gangmates are
dressed like Hot Topic faux-punks, which further disconnects the characters from
their intended brutality. Otherwise, Stray Cat's "A Clockwork Orange"
is worth seeing, even for die-hard devotees of Kubrick's version, who will be
pleasantly surprised (especially by the ending, which comes from the book, not
the flick). But how's this for a more resonant adaptation: "Clockwork"
in South Central Los Angeles, with Crips instead of the pasty white boys we've
come to expect? That would be fresh.
Vanessa Claire Smith is the recipient of the 2004 LA Weekly Theater Award for "Best Leading Female Performance" for her role in the Whitefire Theater's production of "A Clockwork Orange."
Because I've seen this play it has it's own page.
| Character | Actor |
| Alex | Alex Gardiner |
| Jason Whyte | |
| Dr. Brodsky | Danielle Cormack |
| David Aston | |
| Kip Chapman | |
| Chaplain | Cameron Rhodes |
| Georgie | David van Horn |
| Aidee Walker | |
| Fasitua Amosa | |
| Elizabeth Horn |
Directed by Andrew Foster
Music by Ed Cake (AKA Ed McWilliams)
Choreography by Sarah Sproull
Lighting by Jeremy Fern
Fight staging by Steven Davis
At the AK05 Auckland Festival.
Mr. Carruthers said that the Arts Board noted a range of innovative theatre
projects, many involving youth and culturally diverse groups. SiLO Theatre in
Auckland, for instance, was offered grants totaling $103,500. The grants will
support SiLO to undertake a youth development program, and adapt and present two
works, Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange and Dylan Thomas' Under Milkwood.
Bad boy is back with a vengeance
John Daly Peoples | NBR 2/10/05
For its first show of the year, Silo Theatre has transferred
from its 100-seat venue to the Auckland City Council garage next door to more
than double the audience capacity. The steeply raked seating in this grotty
industrial setting with the floor covered in dirt looks less than a theatre and
more like the site for some spurious event, something between a cock fight and
mud wrestling.
It seems like a place apart, with murky lighting, strange
constructions and groups of neon tubes in strange groupings. It was all
reminiscent of the landmark production by Inside Out Theatre of The Holy Sinner
nearly 20 years ago.
The play is a loose adaptation of the Anthony Burgess book
and the Stanley Kubrick film and has managed to steer clear of being too much
like either. It has avoided the violence and grimness of the film and retained
some of the clever social observations of the novel.
Too often with contemporary drama there is a belief that by
dealing directly with cultural issues and social problems, some understanding of
the issues will result, which is rarely the case. All that happens is the issues
are presented in a new formant with no solutions, only further questions.
Silo's A Clockwork Orange avoids all these problems not by discounting them but
by presenting them as secondary aspects to the production. The play's series of
vignettes allows ideas to flow naturally from the action with little observation
or commentary.
It is also successful in being an energetic piece of physical
theatre in which the actors test themselves each other and the audience.
Personal intersections and support become important as the actors turn the
theatre into a circus arena and at times a bear pit.
A Clockwork Orange is a tale of little Alex and his gang of
droogs, who run amok in a fury of robbing, beating, and raping. After killing a
new prisoner in jail, Alex is used as a guinea pig for a new treatment, which
alters the mind but allows the prisoner to be freed. He is forced to watch
violent films and soon finds even the thought of violence makes him ill.
On his return he finds he is no longer welcome in his home.
He is attacked by an old man he abused and by the police now including some
of the former gang members who further brutalize him.
Alex finally casts off his violent, immature past and
embraces a peaceful, mature, middle-class lifestyle. But he notes his son and
his son will probably act rashly in their youth too. The lighting by Jeremy
Fern, sound by Edmund McWilliams dancing sequences choreographed by Sarah Sproll
and the fight staged by Steven Davis were all impeccable. At times all these
components produced some mesmeric sequences, a cross between reveries and
nightmares.
The play works at a nice level of abstraction where violence
morphs into dance and the ugliness of the violent act becomes a striking image
of beauty. The play's robust physicality and intense energy were partly due to
the large cast of actors and dancers who kept up constant waves of movement.
The dances were brilliant and arresting with some powerful sequences, as when
four dancers writhe erotically in Alex's vomit.
Holding much of the play together is the vibrant performance
of Adam Gardiner as Alex. In his exploration of the character, the novel and the
film, he charmed and repelled and gained our sympathy and disapproval. He was
both friend and antagonist.
There were several standout performances by others in the
cast: David van Horne as the finely tuned Georgie and Cameron Rhodes in the
contrasting roles of the corrections adviser and the sympathetic but ineffectual
chaplain.
Danielle Cormack played her various roles with flair,
particularly that of Dr. Brodsky, who inflicts experiments and mind changes on
Alex. This is a stylish production full of convincing action and it provides
many thought-provoking ideas about society and the individual.
A Clockwork Orange at SiLo Theatre
by Paul Simei-Barton | New Zealand Herald 2/7/05
Medieval miracle plays were driven out of the church because
the devil always got the best lines. A similar conundrum has haunted A Clockwork
Orange. In the novel, Little Alex is presented as a remorseless psychopath. In
the film version he became a Dionysian anti-hero whose drug-fuelled mayhem
exposed the hypocrisies of a corrupt society.
In SiLo's adaptation, attention shifts from Alex's love of
violence and we are given a disturbing vision of a society reliant on the
brutality of state authorities, routinely using institutional violence.
By focusing on how society deals with Alex, the production introduces a modern
variation on the problem of creating sympathy for the Devil. The Victim gets all
the best lines along with the best sound track and the most compelling visual
imagery.
The ultra-violence perpetrated by Little Alex barely
registers when compared with the relentless victimization that Alex suffers. He
is brutalized by the police, betrayed by his fellow droogs, tortured with
aversion therapy, duped by his sexual partners, humiliated by social workers,
manipulated by politicians and rejected by his mother.
These moments are all delivered with panache. Director Andrew
Foster has a talent for orchestrating multi-layered images in which complex
ensemble work, music and video projection are blended with strong visual design.
He also effectively combines dance and drama. With a large cast, performances
are uneven, but Danielle Cormack is convincing as she takes on five roles,
giving each a distinctive vocal style. She has a knack for humanising the most
repulsive characters. Adam Gardiner, as Alex, has a commanding stage presence
but projects an engaging haughtiness rather than the malevolent sadism needed if
the audience is to feel revulsion at Alex's thuggery.
