‘Strategy sets the scene for the tale’: Stagecraft and design in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Looking at the more recent Eras Tour, it is difficult to ignore Fuller as an influential figure in Swift’s stage design, especially the Folklore set, from lighting techniques to costuming, and of course, dance.
Fuller’s choreographies are often displayed through continuous movements; a topic that the playwright Samuel Beckett returned to throughout his writing. Beckett, an Irish writer whose archive is at the University of Reading, wrote novels, poetry and plays such Waiting for Godot, Endgame, and Happy Days. He earned the Nobel Prize for his contributions to literature in 1969. Beckett, like Swift, explores how choreography and costuming can communicate themes and emotions with the audience without the need for words.
This webinar will explore stage design, including costuming and lighting, through the lens of choreography using Beckett’s Godot and Swift’s Eras Tour. The webinar will include video footage, images and interactive games to explore these topics.