The transition of a production from the relative simplicity of the rehearsal room to the complexity of a high-tech stage like that of the Oliver Theatre is a testing time for all concerned. For once the actors are not centre stage: their job over the three days of the “tech” of Coram Boy (beginning at 11.00 in the morning and ending at 10.45 at night) was to illustrate and time the basic staging so that lighting, sound, special effects, and costume changes could be incorporated into the action. It is as if an animated black and white sketch enters the theatre on Day 1, and by the end of Day 3 and the imminent arrival of the first preview, that sketch is fully-coloured and revealed in detail: full of sound, light and image.
Some of the special effects, like the
flying and hanging, needed to be carefully prepared, not least because they had to be safe.
The actors involved in the flying already had some practice when they were suspended in harnesses by two horribly thin-looking wires from the roof of the Lyttelton scene dock.
The hanging of Otis Gardner had not been previously worked on. The effect involved the actor Jack Tarlton, who was standing in for Paul Ritter (Otis) because the latter hadn’t sufficient time to get into the heavy full-body harness the stunt required. The harness looked more like something worn by a Formula 1 racing driver than an actor - it went over both shoulders and between the legs and was tightened securely by the stage management before the rope (down through which led a steel cable) was attached not to the actor’s neck, but to the harness, so that it would take his weight when the moment came for other actors to push away the steps and condemn Otis Gardiner to oblivion.
Another special effect involves creating the
effect of being underwater by using a huge plastic sheet (dubbed the “shower curtain”) dropped down from the flies. When actors gently manipulate the sheet, it creates the effect of the water in which Toby and Aaron swim to safety but which claims the life of Meshak.
