The latest innovation from the company comes with the MiNDFOOD season of The Master Builder, with director Colin McColl adapting Henrik Ibsen’s classic play into a filmed studio presentation that is a hybrid of stage and screen.
The cast is filming the show in the Auckland Theatre Company’s rehearsal rooms, with this inventive new way of creating theatre presenting an exciting challenge for the actors.
“It’s not going to be a ‘film’ of The Master Builder – it’s going to be very obvious that it is a theatre show,” says cast member Kalyani Nagarajan.
“I think with COVID, you always have to look on the brighter side of things. During lockdown ATC asked, ‘What does theatre look like when we can’t get into the theatre?’”
The finished product will be made available to view online for free on ATC’s YouTube channel, premiering on Saturday 8 August at 7.30pm. The Master Builder will be able to be viewed throughout August.
Regarded as one of Ibsen’s most fascinating works, The Master Builder centres around ageing architect Halvard Solness, played by Andrew Grainger, and the dramatic consequences that arise as he reconnects with Hilde Wangel, a young woman from his past.
Nagarajan plays Wangel, which she says is one of the most challenging and most exciting roles she has ever taken on.
“The hardest thing about this show is you don’t want to give anything away, the show is really up to interpretation,” she says.
“During the whole rehearsal process, I wasn’t allowed to talk about my character or my wants or my objectives, because Colin [McColl] didn’t want the other actors or the characters to know what Hilde wanted, so I’ve made my own decisions.
“She’s young and she’s feisty and you really don’t know what to expect from this character.”
The Master Builder
8 August – 30 August 2020
Auckland Theatre Company YouTube
Info at www.atc.co.nz
