Treacle-cutting

Interesting phrase - desentimentalising a scene or an issue through comedy
e.g. making fun of tragedy, crime, poverty, painful issues, 'stiff upper lip'
Very present in Beautiful Thing and English humour in general, such as Music Hall

Dido and Aeneas notes

small things don't matter as long as you tell the story
repetitive gestures and spatial awareness
noticed how audience could notice small problems
became more aware of good facial expressions in chorus
dancers could have used hands more to be synchronised
gestures help audience understand what singers are saying
singing opera songs for the first time in a show made me breathless from nerves which made it more difficult but acting came easily and i wasn't nervous about that
generally much less nervous than for a non-musical play
umbrellas and flags were very visually attractive
details are important in a minimalistic stage
consider every part of your body
take a show day by day, do not worry about the final product

The Price - Arthur Miller

I recently was lucky enough to be taken to see Miller's The Price or O Preço, as it was in Portuguese. It was perhaps the best play I've ever seen. The most striking thing for me was the set. The stage is unorthodox in that it is very large and shows great depth, but away from the audience instead of being wide and frontally shallow. The set was filled with beautiful pieces of old furniture and knick-knacks, some enormous, some little. It was such an attractive set that I was immediately intrigued. The actors were very good, taking on their characters splendidly. The best was the policeman who acted in such a policeman-like way. Can't really explain how but he was so much his character. The actors spoke very clearly and projected beautifully while managing to remain naturalistic so even when they were angry I could understand everything. I was impressed as Portuguese is a second language to me and I don't usually understand fast-paced conversations. My acid test would probably be the old man at the back of the room, measuring and labelling things during the arguments and drama downstage. He moved so slowly you barely noticed him moving at all.