Hi i am directing the openiong scene of the Messiah as part of my third year project at University. I can only haver two soldiers which is a real shame as the play uses chorus so welland essentially the lines are written for 8! But do you have any information you think would help me with interpreting this scene. I saw Messiah performed about 4 years ago, when Berkoff was satan and it blew me away which is why i come back to it now but am desperate for insightful resources. thanks
I saw Messiah twice, once with Berkoff as satan, and once without. I actually thought Berkoff as Satan was spectacular but at the cost of the play, it was a great one-man show in the middle of the play that broke the pacing. The version without Berkoff flowed more.
Your two soldiers: you can either do them as two soldiers and pretend the lines are for two not eight people, or you can have two people playing eight roles. I think you probably have more chance of success if the audience understand that two are playing eight. Not in a cliche way (changing hats or something) but symbolically, perhaps the actors just moving into another position as they change role.
Does this sound reasonable?
Iain