ToDos and diversions
June 25, 2012
We opened our shows at the Roundhouse, so most days we can now get to grips with all the stuff that has been on our domestic ToDo lists since the beginning of the year.
What a relief to be no longer rehearsing. Especially now the working day is three hours longer here for me; the 20-second commute across the street is now a three stage journey across London.
Some pleasant diversions are thrown into the mix for us here: the RSC friends invited us to tea and sandwiches, the development team had us chat to some corporate partners over some rather good wine and tasty food - I particularly liked the 'pearl' (?) couscous with sea bass; I've never had couscous so fat and luscious. I'll be seeking it out in the shops.
On Thursday morning a bunch of delightful primary school kids, immaculately uniformed, interviewed some characters from Twelfth Night for a 'radio programme' they are producing that investigates the romantic entanglements in Illyria.
At the matinée that day, the auditorium was a colourful patchwork of school uniforms. The kids really seemed to enjoy it, squirming with delight at certain Malvolio moments, of course.
Seeing those children getting such pleasure from live theatre prompted a few thoughts about what we do in this business.
We humans are imprisoned within ourselves and bound to live within the limits of the experience that our fates and our endeavours set out for us.
In drama we have example before us of behaviour we may never otherwise witness and the privilege of seeing the consequences of that behaviour explored. We transcend the limits of our existence, see behaviours we can aspire to, judge, condemn, or safely mock. In live theatre these behaviours are living, breathing, responding and changing before us, evidently faked, but seductively real. Does that make us better, fuller and wiser people?
Caption: Felix in one of our luxuriosly appointed dressing rooms.
by Nick Day
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