The performances are not helped by a script containing too
much expository dialogue. Often the director creates visual images that convey
all the information needed and then undermines the power of the scene by
introducing unnecessary dialogue. Whatever its flaws, this ambitious project
succeeds admirably. Most importantly, it presents Burgess' story with all its
ironies and nuances intact. Rather than looking at violence as the aberrant
behavior of a few individuals, the production invites us to consider our
culture's infatuation with the aesthetics of violence and to face the potential
for violence that resides within all of us.
Addicted to droogs
by Melanya Burrows | New Zealand Herald 1/28/05
A Clockwork Orange has fixed itself in popular culture as a byword for
ultra-violence. The SiLo Theatre, always fearless in its choices, is producing a
new stage play of the work which will come under the umbrella of the AK05
Auckland Festival, launching on February 25.
Its producers are challenging audiences to take a fresh look
at what they promise will be a lyrical and poetic piece of theatre, where the
violence inherent in the work takes a back seat to the disturbing and complex
questions the play poses.
Anthony Burgess published A Clockwork Orange in 1962. The
controversial film by Stanley Kubrick, its tagline reading "the adventures
of a young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra-violence and
Beethoven", shocked audiences when it was released in 1971.
Actor Adam Gardiner plays the lead role of Alex, immortalized
by Malcolm McDowell in the Kubrick film. Gardiner believes A Clockwork Orange's
infamy is largely based on patchy knowledge of the work. "In picking A
Clockwork Orange, I don't think we could have set ourselves much more of a
challenge, taking something that has such a clear form in people's
consciousness. But people's ideas of A Clockwork Orange tend to be based only on
the first half of the story. In the first half, Alex and his droogs wreak havoc
on society. In the second half the state hits back. There is a lot of cruelty in
this play, in a lot of different ways, and one of the cruelest things is what
happens to Alex."
Both Gardiner and director Andrew Foster feel the notoriety of the work was a
product of its time.
"A Clockwork Orange shows some of the basest forms of human violence, such
as rape and humiliation," say Foster. "It is a very violent piece, yet
it is highly stylized and that stylization adds distance. The film was shocking
because it portrayed acts of violence that had not been seen of film before.
"But the most disturbing and shocking aspect of the work
is not the violence you are being shown, but the morality that is being
questioned. You have a central character who is irredeemable, and you are asked
how much freedom can we allow individuals before we compromise society's
freedom. Everyone remembers the first act, with Alex, this violent, aggressive
youth who we are obsessed with, identify with, but by whom we are also repulsed.
But ultimately, this is about mind control, repression, and freedom of
choice."
Foster is working from all three sources of A Clockwork
Orange: Burgess' novel, Kubrick's film, and Burgess' later stage-play. He is
making some concessions to modernity, a girl gang for example, but do not expect
to see an urban Pasifika A Clockwork Orange set in 2005 Auckland. What makes the
play tick, says Foster, is its sense of otherworldliness. "In a way, A
Clockwork Orange is a science fiction, an allegory, and it works best that way.
It wouldn't resonate so much if it was set in Auckland now. It is a distorted,
almost cartoon-like version of reality, stylized, yet recognizable."
Foster has a slew of tools to help him convey that sense of dissonance and
dislocation.
He is preserving Nadsat in the dialogue, the language Burgess
created for the book to capture teen slang without irrevocably dating his novel
in the 60s (the book is set in an undetermined near future, the language a blend
of Cockney and Russian). "The language is one of the things that distorts a
recognizable reality. Having dance in the work is something we envisaged very
early on. It stretches our perceptions of physical form and space, and it is a
nice way of creating a world influenced by a dream-like logic. The scale and
nature of the performance space also creates a distance for the audience."
A Clockwork Orange is the SiLo Theatre's first production
outside its own theatre walls. The play is being staged in a parking garage
adjacent to the theatre, which will seat 250 people as opposed to the SiLo's
usual 100. While the garage will revert to its parking duties after the season,
the space is the proposed site for a new, permanent independent theatre, to be
opened in 2008.
Foster is keen to maintain the bleak, industrial qualities of
the carpark. The floor will be covered in dirt, the windows boarded over, the
staging spartan in feel. The Wellington-based director, a Chapman Tripp
Award-winner for theatre design, has gained a name for devising and designing
innovative, stylish, site-specific theatre works. He cites Iets op Bach, a work
by Belgian dance company Les Ballets C de la B, as a major influence.
"They use theatre directors to create dance works, and
they use dancers, actors and singers on stage. The work had a dream-like logic,
as scenes, images and ideas morphed perfectly into one another. I found it a
very liberating and inspiring piece because it freed me up from thinking about
the story in a linear way. It reminded me that story can move and flow between
locations, that you don't have to leave a scene only when someone leaves the
stage but when the scene is up. Recently, modern theatre has been bound to
linear narrative and naturalistic locations, and it doesn't have to be that
way."
Foster has assembled a diverse team for A Clockwork Orange.
"In the past, I've tended to drive projects with a strong idea of how they
are going to turn out. This time, I am working with people who inspire me,
giving them a lot of space so their ideas can influence me."
Step from the cobbled stones of the Cathedral Quarter Arts
Festival into the Korova Milkbar and ultraviolent world of Anthony Burgess’
classic novel A Clockwork Orange. Rawlife Theatre Company promise to bring you
into the explosive domain of Alex and his rampant, drug fuelled gang of droogs.
Staged in the post modern surrounding of the Potthouse night
club, this night will be a truly memorable theatrical experience. The play
explores the nature of crime, punishment, rehabilitation and freewill wrapped up
in a cocktail of Sex, Religion, Fashion, Politics and Beethoven.
In our current post 9/11 climate of State power versus
individual freedom this story is closer to reality than ever before.
Audience numbers are limited so please book early to avoid
disappointment. The Potthouse bar is open before and after each performance, so
why not make a night of it? Please note this production contains graphic scenes
of a violent and sexual nature.
Tickets £8.00/£6.00 available from Belfast Welcome Centre on 028 90246609. The Sugar Room @ The Potthouse | 7.45pm www.cqaf.com
Auditions 10 am Saturday, June 25. Roles open for all levels of acting experience and all body shapes in "Clockwork Orange." Must be at least 14. Information: 675-0521, www.paperwingtheatreco.com
Special preview performance of the January show in preparation to take it to Scotland in August.
Godlight Theatre Company’s production of Anthony Burgess’s
A Clockwork Orange has been selected to travel to Scotland this August to
participate in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s most prestigious
theatre festival – selling more than a million tickets in a single month last
year. In the theatre world, an invitation to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is
akin to qualifying for the Olympics. This is an incredible opportunity to uplift
our theatre company to the next level – the world stage. But we need your help
to get there.
