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On 7th December 2015 I saw Kneehigh’s production of ‘Dead Dog in a Suitcase and Other Love Songs’ at Shoreditch Town Hall. The production was an adaption of John Gay’s ‘Beggar’s Opera’, but put into a futuristic, dystopian context, with Kneehigh’s stylistically abstract, playful flair, making it both thrilling and entertaining for the audience. The abstract nature of the performance itself made the piece entertaining, as the audience engaged directly with the actors’ portrayal of hyperbolic, archetypal characters, rather than having to identify the subtleties and nuances of a more naturalistic performance. The performance space also made the piece thrilling; Shoreditch Town Hall is a fairly small venue, in which the audience are sat in close proximity to the actors, making them more engrossed in the performance, as there is a more intimate relationship between the actors and their audience.

One of the most entertaining moments of the play is the wedding scene between Polly, Mac and members of the ensemble. The characteristically ‘Kneehigh’ feature of using live dancing and singing is exhibited here to its’ full dramatic effect, creating a joyful, exuberant, atmosphere that entertains the audience. The performers sing the song ‘Humanity Ska’ in a jovial, upbeat tone, with an animated pitch and a high dynamic, which juxtaposes the dark, sinister lyrics of the song (e.g. ‘the headlines blaze with children’s blood). The performers dance in a quick, sudden way, to show excitement, and use their facial expressions to widen their eyes and grin exaggeratedly, showing their teeth. The atmosphere of drunken joviality is further perpetuated through the depiction of relationship between the characters – lyrics are sung loudly in other performers faces, and the actors use proxemics to portray friendliness, by throwing their arms around each other, or ruffling each other’s hair. Once the atmosphere is created by the ensemble, Mac and Polly run to centre stage, pulling the audience’s focus. Mac then plunges her into a passionate kiss. Angela Hardy and Dominic Marsh use their physical skills at this point to entertain the audience; Hardy shows her character’s passion for Mac by raising her leg into the air, and swooning backwards into his arms, whilst Marsh clutches onto her and holds her upright. This typical depiction of an archetypal lovers’ kiss entertains the audience as it shows an intensity of emotion in Polly and Mac’s relationship.

Depictions of intense emotions are often points of entertainment and thrill for an audience. Another moment in ‘Dead Dog in a Suitcase and Other Love Songs’ that depicts intense emotions is the scene where Polly and Lucy are simultaneously lamenting over Mac’s imminent execution. Hardy shows Polly’s mental distress, by wringing her hands and shaking her whole body, as if being wracked by emotion. She also uses her facial expression to express her fear – on the line ‘oh, poor Polly is his wife’, she pulls her eyebrows up and together, widening her eyes and quivering her bottom lip. Lucy’s lament is more of desperation; Beverly Rudd portrays this on the line ‘let my love live today’ by shooting her hand out towards Mac with her fingers outstretched, in an attempt to increase her proximity to him, and adopting a fierce facial expression by flaring her nostrils and furrowing her brow, raising her lips into a slight snarl. Both performers make their movements more exaggerated, sudden and sporadic as their laments go on, and use their voices to gradually build their dynamic, and become more erratic, building to a screeching crescendo that thrills the audience.

Gradual changes of pace aren’t the only device used in the performance to thrill the audience; quick changes can be just as effective. One particularly thrilling moment takes place in the penultimate scene of the play, when Macheath commits suicide by shooting himself in the head with a handgun, displaying his inherent disdain with the world around him. This moment is thrilling to the audience because it is so unexpected. Marsh says the line, ‘bring it all down, and start again’ in a fairly cold, apathetic way, with one eyebrow raised in a mocking fashion, forming a stark sneer on the word ‘start’.  Along with standing on a raised platform above the other characters, Marsh stands with a straight posture, and a slightly raised chin, showing his elevated status, and the fact that he thinks he is above the chaos that is going on around him. His clenched fist and his sneering face make him seem menacing, as does his voice, which is kept at a quiet, almost whispered dynamic, with an exaggerated Cockney accent and a low pitch, with a slight bitter, sarcastic chuckle on the words ‘start again’. The performer uses his vocal and physical skills to keep his dynamic low and his gestures understated so the audience is more shocked and thrilled when the shock of the loud gunshot and the exaggerated motion of the pulling of the trigger is executed. To physically emphasise the obvious auditory contrast for the audience, Marsh produces the gun from his pocket and places the barrel on his temple in a very short amount of time - he uses his whole arm to move in a direct, sudden way. After he pulls the trigger, he exaggeratedly jerks his head away from his arm, using his facial expression to widen his eyes and raise his eyebrows and slacken his jaw. The physical tension and exaggeration of the shot and the short aftermath (before the scene is frozen by Widow Goodman), makes the moment more thrilling for the audience, as the change in pace makes Macheath’s suicide more unexpected and shocking.

In conclusion, the performers use their vocal and physical skills to entertain and thrill the audience by eliciting a reaction from them; whether than that be the excitement of the wedding scene, empathy for Lucy and Polly in the hanging scene, or shock at Mac’s sudden suicide in the suicide scene. They also explore and apply extremes of pace, and how quickly one can convert from one to the other, to entertain and thrill an audience.

http://www.kneehigh.co.uk/show/dead-dog-in-a-suitcase-and-other-love-songs.php