Iok Tong Wong

After my first reading of Sophie Treadwell’s 1920s play, Machinal, I found this piece of literature to have a strong universal and contemporary quality to it, having details that resonate with the current state of people living in the city, especially women of today.

Focusing on the set design, they are to convey a sense of timelessness, vaguely between the present and future, that avoids any specific time or location. Additionally, I am drawn towards the German expressionist style of the play. Therefore, my designs put a main focus on symbols, motifs, and especially Helen, the protagonist’s thoughts and emotions, her stream-of-consciousness.

For the sets, I am taking an abstract approach to the play, presenting the entire stage as Helen’s mind. Initially, I have taken inspiration from artworks by Jenny Hozler, and photos of tall buildings that I have taken around Macau, the city that I grew up in. I found the steel cage-like structure outside each window particularly interesting. Although they are built for safety, they also convey a sense of confinement. After experimenting with digital renderings and the white card models, I settled on the final design of creating several frames that line up with each other while extending upstage. Loosely referencing the idea of confinement, these frames make up a bounding box-like structure with openings between walls that act as entrances and exits. With each frame diminishing in size, a false perspective is created.

Flats with gradually darkened gauze will fly up and ‘extend the box’ every time when Helen transitions from one stage of her life to another, as if all the pre-established norms and pressure on her are gradually collapsing until the end, when her mind has finally found freedom.

A reflective mirror-like material is applied to both floor and walls, which can enhance the idea of a ‘reflection’ and the visual metaphor of an ‘inner mind.’

My sound design follows a minimal, abstract and ‘near-future’ style that accompanies the set and space. The central idea is to create soundtracks that act as sonic representations of Helen’s mind, mood and her subconscious. Inspired by Kraftwerk’s music, I decide to integrate an ‘electronic’ style, adding a ‘robotic’ and ‘computerized’ quality to the ‘mechanised’ world that Helen is in.