1984 – 1984 Production Blog 1

The blog – Owen Calvert-Lyons (DIRECTOR)

Welcome to the rehearsal blog for York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s forthcoming production of George Orwell’s classic novel 1984.  Hopefully, this blog will give an insight into the rehearsal process without giving too much away for those planning to see the production!

Monday 8^th January

Rehearsal of Act 2 with actors playing Winston (Oliver O’Shea) and Julia (Sophie Ramm).  At the beginning of the second act, time has moved on by two months.  This can often be a challenge for actors as their character relationships have developed without them having the opportunity to perform those changes.  We begin with discussions: how have those 2 months been spent?  How many times have these characters met in that time?  How has there relationship developed since we last saw them at the end of Act 1? 

We then get the scene on to its feet, blocking the action of the scene.  One of the pivotal moments in this scene is the point at which we discover Winston’s fear of rats.  A rat scurries across the room and Winston freezes in absolute terror.  This is a complex challenge for Oliver, as phobias are instinctual and deep-rooted; it is difficult to convey such an extreme reaction.  We look at the way that the body responds- muscles contract giving the body tension and rigidity, the body releases adrenaline which causes Winston to shout in panic.  It’s an important moment, a moment in which we see that Winston’s fear of rats is absolute, it overrides all other instincts and emotions; including his feelings for Julia.

Tuesday 9^th January

First meeting with Michael Nabarro, Lighting Designer for 1984.  We go through the text page by page discussing the location, time of day and atmosphere of each scene.  Michael will then have to translate each of these into an appropriate lighting state.  This is an opportunity for Michael to ask me questions about the staging of each scene, so that he knows which areas of the stage need to be lit and what effects I want to achieve.  Michael will now go away with detailed plans of the stage and the lighting rig and begin to create a lighting design.