Seb Harcombe on The Illusion - week two
Seb is the Director of the BA Acting Course and is directing the London premiere of Tony Kushner’s version of Corneille’s THE ILLUSION this summer at Southwark Playhouse - with a cast of RADA graduates, as part of a new initiative to develop a professional RADA graduate company.
We’ve been rehearsing for just over a week now, hermetically sealed away in the Gielgud Theatre at RADA, and every day I find myself amazed by the work the actors are doing. Most of them are already off book, which is incredibly early – but testament to how much work each of them has done. It’s also allowed us to cover quite a surprising amount of ground already; which is encouraging, given the relatively brief rehearsal period we have.
It’s been a joy so far actually – and there’s a real sense of trust and freedom in the room, partly because most of us know each other, and each other’s work, pretty well. So we’ve also had plenty of time for games - and developed lots of increasingly complex variants, against a backdrop of music by Handel and Rameau, as we're also working on a dance..
Because the actors are so familiar with the text already, we’ve also been able to do some rehearsing in the dark, which is always useful in stimulating a heightened awareness of the music of the text; it’s particular rhythms, colours, flow and nuances. We've found it interesting how un-English it feels, and have been working to drop into atmospheres and moods that are particular to this kind of French repertoire - its emotional fluidity, passionate drive, precision and delicacy. Its unbelievably beautiful and affecting when hit right, and this is a responsibility shared by all of the cast. It’s very much an ensemble piece in that regard...
The characters and their entangled relationships are all starting to develop beautifully and the actors are continually excavating, finding layer beneath layer. It’s such challenging material which can slip through the fingers in a moment and requires a heightened concentration and focus and an emotional precision, as well as a need to sustain deep feelings in long, complex arcs - and which also can change in a heartbeat, or get covered up with artifice and half truth.
So, so far so good anyhow. We may well hit a few walls this week, but we’re all getting quietly excited. For all its melancholy and mystery the play is laced through with a wonderful wit and humour that's keeping us all giggling in rehearsals..
We’re off to rehearse in St James Theatre next week – a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace! They’ve been kind enough to give us a week as the first company in their brand new theatre, to try out all of their equipment – so it should be fun. It’s also nearer in size to Southwark, so it’ll also be very useful…
southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
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Seb Harcombe on The Illusion - week one
Seb is the Director of the BA Acting Course and is directing the London premiere of Tony Kushner’s version of Corneille’s THE ILLUSION this summer at Southwark Playhouse - with a cast of RADA graduates, as part of a new initiative to develop a professional RADA graduate company.
Somewhat alarmingly, I’ve just realised it’s less than a month until THE ILLUSION opens and am still at my desk in RADA doing reports. It may be because the weather’s been rubbish, but I was waiting until the first sign of summer to make me realise it was time to rehearse!
Am very excited to get started though as the play is one of the most extraordinary I’ve ever been lucky enough to stumble across. It first happened last year, when I literally pulled it off the library shelf by accident, and was instantly drawn into its weird and wonderful world. I then workshopped it for two days, for a reading - after which I shredded the actors’ copies in case anyone picked one up and had the idea of putting the play on before me..
THE ILLUSION tells the story of a father who has lost his son and, having tried everything to find him, unsuccessfully, visits a magician for advice. The magician then conjures three visions of the son’s life before finally revealing a surprising truth (which I won’t say here as it’ll spoil it). The first vision is very funny, romantic and full of exhilarating language; the second is more dramatic and intense, although still packed with witty banter and flights of comedic fantasy; and the third is more tragic and mysterious. The play is basically about various types of love – romantic, sexual, parental and material – and about the theatre; what is real, what is imagined, what is delusional. It’s incredibly charming, sparkling and fun, but also moving and profound. Basically, it has everything!
Normally rehearsals begin with everyone together on day 1, more often than not doing a read through, but because we only have 3 weeks to rehearse, as opposed to the usual four, we’re planning on doing some pre-rehearsals where we can, starting next week. The play falls into distinct sections, with people in two different time realities who never meet, so it’s possible to rehearse sections separately. There may indeed be some virtue in doing this, so that certain actors develop their significant onstage relationships ignorant of other characters and before we all meet as a group. It’s an experiment that could prove interesting…
There are two very experienced actors in the play, playing the father and the magician (James Clyde and Melanie Jessop) but the rest of the cast are recent graduates - from 2011 (Daniel Easton, Shanaya Rafaat, Adam Jackson Smith) and 2012 (Charlie Archer and Daisy Hughes, who have literally just graduated and will be making their professional debuts). For me it’s a very special and hugely satisfying experience to work professionally with actors who’ve been my students .. and a particular pleasure and interest to be able to take the work we’ve done together at RADA forwards. We’ve a kind of shorthand for working together by now, so am hoping this will compensate for the shortness of rehearsal time. So, if we can all get through the Olympic security cordons and survive the tubes heaving with the promised extra million people each day come to watch the games it should be wonderful.