While we pride ourselves on shoe-string budgets and
bare-bones productions, the cost to move our production overseas is in five
figures, and is simply more than our company can afford alone. And yet,
artistically, how can we not take this next step? It is only with the help of
our friends and families that we can make this dream a reality. I hope you will
join us in our journey to Edinburgh and make a tax-deductible donation today.
Your donation will be payable to 59E59 Theaters, to benefit
Godlight Theatre Company. For a gift of $250 or more you will receive a
complimentary pair of tickets to a New York preview performance of A Clockwork
Orange this July!
From The Ex's early 2003 newsletter #12. For the summer of 2004 there are plans for a co-production project of The Ex with the amazing theatre-company Alex d'Electrique. The two groups, both having started around the same time and with obvious parallels in their respective developments, agreed on the idea of putting these two outfits together for a change. We're thrilled! A number of improvisation-sessions later this year will make clear what kind of shape and form the project will take in the end.
Alex d'Electrique & The Ex
May 22 07
Cast: Ko van den Bosch (Alex), Bart Klever, Malou Gorter, Merijn de Jong,
Daniëla Bernoulli (opera), Lonneke van Leth (dancing and choreography) + The Ex
band: Terrie Hessels, Andy Moor, Katherina Bornefeld + Jos Kleij
Director: Ola Mafaalani
Picture: André Joosten
Costumes: Linda Eijssen
Music: The Ex
Fighting choreography: Jakop Ahlbom
Technical coordination: Joost van Hilten
Construction: Wart Kreykamo and Douwe Hipma
Technique lifts: Michiel Uhlenbeck
Sound technician: Marc Kossman
Training period technique: Klim Nelissen
Production: Emilio of the Cammen
Control assistant: Loesje sheer court
Costume assistant: Petra the Bruyn and Janneke Ipenburg
with thanks to: Henk Loeff, Joachim voorn, Paul van Rijswijk, Hielke Zevenbergen,
Dogtroep, Orkater, Tryater, toneelgroep Amsterdam
From The Ex:
It was in the enormous hall of a former shipyard in the harbor of Amsterdam. It
started with one month of extensive rehearsing in the city, five to six days per
week. The last weeks we practiced at the location, across the water in the north
side of town, from 8 pm till late at night because during the daytime people
worked there, making even much more noise than us. The technical crew had built
a ten by ten meter steel platform with wooden walls, which could be lifted up
and brought forward towards the seated audience, and also sent 200 meters back
to the other side of the hall. One could feel intimate and lost at the very same
time. We did four try-outs and fifteen regular performances, all sold out, 400
people per night. On the second to last night we played a special Ex-gig, with
Massimo on bass flown in from Rome, and with all the actors participating,
either joining in with the music or making massive wall-paintings.
Clockwork Orange shocker by school
Camden Gazette 7/6/05
A children's charity has slammed a secondary school for
putting on a production of the controversial and violent A Clockwork Orange.
Children as young as 12 are involved in the performances at South Camden
Community School, in Charrington Street, Somers Town.
The play and novel, penned by Anthony Burgess, shot to
notoriety when it was made into a film by Stanley Kubrick in 1972. A Clockwork
Orange sees teenage misfit Alex and his cronies delighting in
"ultra-violence", dishing out beatings and sexual attacks before Alex
is made to participate in a brutal Government-backed scheme to force him to be
good.
The film version was withdrawn by Kubrick in 1973 after
allegations of copycat killings and violence. It was not re-released until 2000
- a year after Kubrick's death. The schooll has confirmed there is no age limit
on buying tickets for the production although year seven pupils (aged 11 and 12)
will only be admitted with an adult.
Nikki Kerr, from child protection charity Kidscape, said:
"It's a bit of a controversial thing for a secondary school to be doing. We
know when children see violence they go on to copy it - not everybody, but it
puts the idea in their heads. It could raise some good issues to be talked about
in the classroom but there has to be some restriction."
Camden Council's opposition leader Piers Wauchope
(Conservative) said: "A Clockwork Orange is a futuristic tale of a
15-year-old murderer and deals with how the authorities fail to reform him. I
wouldn't be surprised if many parents are concerned."
The play is South Camden Community's first production in its
new 150-seat theatre. To prepare for the role of Alex, sixth form student Adrian
Brimpong, 19, was given the chance to speak to actor Phil Daniels, who played
the part in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1987 production.
South Camden Community's head of drama James Dove, who chose to do the play,
said: "Most people think of the film but the play by Anthony Burgess is
completely different. It shows we have choice. It says: 'Here is good and there
is evil. Look at both and make your choice'."
Theatre Gilded Balloon Teviot
Rape. Murder. Gang violence. Drugs. Beethoven. All in a night's work. Godlight
Theatre Company present their award-winning production from New York. A
devastating journey into the mind of a sociopath. Prepare yourself for a
visceral experience. www.edfringe.com
Dates & Times:
16:00 - start time, (1:15) - show length
Previews 8/5 & 8/6 16:00 (1:15) £5.00
8/7 & 8/8 - 16:00 (1:15) £9.00 2 for 1
8/9, 8/10, 8/11, 8/15, 8/17, 8/18, 8/22, 8/23, 8/24, 8/25 - 16:00 (1:15) £9.00
(£8.00)
8/12, 8/13, 8/14, 8/19, 8/20, 8/21, 8/26, 8/27, 8/28 - 16:00 (1:15) £10.00
(£9.00)
Alex - Jack Roth
Director: Cameron Jack
Music includes - The Who's My Generation and The Undertone's Teenage
Kicks.
Jack Roth plays Alex, the role made famous by Malcolm
McDowell in Kubrick's film. Lewisham-born Jack, 20, is the son of actor Tim
Roth, star of cult hits such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Jack says:
"It's going to be really good to watch. There's a hell of a lot of things
going on, fighting and blood, loads of singing, music. It's hard work, very
physical and intricate." Roth Senior moved away when Jack was a youngster
and lives in California.
"I see him on holidays and whenever I can," says
Jack. "He's really supported me in what I want to do, both my parents have.
When I was younger they always encouraged me to try different things." This
is his first professional show, but he has been involved with youth and fringe
productions and he is a keen playwright. He has worked with the Oval House and
Royal Court theatre companies. Jack's love of drama started at a young age.
"I was in all the end-of-year plays at primary
school," he says. "I realized I could be the Prime Minister or a
famous footballer through acting. It was always fun, you can be whatever you
want."
