The Sunken Bell
An artist torn between lofty ideals and a world walled in by bells.
A speculative immersive theatre piece based on Gerhart Hauptmann's 1896 fairy play The Sunken Bell, conceived for the Linbury Theatre, London (proposed). It explores an artist torn between lofty ideals and worldly ambition. I designed the set and costumes, including character design and 3D modelling. Exhibited at Cannon Place, London, in September 2021.
Concept
We all pursue ideals and a sense of purpose. Along the way, fantasy can slowly erode our sense of who we are, everyday reality becomes an obstacle, and society itself shapes where we can go. How to balance the ideal and the real is a profound question.
The Real World
I portray the material world with absurdity and satire: black and white, distorted and oppressive, enclosed by bells and walls. For an artist with the highest spiritual aims, reality is a heavy burden.
The Ideal World
Set against the black-and-white oppression of the world below, the mountain is Hauptmann's realm of spirits: forest, lake, moonlight and sun. After his bell sinks into the lake, Rautendelein leads Heinrich up the mountain, where he dreams of casting a bell to greet the sun. I imagined it as a free, fantastical world, the artist's purest ideal. Yet the more beautiful it is, the more fragile: when the sunken bell tolls from the lake, the dream begins to break.
Characters
Rautendelein: half child, half spirit of the mountain. She leads Heinrich into the ideal world and embodies it.
The Elves: the three elves of the original play, dancing in a ring on a moonlit forest meadow, the inhabitants of the mountain world.
