Live Like Pigs: Set design (revolves, trucks, projection, multimedia, pyrotechnics, smoke machines, flying)
Live Like Pigs: Set design (revolves, trucks, projection, multimedia, pyrotechnics, smoke machines, flying)
Section: Understanding the Set Design
- Live Like Pigs is open to various interpretations regarding set design, with much dependent on the director’s vision and the themes they wish to highlight.
- The physical space can be minimalist or detailed; the action takes place in a range of settings, from a dilapidated shack to an austere council flat, and the physical appearance of the set can illustrate socio-economic divides.
Section: Use of Revolves and Trucks
- Revolves can be used to illustrate the shift in socio-economic landscapes. As the Carter family moves from their shack to the council flat, the set can rotate to show this transition.
- Trucks can be utilised to bring on and off furniture, props, or parts of the scenery. This adds fluidity to scene transitions and echoes the frequent changes the Carters endure.
Section: Utilising Projection and Multimedia
- Projection and multimedia are powerful tools to add depth and context to the story. For instance, newsreels or headlines can be projected onto the backdrop to give a sense of the era’s socio-political climate.
- Footage of the neighbourhood and its changing face can be projected, linking the personal plight of the Carters with wider societal changes.
Section: Implementing Pyrotechnics and Smoke Machines
- Pyrotechnics can be used judiciously to draw attention to pivotal moments in the play, for instance, the fire at the shack symbolising the destruction of the Carter’s previous life.
- Smoke machines can be deployed for creating an atmosphere, portraying the grim conditions of the Carters’ surroundings and conveying a sense of foreboding.
Section: Harnessing the Power of Flying
- Flying is a dramatic tool that can be used in Live Like Pigs to emphasise certain characters’ disconnectedness from their environment or society.
- For example, a character like Johnnie Carter, who grapples with the societal norms, can be made to ‘fly’ physically, signalling his metaphorical struggle to fit into a world that seems deaf to his protests.