Did Jack's Oscar-nominated father influence his desire to
act?
"When I was young, I was on the set of dad's movies and
it was really fun. It was exciting, you'd meet so many people. Dad did this cool
thing of putting me with different departments one day I'd be with the lighting
team, the next I'd see how costume and makeup works."
Does he get handy hints on acting from his dad?
"He talks to me and gives me advice but what I really
respect is he lets me do it on my own, in my own way."
Broadway general manager Martin Costello is excited about the
theatre's latest in-house production. "We have a really strong cast,"
says Costello, who is producing the show. "It's very challenging, a
dangerous piece of theatre, because it confronts audience expectations. The
singing, elements of pantomime, there's the violence to portray and the
audio-visual material. It is a complex production." The story concerns
vicious teenage thug Alex and his gang, for whom life is a rampage of rape and
violence, until Alex is arrested.
Is it better to lock him up for life or remove his free will
and release him back into the community as a reformed man? Clockwork Orange
author Anthony Burgess did not approve of the Stanley Kubrick film and wrote his
own stage version, described as a play with music. "The film has a
different ending from what Burgess wanted," explains Costello. "It
doesn't have the redemption. In both Burgess's book and play, in the end Alex
grows up and becomes a mature and sensible person. If you study the script it is
a piece against violence. It explores the futility of violence." - Paul
Revel
Tues to Sat 8pm, £7-£10, 020 8690 0002. Contains strong language, violence and sexually explicit content. Not suitable for children under 16.
Where: Millennium Theater, 601 S. 16th St.
When: 8 pm opens Oct. 14 - Thursdays through Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays;
Friday through Nov. 6. No performance Oct. 30.
Tickets: $15 adults; $12 students and senior citizens
Information: 345-8166
The story centers on Alex, a vicious teen rapist who is forced by the government
to undergo aversion therapy. The work's political, social and religious issues
still resonate. Lorie Obradovich directs, and Aaron Wilhoft plays Alex. Also
cast: Dan Baye, Denise Chevalier, Karen Cordes, Mark Cramer, Jerry Evert, Bob
Goodwin, Abby Gregor, John Hatcher, Dustin Hillman, Erik Nelson, Sarah Podendorf,
Mallory Rennels, Ruben Sanchez, Larry Wroten, Kevin Steward and McClain Smouse.
The show marks the Baby D's move to its new downtown home, the Millennium
Theater, after it lost its lease on a Benson building. Graphic violence and
sexual content make this an adult show.
Review: This 'Clockwork' is riveting production
By John Keenan World-Herald Staff Writer 10/15/05
Aaron Wilhoft anchors the production as Alex. Wilhoft, who
has grown steadily more assured onstage, portrays Alex with a smirking panache
in the first act, then switches gears in the second when Alex has been
conditioned to react to his violent or sexual impulses by getting physically
ill. Wilhoft's eyes often hint at a sort of animal cunning, especially when
Alex, who claims "I'm not dim" at one point, is trying to put
something over on someone. Wilhoft also does well with Burgess's created
slang.
Larry Wroten gives a steal-the-show turn as a boozy prison
chaplain. The chaplain is appalled at the idea that violence can be
"conditioned" out of Alex. "Does God want goodness, or the choice
of goodness?" he asks. But it's interesting that Burgess has put his
arguments in favor of free will in the mouth of a buffoonlike character.
There were a few kinks on preview night, most notably some
lighting problems, but nothing that won't be an easy fix. Director Lorie
Obradovich and her crew have built the south side of the Millennium Theater into
a sprawling performance space. The set has five levels, and the 18-member cast
roams over all of them. The large cast performs credibly. Standouts include John
Hatcher, Karen Cordes and Daniel Baye.
Three scans from the production
Music from Mozart to Pink Floyd
Cast: Daniel Ornatelli (Alex), Alexia Argelillo, Erica Barel, Mark Brambilla,
Marirosa Celsa, Paul Garghentino, Fabio Paroni, Robin Scheller
Director - Andrea Lisco
Old Fire Staion Studio Theatre 40 George Street, Oxford - 7:30pm and 2:30pm on Saturday
By Elisabeth Bowling | Oxford Student UK 1/20/06
This production clears the stage for a new, stylistically
innovative interpretation of Anthony Burgess's novel. Merging physical theatre,
art, dance, songs and some strong performances, the cult content is made fresh
and visually compelling.
The nature of authority itself is addressed through the
believably callous performance of Richard Greenberg as crackpot therapist Dr.
Brodsky, whose apparent enjoyment in the nausea he instills offers an unsettling
critique of the establishment. The play offers a plethora of dramatic
innovation, with use of an ensemble company to support and emphasize Alex's
activities. The cast make a slick and cohesive body who fill the stage in often
threatening glory.
A superbly directed scene involves an almost balletic rape,
where ensemble members twist and contort their victim through dance before
lifting her in the air, in complete physical control. Use of songs in the action
initially strike as out of place and irrelevant, but the chaotic menace that the
chanting rhythm ensues creates an intimidating ambience from which the audience
cannot escape.
Tunes from Beethoven weave throughout the violence and the oppositions between
classical music and knife-fights, lyrical movement and sexual attack have a
shocking power. The company lives up to their reputation for inventive
theatricals; not least by the painting of the back-wall by actors throughout the
action on stage, creating a unique depiction of the play's commotion in each
performance.
Benjamin Hunt, playing the pathological Alex, gives an
intense performance full of chilling control, with unswerving command over his,
and often others' physicality. The warped, slang version of the English language
echoes his distorted morality. The performance is, as Mr. Deltoid describes him,
"villainy incarnate", yet Hunt also succeeds in conveying his innate
vulnerability, which elicits audience sympathy.
It is in this sympathy with the perverse where the true
horror of Burgess's play lies and Carte Blanche reproduce it skillfully. A
Clockwork Orange bestows all the things we expect of the cult plot, and more.
Its experimental impulsiveness leaves it edgy, and its forceful treatment of
social violence leaves it close to unmissable.
110, rue Amelot 75011 Paris
Montée par Thierry Harcourt
Cast: Jean-Gabriel Nordmann, Jean-Christophe Bouvet, Firat Celik, Sagamore
Stévenin, Isabelle Pasco, Philippe Corti, Philippe Smail
The cult film arrives at the theatre: the world premiere!
In a dehumanized world where sex and violence reigns, Alex, gang leader and charismatic hooligan, exerts a blind terror. After his imprisonment, the government uses him as guinea-pig in experiments intended to suppress criminality. A Clockwork Orange, the forbidden fruit to consume without moderation!
