(rehearsal photo)
Bob's your uncle
That bugger is better off dead
by John Herbert Cunningham
[This article has been corrected]
If a medieval jousting tournament was the first thought that entered the audience's mind as they filtered into the theatrical space of the new Cercle Molière in Winnipeg (just opened within the last six months or so), there would have been justification.
Theatrical spaces come in a variety of configurations. The most common are the proscenium, which is the design of most of the larger theatres, such as the Manitoba Theatre Centre's Mainstage and also its Warehouse. In these stages, the audience sits facing the stage. Smaller theatre spaces, such as the Prairie Theatre Centre, will often employ the thrust design where the audience surrounds the stage on three sides.
Cercle Molière is what is referred to as a black box theatrical space where the seating can be configured in a variety of ways including both the proscenium and the thrust.
But what Sharon Bajer, who directed version 3.0 of Joseph Aragonís Bloodless: The Trial of Burke and Hare for White Rabbit Productions, decided on was a design completely unfamiliar to most theatre goers; the alley stage. Here, the staging area runs between seating on either side hence the medieval jousting match.
