While I’ve been rehearsing The Hound of the Baskervilles it struck me how different an experience it is to read a novel and watch a play of the same story. At the moment I’ve been getting the play on its feet and I will often refer back to the original novel. The way in which readers experience the novel will be totally different from an audiences’ experience of the play although the story is the same. Reading a novel is a solitary experience and you visualise the action in your head however watching a play is a shared experience with the story tellers in the same room, every night is unique – with no two performances alike.
The tradition of storytelling is as old as civilisation itself, theatre has developed from when ancient cultures told stories orally over a camp fire, drawing figures in the sand, acting out sections and playing music. Fast forward to today and people now visit the cinema, read a book or watch TV and it has been argued that there are seven basic plots that every story can be attributed to. These seven plots are universal and apply to novels, films, plays, any form of storytelling and more than likely date back to that camp fire. Each involves a particular journey that the story’s hero must go on.
First up there’s ‘Overcoming the Monster’, the hero must destroy the evil figure that is threatening their way of life. Pantomime fits into this perfectly, especially Jack and the Beanstalk, but James Bond is another example of the hero overcoming an evil figure or indeed The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Next is ‘Rags to Riches’ – another one that can be applied to panto, Cinderella for one, but Pretty Woman is a brilliant example. In this story we meet the hero in poverty or anonymity who goes on a journey which ultimately ends up with riches and notoriety.
In ‘The Quest’ the hero learns of some great fortune or trophy that they are determined to find it. But the journey is never easy and the hero usually recruit a band of companions to help along the way. Examples of this plot include The Lord of the Rings and Watership Down.
Number four is ‘Voyage and Return’ where the hero is transported out of their real world and into a fantasy land from which they must find their way back. Alice in Wonderland and Gulliver’s Travels are perfect examples of this particular plot.
The next one is ‘Comedy’ which sounds fairly obvious but it’s more about the situations that the hero and other characters find themselves in and the comedy that can be mined from that scenario. Taking Steps – our current production at the Grange Arts Centre - is a great example of this.
‘Tragedy’ is as simple as it sounds, the hero does not get what he wants. Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights are some tragic stories that fit this.
The final plot is ‘Rebirth’ which sees a young hero be tempted by evil until they see the error of their ways, the Harry Potter series is a great example of this.
The most popular stories are the most simple that appeal to our basic human emotions; hope, loss, peril and they all fit into these seven categories. People have always told stories and storytelling is an integral part of society. Of course, live theatre is one way of telling a story and you can’t beat that unique shared experience – but I would say that…
See you out and about.
Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director
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