Adapted by Alexandre Berdat and Nicolas Laugero.
Subway: Girls of the martyrdom, Oberkampf and République, Bus 96, 20 and 65. Doors open 45 minutes before the show. Tickets
314 Main St., Metuchen; Wednesday, 7-10 p.m. Auditions for male (unconventional character actors only), ages 20-70 and female (comely), ages 20-30. Send head shot and résumé to The Raconteur, 431 Main St., Metuchen, NJ 08840 or as an attachment to www.raconteurbooks.com Call (732) 548-0582.
A Clockwork Orange - The Musical. Dale Gutzman's Off The Wall Theatre is a small independent theatre company located in an intimate ever changing environment. 127 E. Wells St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 414-327-3552. $22-$26
Review
Mike Fischer | Journal Sentinel 11/17/06
Trapped within Burgess' caricatures, it is no surprise that the large Off the
Wall cast, many of whom take on multiple roles, struggles to find itself. It
doesn't help that it is forced to sing Burgess' inane pitter-patter lyrics set
to Beethoven. Having no real people to play with, Jeremy Welter's performance as
Alex suffers the consequences. After a strong start that includes a menacing
scene with his parents, Welter seems increasingly lost as he overworks a finite
and eventually predictable series of facial expressions in a quixotic search for
the pulp beneath the rind. This orange has none.
The idea: Remix a movie like you would a song.
Directed by Aaron Allshouse & Ron Sandahl
Written by Mike Min & Liza Keckler
Running Dates: Thu. - Sat. @ 8pm
Tickets: $15
Cast Members
Aaron Allshouse
Andrew Loviska
Deniece Bleha
Kristi Evans
Aiden Karamanyan
Rebecca Rose
Emma Hassett: Choreographer
Keely Wolter: Costumes
It's at first a visual mix of Stanley Kubrick's famous and controversial film A Clockwork Orange. (This section is actually interesting, because different parts of the film are projected on cotton sheets that hang in front of the seats, and so the distorted, edited, redacted, reformulated—but always disturbing—images of Kubrick's bad boys and fallen future world are right there in front of the audience.) Then it's a play happening behind the remixed movie. (This section is also interesting because the physicality of theater is seen through a transparent spectacle of cinema—here we see, once and for all, that actual human bodies have far less magic, charm, and mystery than the images of human bodies.) Then it's a staged performance of an "inverted world" take on the fate of Alex de Large, the antihero of the movie and the novel. (The movie screens are now gone and we are left with just a bare and bad play.) Then it's a play experimenting with turntablism. (This sort of works and then crumbles.) Then it's a brief lecture on film and literary theory. (A critic examines the differences between Burgess's text and Kubrick's film.) Then there's Hollywood gossip, a quick talk show, a short documentary about the making of REMIX, a burst of slapstick comedy, a sudden poem, an unfunny act of sacrilege, and the blast of a party. Don't even try to make sense of it, just get up off your seat and dance. By Charles Mudede
9th/10th - The Hat Factory, Luton, 16th/17th - Trestle Arts Base, St Albans,
21st - The Old Town Hall, Hemel Hempstead,
23rd/24th - The Lytton Theatre, Stevenage. Official
site. This sounds innovative, it's the first play to have a trailer on
youtube. This funny and fast moving production fuses live action, film and song to
remix A Clockwork Orange for the hoodie generation.
Cast:
Rona Cracknell
Anna MacLeod
Simon Nicholas
Tania Rowe
Faith Turner
Dan Warren
Edmund White
The seven actors between them play 38 characters
Production Team
Director - Julie Grant
Stage Manager - Anne Fairpo
Assistant Stage Managers - Stuart Goaman, Sara Nicholas
Lighting - Dorian Brooke
Sound - Michael Reed, Janice Cole
Film - Matt Jeffs
Publicity – Adam Nichols
Photography - Pete Stevens
ACO will open their 2007 season and will be adapted by Brad Baker. Marty Stanberry is HotCity's artistic director. Mainstage productions play at the ArtLoft Theatre, 1529 Washington Avenue. $20/$15 for tickets. For more information, call 314-289-4063 or visit www.hotcitytheatre.org
Flyer
The Paper Wing Theatre Co.
www.paperwingtheatreco.com
Alex De Large - W. Travis Campbell
Dim - Kelly O'Grady
Georgie - Steve Sams
Pete - Mike Long
Directed by L. J. Brewer
Monterey Herald 4/12/07
"It's pretty graphic," said Paper Wing's artistic
director Koly McBride. Depicting this kind of violence on stage takes careful
thought. "The actor's safety is always 100 percent first. Everything is
very choreographed and detail-oriented." After that, it's about
"bringing what the actor feels and working that into the existing
choreography."
"The nudity and violence is displayed in such a way that we have to show
how ultra-violent this character is and why they chose him for the
experiment," McBride said. "Everything is atmospheric." If Paper
Wing succeeds, it allows them to, as McBride put it, "push the envelope and
not pull punches."
"(We want to do shows that) invite conversation and
intelligent conversation. We really want people to read." McBride spoke
about people who condemned the company for putting on "Lolita" in the
past, although many of those against it had never read the book. Book or not, it
is Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film of "A Clockwork Orange" that is guiding
this production. "We stayed true to Kubrick's concept," McBride said.
"Obviously a lot of our inspiration comes from what people have knowledge
of." More often than not, that means movies.
Director L.j. Brewer, working with a fresh, youthful, willing, able and
totally cooperative cast, with many of them undertaking their first stage appearances, created
a fast-moving series of vignettes — there are 15 smoothly changed scenes in the two acts of the show.
The ingenious use of electronic projections and music to make the continuity smooth and almost seamless,
was professional in its handling. Ron Moore's highly creative and innovative lighting design skillfully
heightened the tensions inherent in the action and Logan Shankle, as the DJ perched on a platform on the
side of the stage, was an integral ingredient in the overall creative concept.
His coordination of the music and film, so vital to the success of the production, were perfectly timed.
The talented and able cast is headed by W. Travis Campbell with an impressively convincing depiction of
Alex, the leader of a gang whose main pleasure in life is provided by their nightly acts of gratuitous
cruelty to the helpless and the violence to and sexual mistreatment of their victims.
Campbell ably creates a character who is at first completely unfeelingly mean and
vicious, but who is clever enough, after being jailed for murder, to find a way to become free.
