Altitude North Theatre Company

A Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud is arguably one of the greatest masterpieces of modern French poetry. What drew me back to this text (I have already worked with some extracts in Wasted Bodies) is its musical richness and plethora of opportunities for applying musical interpretation on the text. The musical references are more vibrant than the other images in the text and demand their own existence within the rhythms of the aural imagery. The sounds are audible and colour the text with their exoticism: African chants, belly dancing, magic spells, drums, childish music, shouts and silence. Rimbaud does not shy away from the fact that the text should become "a fabulous opera". He set off to invent "new flowers, new planets, new flesh [and] new languages". The vowels, already re-invented, become colours, while the "silences and nights" become words. And in this production the words become images with sounds.

A Season in Hell is about fading honeymoons, thirst, destruction and re-inventing love. That re-invention of love was so much needed then; the new love should be all-inclusive, passionate and without any boundaries. Nothing changed there in that respect. The line “we love each other like tigers” is still as provocative today as it was then. The dangers within a relationship, the extremes, the risk-taking, all require an inner strength in order to be able to face the consequences of that initial attraction. That attraction or rather a celebration of that attraction was the main starting point of this process of transferring the text onto the stage. It is not an attempt to re-present, re-enact or re-construct a specific moment of that initial attraction, but, as Christopher Hampton put it, to explore the concept that "the only unbearable thing is that nothing is unbearable".

The final scene "Now we must be baptised, get dressed and go to work" brings catharsis, the absolute baptism and puts the whole "play" (or even "love-play") into a new context, upsetting the balances of what happened before. The "play" is then transformed into an escapist's fantasy within the "safe frame" provided by the theatrical space. The meta-theatrical implications of the line "and go to work" raise questions related to the actual nature of this concept of the "play" element of performance and its function within today's society.

"One must be absolutely modern", shouted Rimbaud in 1873, yet still today the dangers and detractions of the younger generation are not dissimilar to Rimbaud's. He too needed to prepare for the challenges of the new century. And 130 years later, his youthful concerns and the concerns of today's youth have a striking resemblance. His desire to travel abroad and "help out others too" was fulfilled at a later stage in his life. Through his work, we catch a glimpse of his inner world which is full of sounds, ideals, depravation, religious angst and revolutionary energy.

The text is a rare example of a young writer who dared to expose cruel emotion at its rawest form in a most personal way. It is a journey which refuses to compromise any of its ambitious destinations and which celebrates the human body in its outmost desire to "possess the truth within one body and one soul".

Rimbaud: SCOTT HARRIS
Verlaine: JONATHAN HATE

Foolish Virgin: KARLA SHACKLOCK

Director/Composer: GEORGE RODOSTHENOUS
Lighting Designer: MARTIN SMITH
Movement Director: JONATHAN HATE
Costumes: KARLA SHACKLOCK
Production Stills: KRISTIAN SUGRUE
Musical Director: DAVID BURGESS

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	A Season in Hell Director's Notes *A Season in Hell* by Arthur Rimbaud is arguably one of the greatest masterpieces of modern French poetry. What drew me back to this text (I have already worked with some extracts in Wasted Bodies) is its musical richness and plethora of opportunities for applying musical interpretation on the text. The musical references are more vibrant than the other images in the text and demand their own existence within the rhythms of the aural imagery. The sounds are audible and colour the text with their exoticism: African chants, belly dancing, magic spells, drums, childish music, shouts and silence. Rimbaud does not shy away from the fact that the text should become "a fabulous opera". He set off to invent "new flowers, new planets, new flesh [and] new languages". The vowels, already re-invented, become colours, while the "silences and nights" become words. And in this production the words become images with sounds. A Season in Hell is about fading honeymoons, thirst, destruction and re-inventing love. That re-invention of love was so much needed then; the new love should be all-inclusive, passionate and without any boundaries. Nothing changed there in that respect. The line “we love each other like tigers” is still as provocative today as it was then. The dangers within a relationship, the extremes, the risk-taking, all require an inner strength in order to be able to face the consequences of that initial attraction. That attraction or rather a celebration of that attraction was the main starting point of this process of transferring the text onto the stage. It is not an attempt to re-present, re-enact or re-construct a specific moment of that initial attraction, but, as Christopher Hampton put it, to explore the concept that "the only unbearable thing is that nothing is unbearable". The final scene "Now we must be baptised, get dressed and go to work" brings catharsis, the absolute baptism and puts the whole "play" (or even "love-play") into a new context, upsetting the balances of what happened before. The "play" is then transformed into an escapist's fantasy within the "safe frame" provided by the theatrical space. The meta-theatrical implications of the line "and go to work" raise questions related to the actual nature of this concept of the "play" element of performance and its function within today's society. "One must be absolutely modern", shouted Rimbaud in 1873, yet still today the dangers and detractions of the younger generation are not dissimilar to Rimbaud's. He too needed to prepare for the challenges of the new century. And 130 years later, his youthful concerns and the concerns of today's youth have a striking resemblance. His desire to travel abroad and "help out others too" was fulfilled at a later stage in his life. Through his work, we catch a glimpse of his inner world which is full of sounds, ideals, depravation, religious angst and revolutionary energy. The text is a rare example of a young writer who dared to expose cruel emotion at its rawest form in a most personal way. It is a journey which refuses to compromise any of its ambitious destinations and which celebrates the human body in its outmost desire to "possess the truth within one body and one soul". Cast Rimbaud: SCOTT HARRIS Verlaine: JONATHAN HATE Foolish Virgin: KARLA SHACKLOCK Production Team Director/Composer: GEORGE RODOSTHENOUS Lighting Designer: MARTIN SMITH Movement Director: JONATHAN HATE Costumes: KARLA SHACKLOCK Production Stills: KRISTIAN SUGRUE Musical Director: DAVID BURGESS Additional Music: Antonio Lotti (Crucifixus a 10)

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