Sunday 20th January
Today was our first extended rehearsal and it was infinitely more productive. Having 5 hours of rehearsal rather than two means we get far more done. Today we are working on Act 1.
The cast meet at 10am- all looking a little shell-shocked at having to get up early on a Sunday morning; I know how they feel. After an energetic warm-up to wake everyone up, we get down to the business of rehearsal. The rehearsal is slow as we are trying to incorporate as much of the furniture as we can and with a play with so many scene changes, the cast have to spend time lugging tables, chairs, benches and beds in and out of the rehearsal space. We manage to get through most of Act 1, stopping a few pages shy of the interval. We have achieved a lot today, the flow from one scene to the next is getting better and we are getting glimpses of how powerful the ensemble scenes (in which we have 30 actors on the stage) are going to be.
A good day, hope next Sunday is as productive.
Sunday 27th January
Another early Sunday start.
Today we are focussing upon Act 2. The second half of the play is very different from the first, and concentrates mostly on the love affair between Winston and Julia. So far, we have rehearsed these scenes with just these two actors. Today is the first time that they will have to perform these scenes in front of the rest of the company. They both do really well, they are clearly getting more comfortable with working one and other, which really helps for the more intimate moments of the play.
We do some detailed work on the moments of violence in the play. We have to rehearse a fight sequence in which a Patrolman (the Police of 1984) has to beat another character with a baton. The batons we have ordered (American style ‘nightsticks’) have yet to arrive, so we have to use a length of plastic piping as a rehearsal prop. We mark the scene through slowly and carefully, making sure that all of the actors involved are safe and happy. Despite the plastic piping, the scene looks suitably brutal.
Today has been a more difficult day for our ensemble- there is far less for them to do in Act 2 and they are clearly itching to get up and act, but I appreciate their patience.
We stop just before we get to Room 101 and the torture scenes- will save those for next week.