Then Campbell acts the part of the "automaton" with a finesse which makes one forget the viciousness
of his past actions and evokes sympathy for him. He has the qualities of a very fine actor. His gang,
played by Kelly O'Grady, Mikey Long (who also plays a very funny Chief Prison Guard) and Steve Sams,
are all very effective in projecting the general nastiness of their nightly activities.
They were all very believable in carrying out the split-second choreography of the
scenes of violent aggression they participated in. Elizabeth Bruno was unforgettable as the victim of
their violence. She is a fine dramatic actress and a strong participant as she fought against her attackers.
"A Clockwork Orange" is an extremely difficult and convoluted story to tell and its
quasi-fragmented traversal of the plot really calls for some prior familiarity with it. The cooperative
spirit and willingness of the cast to participate in the scenes of violence and nudity made them remarkably
effective. As a theatrical experience of much depth and expert construction, this is a winner. But, you must
be warned that it is very thorny and not the usual entertainment.
Traveling show for a month.
A Dutch-language theatrical version of Anthony Burgess' dark novel of futuristic ultra-violence, "A Clockwork Orange." Along with providing the score, The Ex appears onstage as members of anti-hero Alex's notorious gang. "I like that I can play guitar and fight at the same time. It's quite funny" Terrie Ex said.
Arc, Stockton, Saturday, Dec 15 and Hartlepool's Town Hall Theatre, Saturday, Dec 22. Tel 01642 525199 (for Arc performance) and 01429 890000 (for Hartlepool) "The Clockwork Orange film is so spectacular because it has so many strong images and was extremely original at the time. We have tried to keep that menacing atmosphere but have brought it right up to date with chav chic replacing the bowler hats and bovver boots of the original." director Phil Swinburne
Espaço Cultural FALEC- Rua Mateus Leme, 990 11pm at the Festival de Curitiba.
80 minutes. Directed by Edson Bueno
Official site. Here's a review
in Portuguese.
Scan
They really came up with a unique look for the costumes, but it seems more crazy
than cool.
6 pm weekdays, 7 pm weekend, Q Theatre Tickets on sale at the door - $10 adults and $8 students w/ASB card & children.
Article by Samantha Lanthier
"You are passing now into a realm beyond the power of prayer!" The
Chaplain screams. The Canyon High School drama department, with the help of
teacher Kristen Kusmaul, presented the theatrical production. It displayed
violent and criminal acts that push the limits of what is acceptable from a high
school production and brought up an intriguing Biblical debate. The Chaplain,
played by Dylan Belardinelli, rants about what gets someone into heaven or hell.
This inspires Alex to realize that it is indeed his choice to do good deeds, and
that's what ultimately matters in the end. "I think that it is risky for
high school, but it didn't cross the line," said audience member Suzanne
Delong. "They weren't just random acts of violence. Every scene had a
purpose and with every punch the main character was transformed."
"It is gritty and in-your-face, but also original. I
think it is what high school needs," said Breanna Bullard. "I loved
'Beauty and the Beast' and all the other musicals, but this is easier to relate
to. Kids do get into trouble and make stupid decisions - even so it doesn't
glorify violence and shows the distinction between right and wrong. As long as
people get that, there's nothing to worry about."
The true gift of this play is the actors. Ryan Moreno
portrayed a perfect Alex. He jumped right into the character and seemed born to
play the part. Ryan made it all seem real, and that is a bit scary. First-time
director Victor Trevino said it best: "I could not have played Alex as good
as Ryan did - no one could." Buried beneath the delinquencies there is a
moral: "Choice is free but seldom easy, that's what human freedom
means." Watching Alex get to the point of moral clarity is hard - he makes
big mistakes. However, Victor said it was necessary. "We push the limits -
people get caught up in it. It will be impossible for them to ignore the message
at the end," Victor said. "I love the moral of freedom of choice.
There is blood and violence, but behind that is a wonderful story with wonderful
characters." The cast and crew did a great job of making this show an
intimate experience the audience will never forget. "I am really proud of
all the actors and everyone that worked on this play," Victor said. "I
am confident in saying that everyone that saw it, enjoyed it."
Cast: Gulli Skatun (Alex), Gail Newton, Sophie McCabe, Ericka
Rowan (droogs)
Director: Scott Johnston, Video director: Kim Beveridge, Music by: The Scars
It is an appropriate setting for what's going on in the
drama studio at the top of the building, where opposing gangs of teenage girls
have just taken receipt of 200 oranges. The head of Telford's drama course,
Scott Johnston, has cast his new production of A Clockwork Orange with a female
set of Droogs and, with girl gangs high on the list of society's apparent ills.
"It's about the nature of power," says Johnston,
"and how that power can be taken away. Today you've got young offenders
being tagged and the threat of ID cards. The way the film looks is specific to
the cultural landscape of the time, but the ideas of Christian free will and
governmental control are still the same."
In terms of the play's exploration of the relationship
between creativity and violence, the show's video director, Kim Beveridge, hits
the nail on the head. "If you're young and have too much testosterone, you
need some kind of outlet, and if you can't create something, you end up
destroying it. That's about education, and providing somewhere for young people
to channel that energy."
There's energy, too, in the show's music. Johnston remembered
Edinburgh band The Scars, whose song, Horrorshow, was written in Nadsat, the
exclusive patois the Droogs use. "Robert King from The Scars not only let
us use Horrorshow," says Johnston, "but wrote a new piece as well.
What's interesting is that when The Scars did Horrorshow, they were the same age
the cast are now, and the actors find this music really exciting. The one thing
they have in common is that they found this outlet for creativity."
Clad in uniform black-and-white, offset by red braces, the
cast resemble the bovver girls who strode through the 1970s pulp novels of
Richard Allen, which exploited teenage cults in fervent tabloid-ese. Gulli
Skatun, who plays Alex, and fellow final-year HND students Gail Newton, Sophie
McCabe and Ericka Rowan who play her Droogs, recognize this world. "Females
today are totally turning into men," Newton observes. "They go out on
the street and knock lumps out of each other just like men do." Where
McCabe's from, "there are gang fights all the time, and if you try to stop
it you end up just getting in the thick of it." Skatun says, "My
family were horrified when they heard we were doing the play, thinking it
glorified violence." However, Rowan adds: "We're lucky, because rather
than join gangs, which we'd be too scared to do anyway, we joined drama
clubs." A Clockwork Orange plays at St Stephen's Church, Edinburgh, from
tonight until Saturday, before touring to Romania next month.
