Glen
Forrester

This proposal focuses on the metaphorical journey of Orlando as a microcosmic incarnation of his/her culture transforming over the centuries, juxtaposing his on-stage birth from the context of historical ideals beneath the tree of life with his furthest point in her descent into contrivance shattering in the chapel, before returning once more to the Great Oak.

The Oak's motif is Perotin's Viderunt Omnes, evolving over time and space along with Orlando and disintegrating into the chimes and bells and ticking beats which accompany the crises and chaos which disrupt her equilibrium. Orlando's is the colour green, opposing that of her primary counterpart and fading throughout the play along with the entire world's vibrancy into monochromacy until his return.

Set
The set consists of the Great Oak, with its roots enveloping a crumbling altar and penetrating, warping, and persisting between the stones of an ancient weathered temple which surrounds it.

It is never seen in its entirety until the final two scenes. Like the tensions between tradition, modernism and the natural world which power the neuroses of history, events occur blindly between different aspects of it, and not holistically prior to the central character approaching clarity.

Travel and distant scenery are projected beyond, and witnessed through its apertures. The sense of scale is expanded with a forced perspective applied to the architecture.

Though often unseen the Oak remains present, standing over human triviality in shadow.

Lighting
The absence of light is functionally instrumental to the separation of aspects in this proposal. Characters, the Oak, and specific segments of the set are selectively lit and presented against void in isolation as necessary.

Light also completes the differentiation between indoor and outdoor settings, with the constrained directional light of twilight and night scenes contrasting subtle haze and flickering candles at the periphery of interiors.

While the dwindling of colour over the centuries is intended to occur primarily through costume, the relief of its restoration comes along with the abrupt reveal of the complete set in the conclusion.