Around the World in 80 Days: style

Around the World in 80 Days: style

Origin and Adaptation

  • “Around the World in 80 Days” is originally a renowned adventure novel written by the French author Jules Verne, known for its adaptability into various artistic forms, including drama.

Key Stylistic Features

  • The play adaptation combines elements of comedy, adventure, and Victorian era themes. This entails key stylistic features such as dramatic irony, slapstick humour and elements of melodrama.

Narrative Style

  • The narrative style of the play adopts an episodic structure, which allows for several mini stories within the main storyline. This format keeps the audience engaged and curious about the sequence of events in different locations.

Characters and Tone

  • The protagonist Phileas Fogg’s unfaltering belief in logic and punctuality contribute to the overall serious yet humorous tone of the play. His encounters and interactions with different cultures during his journey adds a layer of cultural and social commentary to the play.

Theatre Techniques and Styling

  • Theatre techniques and style for the play include use of lighting, costume, sound and stage design to mimic various settings from different countries around the world. The usage of these elements brings about a dynamic and immersive experience while narrating a story that is essentially a race against time.

Language Style

  • The style of language used in the play reflects the characteristics and backgrounds of the various characters. The dialogues are witty, humorous, and often act as exposition, revealing the character traits, backgrounds and the plot at crucial intervals.

Visual and Physical Elements

  • The style includes many visual and physical elements. Physical theatre and mime techniques feature prominently, often used for comic effect or to depict the various modes of transport used by Fogg in his journey.

Realism and Absurdity

  • The play is a fusion of realism and absurdity. While the settings and characters are depicted realistically, the situations they get into are often absurd and far-fetched, injecting a humorous undertone.

Time Motif

  • The narrative also uses a time motif effectively. The ticking-clock element is crucial to the storyline and adds an element of suspense to the overall style of the play.

Remember that understanding the distinctive style of “Around the World in 80 Days” can lend a deeper appreciation of the staging, characters, dialogue, and themes of this adventurous and humorous play.