Sonam Kapoor is back in Mumbai after a two-week holiday in New York, where her younger sister Rhea is studying acting, "My biggest joy this holiday was to watch Rhea perform on stage. She played five different characters from the play, A Clockwork Orange. I was stunned! She became completely different people each time. My jaw fell open. Was the bundle of comic talent really my kid sister? I'm so proud of her. She's definitely going into acting." 5/24/08
Actor hurt at York theatre
By Press reporter 6/20/08
This production carried a slew of warnings: violent and
disturbing content; strobe lighting; nudity; and, perhaps most shocking,
audience participation. What's more, this University of York student company had
been described by the Sunday Times as "aggressively participatory".
Belt Up know how to unsettle. The audience was corralled in
the courtyard outside the bar, and certain members were selected to go on in,
while the rejected hung around, confused. Eventually, we all trooped via a back
door into a dark, smoke-filled studio, while white-faced actors, some in bowler
hats, circulated menacingly. This had a genuinely unsettling effect, and lent
the opening scene - which took the form of a brutal ballet - a sense of true
menace.
This thrilling, dark and nerve-racking production rarely failed to grip and
unnerve. Indeed, when, towards the end, the lead actor struck his head on the
floor while flinging himself around to Beethoven, and blood poured from his
head, everyone assumed it was part of the act.
It wasn't, as the ambulance that took him away testified. An unsettling end to
an enjoyably provocative evening's theatre. Alex, by the way, recovered and the
show will go on today at 2pm and 7.45pm, although it is sold out.
More significantly, University of York student Alex Wright's
production involves "a large element of audience interaction". Oh yes?
"At no point will any audience member be MADE to do any thing, however it
is more up to them to refuse," the show poster asserts. The audience
"may sit and stand at their own discretion" as the performers move
around them in The Studio, where Belt Up politely advises the wearing of
comfortable shoes and clothing. Firstly, it's not a well-known stage play, but
it's a well known film and book, so it's interesting to see it in 3-D.
"Secondly, we're developing a new style of theatre. We're a new company -
we started last year - and we're already getting award- winning recognition for
the way we work with the text and with the audience "And thirdly, it's a
very exciting way to present very physical theatre. What's wonderful about this
form of theatre is that you don't know what people are going to do, how they
will react, or what they're going to say."
A theatre performance ended early when the star of the show
cracked his head open. Members of the audience watched in horror at last night
as the actor playing main character Alex in A Clockwork Orange, at York Theatre
Royal, banged his head on the floor. They though it was all a part of the act -
until the show was stopped early.
Julian Cole, who was reviewing the show for The Press, said:
"It happened during a scene where he was throwing himself around listening
to Beethoven. He wanted to hear the music, but the music was making him go mad.
"He banged his head on the floor and said something like Oh (expletive
deleted) I've cracked my skull. That's theatre for you.' "It felt like it
was part of the act, but there was blood coming out of his head. The director
led us out and he (the actor) was carted off in an ambulance with a big white
bandage round his head."
The ambulance service said: "A man has been taken to
York Hospital by ambulance." A Clockwork Orange is being performed by York
company Belt Up and University of York's Drama Society. Whether it will run
until tomorrow as planned was unclear last night.
Wakefield Express 6/3/08 - Around 30 students with learning difficulties studying on the college's
Lifelines and Access courses are taking on a challenging adaptation of Anthony
Burgess' novel. Drama teacher Darren Johnson said: "Drama and performance
is an important and vital part of the course, both to raise confidence and learn
new skills. "A Clockwork Orange examines some really topical themes –
anti-social behavior and the consequences of your actions – so it seemed like
a good choice. We like to make people stop and think on this course and the play
is sure to do that. Our productions have been getting better and better each
year and usually it's just family and friends who come to see them – but we
want as many people as possible to come down and experience it for themselves on
the night."
Principal of Wakefield College, Heather Macdonald, said:
"I am sure that the Lifelines students' production of A Clockwork Orange
will be yet another groundbreaking performance." The production is on for
one night only at Wakefield Arts Centre on Thursday, June 26 at 7pm. Tickets are
£5 and £3 concessions and are available by calling 01924 789828.
Directed by Dave Slade, Ticket prices: Full £8.00, Conc £6.00 (Thurs only) Box Office: 0870 777 7619. Performances start at 7:45pm
7/25/08 Review - I loved it. It was played with style and attack. It was interesting, eminently watchable, never deliberately offensive to its audience, and was played by a talented young cast. Alex was played by Alex Hancock, a young actor of great promise and, in this role at least, a wicked charm. His six fellow actors all played multiple supporting roles, and if I pick out one for each it's only because it was their most memorable. Tom O'Connell played the prison chaplain with a quiet and moving humanity, Adam Rush played the Minister of the Inferior Interior with great appreciated humor, Natalie Comar played the brainwashing doctor with clinical detachment, Richard Absalom played Alex's social worker as a man both revolted and saddened by his job, Michael Emmings played the doctor who rescues Alex with fierce intensity, and Sophie Ashby as Alex's mother showed a lack of interest in her son that was painful to watch. All of these six played many other roles as well, and deserve equal credit, not least for delivering the unfamiliar language with such confidence. There were some nice touches from director David Slade, from the opening montage of regular street violence to the use of projected images to show Alex's brainwashing, and the staging was both thoughtful and effective throughout. The greatest compliment I can pay it is that I never stopped wanting to see what would happen next. Russell Vincent
Cast - Alex - Zane Harris, Pete - Cody Lucas, Georgie - Axel Severs, Dim - Andrew Maggs. Directed by Joey Folsom, produced by Christopher Shankland
10/24/08 Addley Fannin of North Texas Daily
Unlike most theater organizations, where cast and crew
responsibilities remain almost, if not completely, separate with one person
usually covering each specific task, the members of Sundown Collaborative
Theatre often juggle many duties at once and work together as a group to create
their shows. "Oftentimes in theater, you'll have the director, the
designers and maybe a couple of producers get together and decide which way to
go," said Joey Folsom. "As a result, you get a bunch of actors who
don't really know what their point is or what message they're trying to get
across. That's why at Sundown, we collaborate and we all have the same
goal." Now, the group's unusual way of organizing theater is being put to
the test with the biggest production the group has ever attempted.
"He starts off the play full of anger towards society
and everything around him, and he takes it out through his own means of violence
and rape," said Zane Harris who plays Alex. "His comrades kind of
betray him, and he ends up being institutionalized. Once that happens, the play
really takes off, and you see the deconstruction of Alex as a person. You see
what he is versus what they wanted to be."
