The first RSC productions in the World Shakespeare Festival are three plays cast from one acting company, looking at migration, exile, and the discovery of brave new worlds. Actors Nick Day and Ankur Bahl share their experiences in rehearsal for The Tempest, Twelfth Night and The Comedy of Errors.
Nick has beached on the shores of the RSC for the fifth time. Having drifted about in a variety of theatre, TV and film roles over 40 years the winds and tides have given him good passage into our waters a little more often lately. He loves it here and has absolutely no desire to be taken off this magic isle.
After spending his youth on the international jump rope circuit, Ankur arrived in Britain six years ago as a postgraduate studying migration and diaspora. Shipwrecked in London, he began performing in theatre pieces about the people he was studying.
January 18, 2012
King George VI had Lionel Logue. We, at the RSC, have Michael Corbidge.
by Ankur Bahl
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January 12, 2012
Two blogs in as many days? I'd actually like to settle down with a book, but can't suppress the desire to express.
by Nick Day
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January 12, 2012
Yesterday we had a run-through of Twelfth Night before we put it onto the back boiler to concentrate on Comedy and Tempest for a bit.
by Nick Day
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January 6, 2012
Director David Farr began this week by hot-seating our characters for Twelfth Night. When placed in the proverbial 'hot seat,' each actor answered questions in character.
by Ankur Bahl
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January 5, 2012
See, you do something spontaneous and your watching colleagues laugh. Aaagh, fatal! Who could resist the temptation to repeat what one did the next time you run the scene?
by Nick Day
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January 3, 2012
Last year's season was a bit full on so, having dived straight into this one, the few days off after Christmas were extremely welcome.
by Nick Day
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December 20, 2011
In rehearsal I like to wear something that is close to what I will be wearing 'on the night'. The clothes, especially the shoes, affect the way one stands, moves and holds oneself - and, to a significant degree, how one feels about oneself.
by Nick Day
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December 19, 2011
On my first day at the RSC, I suppressed the over-friendly, over-smiley American that lives somewhere deep down inside me, and tried to act as I imagine any other London-based actor would.
by Ankur Bahl
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December 15, 2011
The opening scene of Comedy. I have 129 lines of expository back story to deliver in huge chunks of blank verse.
by Nick Day
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December 14, 2011
I won't be able to keep this pace up, but while I'm sitting in the severely constipated Jubilee line today waiting for the train to move I thought I'd bring you a bit more up to date with the process.
by Nick Day
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