I'm also very excited that I get to work with RADA design graduate Sarah Jane Prentice again, who designed a show of mine at RADA in 2010 (Dispute/Cleansed). Currently we're discussing the design and sourcing 18th century costumes from RADA’s costume store and I’m generally trying to spread the word about the show. Southwark Playhouse where we’ll perform has a system where the tickets are cheaper the earlier you book, so am badgering people now, whilst it’s not too expensive. southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
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Seb Harcombe on The Illusion
Seb is the Director of the BA Acting Course and is directing the London premiere of Tony Kushner’s version of Corneille’s THE ILLUSION this summer at Southwark Playhouse - with a cast of RADA graduates, as part of a new initiative to develop a professional RADA graduate company.
Somewhat alarmingly, I’ve just realised it’s less than a month until THE ILLUSION opens and am still at my desk in RADA doing reports. It may be because the weather’s been rubbish, but I was waiting until the first sign of summer to make me realise it was time to rehearse!
Am very excited to get started though as the play is one of the most extraordinary I’ve ever been lucky enough to stumble across. It first happened last year, when I literally pulled it off the library shelf by accident, and was instantly drawn into its weird and wonderful world. I then workshopped it for two days, for a reading - after which I shredded the actors’ copies in case anyone picked one up and had the idea of putting the play on before me..
THE ILLUSION tells the story of a father who has lost his son and, having tried everything to find him, unsuccessfully, visits a magician for advice. The magician then conjures three visions of the son’s life before finally revealing a surprising truth (which I won’t say here as it’ll spoil it). The first vision is very funny, romantic and full of exhilarating language; the second is more dramatic and intense, although still packed with witty banter and flights of comedic fantasy; and the third is more tragic and mysterious. The play is basically about various types of love – romantic, sexual, parental and material – and about the theatre; what is real, what is imagined, what is delusional. It’s incredibly charming, sparkling and fun, but also moving and profound. Basically, it has everything!
Normally rehearsals begin with everyone together on day 1, more often than not doing a read through, but because we only have 3 weeks to rehearse, as opposed to the usual four, we’re planning on doing some pre-rehearsals where we can, starting next week. The play falls into distinct sections, with people in two different time realities who never meet, so it’s possible to rehearse sections separately. There may indeed be some virtue in doing this, so that certain actors develop their significant onstage relationships ignorant of other characters and before we all meet as a group. It’s an experiment that could prove interesting…
There are two very experienced actors in the play, playing the father and the magician (James Clyde and Melanie Jessop) but the rest of the cast are recent graduates - from 2011 (Daniel Easton, Shanaya Rafaat, Adam Jackson Smith) and 2012 (Charlie Archer and Daisy Hughes, who have literally just graduated and will be making their professional debuts). For me it’s a very special and hugely satisfying experience to work professionally with actors who’ve been my students .. and a particular pleasure and interest to be able to take the work we’ve done together at RADA forwards. We’ve a kind of shorthand for working together by now, so am hoping this will compensate for the shortness of rehearsal time. So, if we can all get through the Olympic security cordons and survive the tubes heaving with the promised extra million people each day come to watch the games it should be wonderful.
I'm also very excited that I get to work with RADA design graduate Sarah Jane Prentice again, who designed a show of mine at RADA in 2010 (Dispute/Cleansed). Currently we're discussing the design and sourcing 18th century costumes from RADA’s costume store and I’m generally trying to spread the word about the show. Southwark Playhouse where we’ll perform has a system where the tickets are cheaper the earlier you book, so am badgering people now, whilst it’s not too expensive.
southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
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Neil Fraser in Delhi, India
Neil Fraser is Director of Technical Training at RADA and he is away in Delhi, India, this week teaching Lighting Design.
Day 3
It’s not all work here of course - the food is exciting and varied and the scenery and surroundings fun and exotic. Being driven in a hired car with a driver is certainly entertaining- not until you have been speeding through the Delhi rush hour have you really experienced fear and fully appreciated the impact of the Highway code in the UK, which seems to be sadly missing here - overtaking, choose your direction and go for it, left or right, any side will do! Lanes - what lanes? Roundabout - either way round just depends on the other traffic...
Last night Dave and I went to see Delhi Devils play Chennai Super Kings - an IPL (India Premiere League) fixed- over evening cricket match. 8.30 kick off (you can tell I know my cricket!) and a huge flood lit stadium. Pleasantly warm even until the end at 11.30, the match started with a wicket from the first ball and eventually saw Delhi win (my adopted team, naturally) by 8 wickets. Fast, dynamic, colourful, exciting - hardly test cricket - but a great evening's sport nevertheless. England team player Kevin Pietersen was playing for the DDs and hit the highest score of the evening on 43 not out.
Dave and I finally got back to our hotel - after surviving rush hour traffic - with take away food which we sneakily ate in the hotel garden under the watchful eye of security guards and in the semi dark. The hotel 'goes to bed' at about 11 and we were eating past midnight.
Today, Wednesday, started with a yawn but my enthusiastic class has woken me up with some great work based on the idea of emotional transition in lighting i.e. creating a mood and then heightening it or changing it. We saw loneliness changed to acceptance, heroism to humanity, sadness to success. Gods looked down on their people, statues came to life and campsites blossomed into life. And all with no more than three units each and a single person to light - kind of lighting in close up, if you will.
Yesterday's storm has continued into a cloudy day. We had some more rain this morning but a day blissfully cooler than it has been of late. |
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