"Burgess was very unhappy with Stanley Kubrick's
adaptation of the movie," Folsom said. "I believe that the reason he
wrote this play was to focus as much as possible on the concept of human choice,
how important it is and how we should value that. Part of what Sundown is about
is doing shows that push the envelope - shows that are edgy or more adult
theater. You don't usually get that around here - the closest you can get is
Dallas or Fort Worth. We want to fill that niche of a different kind of
theater."
"During the rehearsal process, we had the police called
on us five times because the neighbors thought that bad stuff was
happening," said Christopher Shankland. "The neighbors kept thinking
that people were being violently assaulted and that diabolical things were
happening."
"It's a little hard to coordinate sometimes, but we find
that the pros far outweigh the cons," Folsom said. "There is conflict
and complications, but sometimes you get the best results out of disagreement
because that leads to compromise and, eventually, the best thing for everyone
involved."
Performances for A Clockwork Orange will be held at 9pm Oct.
23 to 25, 29-31 plus a midnight showing on Oct. 30 at the Green Space Arts
Collective in Denton. Tickets are $8. www.myspace.com/sundowntheatre
15 Bressenden Place, London, SW1E 5DD Nearest station is Tube/VR: Victoria
0844 478 0030 Tickets £15
Thurs - Sun 7.15pm
Burlesque has come to Victoria and it’s ‘doors’ are open! Directed by award-winning Director and Choreographer Omar F. Okai (Ruthless, Purlie, Come Dancing), Saintly Sinners is the exciting new burlesque show that is being presented at Above The Stag Theatre, a new 50 seat venue in central London. The production stars Leon Ancliffe (this year’s winner of the Male Tournament of Tease), Chloe Elizabeth Hunter and Jan Michael Hicks. Never leaving their side is the sensational Martyn Niele (original cast member of The Bloo Lips), as the production’s Master of Ceremonies, Musical Director and Arranger. Saintly Sinners follows the adage ‘Burlesque is playing to the whole house and it is the house that pays you.’ Okai and Ancliffe, who are also producing the show, in collaboration with choreographer Kasper Cornish bring to life through song and dance the wonder and magic of the silver screen. These acts range from the comic genius of the much loved Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, to the wickedness of the controversial cult classic A Clockwork Orange, intertwined with the passionate journey of Brokeback Mountain, all complemented with a range of original and stylish burlesque performances.
Cast: Alex - ZZ Moor and her three droogs Morgan Voellger, Darcie Lee Grover & Alika U. Spencer
The challenge when RTE decided to stage Burgess' play was
how it was relevant to today's society. "In the 60's and 70's, the level of
violence in both the novel and film was absolutely shocking and considered
almost pornographic in nature" says Artistic Director Sean C. Murphy.
"The sad truth about our society today is that we are so desensitized to
violence. We see it daily in the news, on TV, and in film."
Megan Murphy, the director of RTE's production, continues
"We want the audience to see similarities between Alex and teens in local
neighborhoods. We want the audience to recognize cynical adults who are trying
to survive in a world that has become hostile and frustrating. We want this
familiar story to become something vital for the present moment and not simply
an enactment of history."
So how did RTE solve this issue? "By placing this story
in contemporary California, we must update the scenario to be as troubling for
current audiences as the youth violence was during Burgess's time. The trend of
teen violence has increased recently and become noteworthy in the nightly news,
especially when it come to girls attacking other girls. To this end, we have
cast women in the roles of Alex and his Droogs. We are exploring a society that
glorifies violence in its video games, movies, and songs while condemning the
youth who interact with each other, with adults, and with the world through
similar violent tactics. At what point does a child struggling with
self-identity and values deserve to be deprived of choice and manipulated into
submission? Is this really a lesson in right vs. wrong or is it a lesson in
obedience?"
A Clockwork Orange runs January 23rd through February 7th at
the Historic Hoover Theater in San Jose. Performances begin at 8:00pm, except
Sunday matinees which are at 2pm. This show is recommended for mature audiences
18 and up. Tickets for A Clockwork Orange are $18.00 General Admission
(Thursdays and Sundays) and $20.00 General Admission (Fridays and Saturdays).
Students and teachers, seniors, and Theatre Bay Area members qualify for
discount tickets ($13.00 Thu/Sun & $15.00 Fri/Sat) with valid ID. Tickets
and season subscriptions are on sale at www.renegadetheatre.com
Daring theater troupe presents 'A Clockwork Orange'
Fort Myers, FL News Press 9/4/09
Annette Trossbach sits straight-legged and barefoot on the granite floor at
Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. In one hand, she holds a pen. In the other,
a notepad scrawled with 15 pages of rehearsal notes.
Time to get these actors into shape for opening night. For the next half hour,
Trossbach and co-director Michael Dunsworth rattle off tips to the surrounding
cast of "A Clockwork Orange": Louder, please. Enunciate. Watch that
entrance. Stand taller. Avoid those awkward pauses. And, perhaps most
importantly: Try to be more menacing. "Find your inner psychopath,"
Trossbach advises one of the "droogs," the violent thugs at the heart
of the new production at The Davis Art Center. Then she motions to Nykkie Rizley
Ptaszek, the master-at-arms. "And we're gonna have to do a blood clean-up
after each act," Trossbach says.
Ptaszek nods quickly. "I know," she says. "I'm on it." More
Crinoline Productions is doing it again.
Its first production, "MacBeth," featured gunshot-splattered brains
and a blood-squirting bathtub massacre. "A Clockwork Orange" will be
even grosser, Trossbach promises. "'Clockwork' has more squirting vomit
than blood, I'm afraid," Trossbach says and laughs. The fledgling community
troupe seems to have found its niche in edgy classic and modern theater, spiked
with thought-provoking themes and its fair share of blood and gore. The troupe
doesn't intentionally look for blood-drenched shows, Ptaszek says. "It's
always an added bonus," she adds and laughs. "But what we're looking
for are poignant, beautiful pieces of art."
Art-center director Jim Griffith couldn't be more pleased. The community-theater
troupe has become a mainstay of downtown Fort Myers' monthly Art Walks, thanks
to its sell-out mini plays - including the drama "The Stronger"
scheduled for tonight and its first full theatrical season starting Wednesday
with "A Clockwork Orange."
Griffith hopes More Crinoline Productions continues boosting attendance at The
Davis Art Center. The downtown Fort Myers building saw 80,000 visitors last
season - thanks largely to the troupe - and he hopes to double that with word of
mouth
When: Opens Wednesday. Performances are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday
through Sept. 26
Where: Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, 2301 First St., Fort Myers, FL
Tickets: $20
Info: Call 333-1933
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