Lichtenberg 1 Brett Lichtenberg Professor Fristoe THEA 120 25 February 2014 A Critique of The Bitch of Balaclava from Brave

New Works Naturally a title that started with the word bitch, intrigued me. It turned out, that Florence Nightingale was not really much of a bitch at all. The Bitch of Balaclava is a play written by Patricia Henritze that was performed through Theater Emorys Playwriting Centers Brave New Works. The play serves as a narrative following Florence Nightingale, a British social reformer who aided wounded soldiers during the Crimean War during the 1850s. The play as a whole made me think in a comparative basis. Throughout the play, the story shifts in between London and Crimea, allowing the actors to perform in a very non-linear pattern, a true test of becoming a character. The Bitch of Balaclava takes the audience on a journey, as it seamlessly showcases Nightingales life as a passionate and dedicated woman who saves thousands during the brutal Crimean War, and Nightingales luxury-filled life in Victorian London. It is very difficult to portray war through drama, especially without fancy sets, props, or effects. I found it challenging to believe that there was a war going on throughout the play. However, I liked how soldiers were positioned upstage, slowly feeling the impact of the war. The actors were shivering, coughing, moaning, and emoted a great sense of anguish that evoked compassion from the audience. Although I had a hard time believing in the war, there was no doubt that the acting was natural; I felt sorry for the soldiers on stage. Additionally, I attended a rehearsal workshop the day prior to the performance and was able to see a small

Lichtenberg 2 scene and transition worked on. Because of the location shifts, transitioning was very important. The actors were able to use their body to show transitions rather than have awkward moments between scenes or the usage of lighting effects and backdrop changes. Some scenes featured simultaneous actions in both London and Crimea; one location taking place upstage on the set structure, and the other taking place downstage using the black boxes and chairs. Actors often froze in place forcing the audiences attention to focus somewhere else. This was one technique used to create a smooth transition. Additionally, when scenes ended, the actors didnt just pause and walk off, but rather often stayed in character until they were fully out of the stage light and new actors had taken the stage. An example of this was when a group of actors in a London-set scene would spin out off stage gracefully as the wounded soldiers would climb and limp onto the stage. A particular character that I followed was Mrs. Nightingale, played by Alex Bond. I found on a casting website,1 that the descriptive characteristics of Mrs. Nightingale included, spoiled, unimaginative, and entitled.1 I think that Alex Bond did a great job at portraying that, while remaining to posses a very graceful presence; a symbol of the luxurious London lifestyle (vs. the Crimean battle field). A specific scene I enjoyed was the tea scene, which is the first scene that takes place in London. It is also the first time the audience meets Mrs. Nightingale. During a rehearsal I watched as the actors in that scene countlessly practiced their first stage action, which required them to swing their left arm outward and back inwards towards their mouth in the form of drinking a fragile class of tea; a very http://www.backstage.com/casting/the-nightingale-war-or-the-bitch-ofbalaclava-17546/
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Lichtenberg 3 stereotypical way to set a scene in London. Director Vincent Murphy had the actors rehearse strictly the last lines of The Colonel, played by Allan Edwards, transitioning into the first London scene, and ending with the frozen tea-drinking position. The actors did this staging and routine over 10 times before moving on. This technique is similar to the Lost Object Exercise performed in our class. It is extremely tedious, yet important to practice repetition of actions in order to make your performance more natural, real, and believable. Alex Bonds first lines are important for creating her character in the minds of the audience. I am unsure if she is American or not, but her first lines are performed with a British accent, which was done gracefully and not in an over-exaggerated manner. Alex Bond also did a great job of creating a dynamic character. She begins the scene in a very majestic British fashion but her spoiled and entitled aspects are quickly shown as she complains to her daughters about getting Sir John some more brandy. The tension between Florence and Mrs. Nightingale are clearly expressed throughout the entirety of the play. Florences rebellious and stubbornness to go to Crimea clearly angers her mother, as all Mrs. Nightingale wants is for her daughters to be debutantes.1 I think that their relationship serves as a microcosm for a bigger concept in the play: the comparison of people and events that can happen simultaneously. Mrs. Nightingale may be a very elegant and graceful woman, however when shes with Florence she becomes extremely bossy and needy. Similarly, Florence may seem to have a very angelic and luxurious life-style, however on the battlefield she goes completely against social female norms. Similarly, this parallels the greater theme of

Lichtenberg 4 the play that just as people are living prosperously in Victorian England, thousands are dying through brutal bloodshed and battle in 2,000 miles away in Crimea. A challenging feature when performing theater, is expressing time. Sure, it is convenient to have a giant clock rapidly spin, but that takes away from the realistic and naturalistic components of the performance. Instead, actors use transitions to show a stop in time, two things happening simultaneously, flashbacks, and flashforwards. These techniques are used often throughout Patricia Henritzes The Bitch of Balaclava. Specifically, Alex Bond who played Mrs. Nightingale, uses techniques to stay in character throughout the entire performance, even though the story doesnt follow a traditionally linear story-progression. Overall, I found the play to be successful less in its story-telling and more so in its delivery of the overlying concept through flawless transitions; that even during times of happiness and tea-sipping, somewhere someone is destroying everything man-kind has created in a bloodfilled battle.

Lichtenberg 5 WORKS CITED "Casting Notice: 'The Nightingale War' or "The Bitch Of Balaclava'" Backstage.com. Published 17 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.