In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Death and the Ploughman
  • Mark Seamon
Death and the Ploughman. By Johannes von Saaz. Translated from the Middle High German by Michael West. Directed by Anne Bogart. SITI Company, Wexner Center for the Arts, Performance Space, Columbus, Ohio. 2104 2004.

SITI Company's world premiere production of Death and the Ploughmanembodied all the enthusiasm of a medieval mystery play. By "enthusiasm," I am referring to the word's etymological meaning: "possession by a god."

Under Anne Bogart's direction, the Saratoga International Theatre Institute (SITI) has taken von Saaz's original text from 1401, as translated by West, and given it alarmingly contemporary relevance. The play is a series of thirty-four "panels," or scenes, between the Ploughman, a farmer of the land of Bohemia, his recently deceased wife (Woman), and Death. The Ploughman rails against Death for claiming his wife, while Death counters by prosecuting his case against humanity for its inability to comprehend the mysteries of life, including its end. Caught in the quarrel is the Woman. Her passing from the physical to the metaphysical world equips her with wisdom she is desperate to instill in her beloved husband. Therefore, she argues alongside Death, attempting the impossible: to make the Ploughman understand that which he, as a human being, cannot possibly understand. If God blesses us with great love, how are we to cope with great loss? Why must we die?

In a preshow symposium, Bogart commented that von Saaz wrote Death and the Ploughmanat the age of thirty-four, the day after his own wife died, and in a twenty-four-hour period. Whether fact or legend, this certainly helps put into context the passion and urgency with which these characters oppose one another.

The production was staged in the Wexner Center's Performance Space, a multi-level black box theatre that seats approximately one hundred. The space was configured as a modified thrust: a square playing area in the center of the floor, flanked by two rows of audience members on either side; four longer, slightly-raked rows directly in front of the stage; and a row in the upper level that surrounded three sides of the stage. This spatial arrangement resulted in an intimate actor-audience relationship, emphasizing the sense that, in life and in death, we human beings are in this together.

The design elements were incredibly inventive. James Schuette's set consisted of two small black benches, which the actors used to sit, stand, and dance upon. Actors occasionally shifted the benches, endowing them with heightened meaning, such as when the Ploughman and Death violently pushed them together in an act of direct confrontation. The only two properties used were an umbrella and a miniature suitcase. The former belonged to Death, who employed it as a walking cane, a pointer, and a weapon. The Woman handled the suitcase, which served as a pillow, a tombstone, and, significantly, as a symbol of her travels from life to death. Brian Scott's lighting divided the playing space into quadrants, which either created distance between the actors or brought them closer together. This division and use of space drew on the artistry of diptychs for inspiration—where folded, rectangular portions of space (or tablets) exist only in conjunction with the other portions. In addition, the Ploughman's simple, earth-toned pants, shirt, and suspenders, as designed by Schuette, contrasted brilliantly with the stark black-and-whiteness of Death, whose smart dress suit was topped by a bowler hat, and the Woman, whose flowing white dress suggested a beguiling bride caught in a dream-like "other" state. Finally, Darron L. West's sound design played a prominent role. Restricted to relatively few sound effects, such as water dripping, sirens blaring, and babies crying, and even fewer music selections, including some chamber music, Southern blues, and a Negro spiritual, the sound reinforced the struggle between the play's title characters and created a number of powerful moments.

From a design perspective, the show was a breathing demonstration that the best solutions to staging challenges often do not involve making additions and swelling the budget. It is instead a matter of working with what...

pdf

Share