One of the most ingenious things about this play is the symbolic setting. A theatre, associated with so many things relevant to our hero ; deep emotions, drama, love, music, romanticism, lies and above all players, although the representations are almost endless. The stage which Salieri occupies is symbolic of "all eyes being on him" as they are, metaphorically speaking, outside in the streets where the rumours are rife. The stage also represents the two sides to the persona; the image which Salieri is projecting onto the outside world and the person beneath the character he plays. Like an actor, Salieri is portrayed as multifaceted in the surrounding metaphors and symbols.
Shaffer uses stage directions in order to convey sharp symbolisms to the audience. The overwhelming darkness of the theatre hall is reminiscent of the backdrop used by players in theatre, this is representative of the ominous truth that almost everything we are about to witness is a kind of act. .
The lighting here, at the beginning of the play is dark, which on its own is used to convey a sense of secrets and unsolved mysteries. This is theory is backed up later when the lights on the "audience of ghosts" reaches its maximum and continues to stay like that as more "light is shed apon the story".
The stage directions are precise and fairly detailed, within them we can gain evidence as to the mood of the play. The whispers are the first sounds we hear, calling the name "Salieri". These whispers are described as ".snake like hissing." supporting the assumption that what we are about to observe is a bit sneaky and somewhat removed from reality. .
Lighting is used within the play to represent many things from mood to setting as "Faint images of long windows are projected onto the silk." the scene begins to come alive and we are transported very subtly into the next chapter of the tale. The softness of technique here lets the audience ease into the story and allows them to concentrate more on the dialogue.
What is a play? Is it simply a novel acted out on stage? Is it a movie performed live? Many people would think so but that is because true theater is sometimes lost due to the extravagance of the Broadway musical. A play is much more of its own art and can not be so closely compared to film or other forms of literature. ...