Intimism - a way to rescue an over-elaborate Fringe show?

2nd July 2010

 In the visual arts realm, "intimism" was a painting movement of the late nineteenth, early twentieth century. It was practised principally by Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard whose style involved putting very simple domestic scenes and activity at the heart of a painting. Mood and effect arose from the portrayal of the "warm interior" of a simple kitchen with someone sweeping, or a mother sitting on a chair, sewing. Of course, initmism as a more generic term has wider application than that and perhaps has much to offer a Fringe show. Venues at Fringe Festivals are often converted meeting rooms, community centres, church halls and they can be quite small, lending themselves well to more intimate kinds of theatre.

A play can look ridiculous in a small space where an attempt has been made to construct an elaborate set. To create the right intimacy in a small converted space requires a lot of attention and effort and skill, perhaps redolent of the "intimism" practice in those 19th century paintings. One show we gave an award to a few years back was a play from Hidden Pearl Productions called Retreat. They went down the route of creating a very intimate living room set which actually was very much in line with the "intimism" of those 19th Century painters - simple, carefully done, well observed and carefully constructed. It all served the drama very well. Similarly, at Iambic Arts Theatre in Brighton in April this year, Fridays, When it Rains was a thriller set in a train carriage. The set was well constructed, believable and transformed the small theatre space. In both cases, a lot of attention had gone into set construction and we really were in painting-like settings reminiscent of intimism in art. So, if you are going to go for an intimate set in a small space, you need to go for it fully.

Where the budget isn't there, and also where early reviews of a show are critical of the way the show was been staged in the performance space, it might be worth thinking about "intimism" and going for simplicity. Many of the intimism-led paintings were in already existing domestic spaces and there focus was one a simple task in a mundane space; the human condition was revealed in all of its touching, often powerful splendour, not through spectacle, but through bare essence. Simplifying the set, removing the unnecessary, focusing the audience of the core activity - the performance, the acting, and not annoyance at a half-realised set, all can change and improve the effect and effectiveness of a piece of theatre. Also, audiences can become fascinated and drawn in to scenes which open with intimism at their heart - a person writing, tidying, simple sitting and doing something practical - using that time to allow a character to come through - not hurrying but having the confidence to allow essential simplicity to reveal key aspects of the character they are about to see "in action".

So, a play may be over-complex, trying too hard to impress with set, lighting and clever sound, where what is really needed is a good dose of intimism.