Edward Gordon Craig

The illegitimate son of the architect Edward Godwin and actress Ellen Terry, Craig was born Edward Godwin on 16 January 1872 in Hertfordshire, England, and baptised at age 16 as Edward Henry Gordon. He took the surname Craig by deed poll at age 21.  Craig spent much of his childhood (from the age of 8 in 1889 to 1897) backstage at the Lyceum Theatre, where his mother was the leading lady to actor Sir Henry Irving. This close contact to Theatre was what led Craig to the world of theatre since he was surrounded by it most of his childhood.

 

Lighting

Edward Gordon Craig inspiration for lighting came from Hubert von Kerkomer. In on of his plays he witnessed the use of light gauzes and electric lighting, which was quite inovative since most people used sort of oil lamps for ilumination. Craig commented saying “the absence of footlights made the actors look less artificial. Side-lit gauzes placed in front of backcloths amazed audiences used to painted gauzes used in pantomine scenes”. He then decided that he would use gauzes and side-lights with different colours in his shows, and the rest of the lighting would come only from above the proscenium. Rejected footlights. concealed lights and movable spots were some other characteristics of his lighting legacy, the lighting needed to provide more than just ilumination. He was a visionary in this field because he believed that lighting needed to be a gateway to the imagination and a metaphorical symbolism to the play and not just a way to iluminate the actors and stage. 

He used these new lighting methods in the 1900’s production of Dido and Aeneas, especially the use of different colored lighting. He also used light to transform stage space, liberating the audience’s imagination. In transitions, he successfully achieved subtle shifts of light and vibrant sudden color combinations, which were used for deliberate clashes. The use of colored lighting was most successfully used in the final scene, in which a yellow light from above created a beautiful tragic ending to the play.

Stage

Slidding pannels was his most famous invention. According to W. B. Yeats, Craig told him that “That we shall have a means of staging everything that is not naturalistic, and that out of his invention may grow a completely new method for even our naturalistic plays.” These pannels stand on stage as they truly are. Opposing to naturalism, these pannels do not attempt to imitate natrure, nor are they painted with realistic or decorative designs to be taken in an evident and literal way. Once a friend of his told him that they were “a nice place” and since then he always used that expression in reference to his pannels. Rejecting realism, he disliked the expression “scene” because it looked artisticly false, while a place was real and could adapt to the actor’s movements. This invention of his consisted on a group of screens which stood up by themselves. The effects and different settings would be created by the actor’s position in relation to the pannel, and the different lighting that would incide on it.

He had a great passion for pupets, stating once that "There is only one actor – nay one man who has the soul of the dramatic poet, and who has ever served as the true and loyal interpreter of the poet," he proclaimed, and "this is the marionette.

In short, he wanted to exploit the theatreness of theatre. Using every single theatrical element ( space, scenery, lighting, costume) to better express the message of the text.