Analysis Of April's Fool Redux

Grin & Tonic’s production of April’s Fool Redux portrays the emotional death of Kristjan Teraud, which was attributed to a drug overdose after attending a rock concert in 2009. The dramatic conventions of Verbatim Theatre, multimedia, and juxtaposition, in Grin & Tonic’s performance of April’s Fool were successfully utilised to convey the dramatic meaning, of how tragedy can impact the lives of others, to the audience.

The Verbatim convention of juxtaposition was manipulated effectively by the actors’ use of the dramatic elements relationships and mood. One distinct scene in which the convention was most prominent focused on the Radiologist and David, Kristjan’s father. As the doctor was explaining the medical details of Kristjan’s overdose

Every scene that took place in the hospital, which was the majority of the production, was complimented with a bright white projected on to a screen. This blinding background assisted the audience in deciphering what emotions the actors wanted their characters to express. The harsh white produced an impression of collective shock surrounding Kristjan’s predicament, as well as an eerie sense of bleariness, cognate to the characters’ inability to think of anything but Kristjan’s mental and physical state. This simple use of multimedia gauged to the audience the emotional effect of Kristjan’s actions on the characters who waited in the hospital. Another remarkable scene where multimedia played a significant role in producing dramatic meaning was the Eulogy delivered by Bob, Kristjan’s godfather. The screen played a series of videos the audience was meant to assume was Kristjan as a baby. The videos of such jubilant life being broadcasted at such a sombre occasion illustrated the mixed feelings of the characters; their grief over Kristjan’s death, and their peace, knowing that Kristjan had made the most of his time, and the opportunity to spread awareness about drug-related tragedies. Therefore, the multimedia utilised in April’s Fool was auspiciously employed to further the dramatic meaning of how the tragic actions of one person can have an impact on those around