Trifels Response

I think it would work to strip the play down and put the emphasis on the characters and dialogue like the director wants, but I’m not sure you would need to strip the play down in order to do that. I am of the belief that the set of the play leads the characters to their conclusion of what happened. Without the set, it would mean the actors would have to hint at what was there and what they were seeing and that might actually contradict what the director wants to do. I don’t think there is anything to be gained from the stripping down of the play, other than the audience might feel more connected to the characters because they are plain and simple and that might make them more relatable. That is a big might, however. The audience could be confused as to why the actors weren’t in costume and wonder what period they were from, because they would be able to infer from the dialogue but they wouldn’t know for sure. With these complications in mind I don’t think the production would gain anything from being performed in a theatricalized way. I honestly see no reason to strip this play down. Unless the budget for the production is very low or non-existent, and even then I would encourage the director to find as many ways as possible to give the audience the setting of this play.