Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a touching story telling of a Japanese girl who lived in Hiroshima during the Second World War. The atomic bomb was dropped upon the city when she was two years old, and was subsequently diagnosed with leukaemia. In order to get well, she follows the legend that if she folds a thousand paper cranes she can make one wish. The play, viewed at the Independent Theatre by the Japanese & Drama class, was acted on a stage which was both fascinating and simple.

The layout was fairly simple however had a strong and significant impact to the effects used in the play. The background was formed as if in origami which is relevant to the story since it is about making paper cranes. Utilizing three background sets, all of which could fold up and were maneuverable allowed the play to change scenes quickly without much distraction. This also made the play be able to be handled not only by the actors, but by the people on the backstage as well.

The lighting and music were both smart features which gave the story a much stronger atmosphere. The atmosphere, mood and setting were altered using these techniques.  The scene in the memorial museum was an effective example which used the lighting and music. In the pitch black, only a white photo frame could be seen which was being passed on across the room. When it reached a certain position, the lights would turn on for a second or two, revealing one of the actors cowering as if in pain, to mimic the atomic bomb event. Eerie music was put on to create a sense of fear throughout the theatre, which gave a real experience to the audience. The different lighting and musical techniques were invaluable and would have made the play boring if it did not have the colourful and intriguing features.

The actors were positioned in the play so as to few different characters.. The dialogue was projected towards the audience so all words could be heard properly. There were exaggerated facial expressions so that the entire audience could see everything that was going on. The male character played as Sadako’s brother and father, with only a jacket to distinguish between the former. With simple costuming, the actors changed characters without startling the audience with unfamiliar characters. The actors shared parts, and they all played partly as narrator, so that the other characters could be on the stage at once. The acting was satisfactory, with the major points like avoiding ‘backs to the audience’ done perfectly.

The silhouette effect used when the setting was in the hospital was intelligent and gave two focus points, the background and the foreground. In this case, this was efficient in conveying the information given, and had our minds focusing on two different scenes happening at once. Simple props were used to distinguish different characters, which was useful without creating a fuss with large costumes.

The techniques used in this play were all beneficial to enhancing the standards of the play. The lighting, music, acting, and the layout of the setting was significant with the play. I thoroughly enjoyed it and reviewing it.