You have now read six extracts from the plays of Shakespeare.
1. Romeo’s soliloquy of love to Juliet as she stands on the balcony in the moonlight in Romeo and Juliet
2. Antony’s vengeful soliloquy over the dead body of Caesar in Julius Caesar 3. Jaques’ soliloquy describing the seven stages in human life in As You Like It
4. Portia and Nerissa discussing a batch of unsuitable suitors in The Merchant of Venice
5. The death of Mercutio and Tybalt in the fight scene from Romeo and Juliet 6. King Henry giving out to his son, Prince Henry, in Henry IV Part 1
Pick:
Your favourite extract
The play you would most like to see performed on stage
The character that you enjoyed most
Go to your Writing Skills Book to write about a character in your studied play.
K P. 104
Set Design and Backdrops
The work of the set designer is very important in making the stage look like the world of the play.
A backdrop is the scenery that hangs at the back of the stage – a painted cloth, for example. An imaginative backdrop can create
the atmosphere for a scene.
1. Some set designers design a backdrop to suit the time and the place in which the play was originally written. For example, they transport the audience back to ancient Rome or to a sixteenth-century Italian street.
2. Others create a backdrop that will make a statement about the play’s theme. They might design a modern backdrop to suggest that the play has a message for the twenty-fi rst-century audience. (You will fi nd an example of this technique on page 105 of your Writing Skills Book.)
410 FIRE & ICE 2
Costume designers also make imaginative choices. Look back at the photographs of Portia and Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice on page 400. One designer put Portia and Nerissa in 1950s-style skirts, cute bows, bobby socks and high heels. The other designed sixteenth-century silk and satin dresses and jewellery, more in keeping with the time and setting of the play.
