Schweyk in the Second World War

On the 6th of December of 2008, I went to watch "Schweyk in the Second World War" in the Ebisu Echo Theater. This play was written by Bertholt Brecht. This production was directed by Chris Parham and presented by the Tokyo International Players.

This entry is what I thought of the play.

To start off, I thought that the Lighting and the Special effects were well used. For example, when Schweyk was heading towards Stalingrad, and he hears the bombings, the lighting and the sound effects were effective, with simply flashing spotlights around the stage, but not on the floor, but on the walls.

I also liked the idea of the two levels. This became very effective towards the end, where Hitler was running around the stage, not knowing where to go. With Hitler running around on the lower level, and Schweyk pointing a gun at Hitler from the upper level makes it seem that Schweyk had Hitler in the palm of his hand.

However, I thought the acting was around average. There were some good actors such as the actors who played Schweyk (Ed Gilmartin) and Baloun (Walter Roberts). There were others who over-acted and also, under-acted. This inconsistency tipped the balance of acting which made it seem like it was around average level.
Many actors had multiple roles, but when they change characters, they almost never change their acting. Such as their way of speaking, walking, standing, sitting etc. For example, when some SS officers reappear but as men who want to avoid the war, or another character, I always have to ask myself, “Is this the SS officer coming on? Or is this another person?” I have to ask these questions to myself because the actors failed to show me that they were truly a different character. However, I thought the use of masks were good because I did not recognize those characters with others, such as Hitler. This helped me to differentiate the characters.

Another flaw was the multi-accents. Some actors had American accents, some had German accents, and there were others as well. This breaks the atmosphere as this is not an international event. This is set in the 2nd World War in Czechoslovakia. Along with this, there was the issue of pronunciation. Some said Schweyk, “Shvaik” and some said “Shwaik.” This should be corrected because the pronunciation is important in acting.

There were many things I would change, especially the little details I have noticed. When Kopecka was singing her first song, she seemed to have this habit of waving her hands up and down. This became tiresome to watch as this action kept being repeated. Also, when Schweyk was making his way towards Stalingrad, there was sign that said “Stalingrad 50km.” In the next scenes, this sign was not removed. Schweyk, in the previous scenes, had said that he would be getting to Stalingrad soon. However, the sign in the background indicated that he remained at the same place, suggesting that he hasn't moved.

Despite the flaws I have identified, I understand that this is a Brecht production, and Brecht would not have wanted the audience to become emotionally attached to the actors and that this was a play for the audience to think and not just to watch.

Overall, I did not like this production, and with this feeling, the director may have succeeded in what Brecht wanted. Since I disliked it, I was able to look into it without having emotional influences.