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Playwrights => Sarah Kane discussion => Topic started by: archive on August 23, 2007, 08:59:15 PM

Title: rats- Kate N
Post by: archive on August 23, 2007, 08:59:15 PM
After reading "Cleansed", I find the stage directions of the rats to be the most challenging. Anyone knows how this was done in the original production and others?

Archive 31-12-2003
Title: Re: rats- Jess Cully
Post by: archive on August 23, 2007, 09:02:37 PM
In the original London production, the rats were mechanical and remained stationary through the scenes in which they appeared, though squeaking sound effects were used. Tinker took away Carl's detached body parts instead. Peter Zadek wanted to train real rats for the German premiere (Sarah sent him a note wishing him good luck with the task!) but I don't know how he got on... When a friend of mine directed a production, she reluctantly decided in the end to leave out the rats altogether.

Archive 31-12-2003
Title: Re: rats- David
Post by: archive on August 23, 2007, 09:03:20 PM
Didn't Peter Zadek ditch the live rats after the dress rehearsal, saying Sarah had got it wrong in having brown rats in the script, as only white rats could be trained to do such things on stage? Or is this story an urban myth - I always thought it might have been as I have no recollection of anything in the playtext that actually specifies what colour the rats are...

Archive 2-1-2004
Title: Re: rats- Kajsa
Post by: archive on August 23, 2007, 09:05:23 PM
At Dramaten in Stockholm, the rats (as well as the flowers and the blood) was projected at the stage wall tile. First it started out as an inferno of rats, but then the movie was zoomed in and the rats grew bigger. BTW, the production of cleansed in stockholm was great.

Archive 7-1-2004
Title: Re: rats- Brian Ruby
Post by: archive on August 23, 2007, 09:06:06 PM
I'm currently directing Cleansed and we're representing the rats with sound and then attempting to use a lighting technique to make it look as if there are rats scurrying about

Archive 23-1-2004