Let me explain - we've been working on a version of the lost play Duke Moraud on and off for a while now. The script for the play is lost, except for the dialogue for the Duke - all we have is his dialogue. From inferences in the text we know it is similar to a story that survives in another format, so we know what is going on. The challenge for us is - how to stage it?
We could have written alternative dialogue for the other parts - but we seriously didn't no where to begin. Writing cod medieval verse always feels wrong. Additionally the plot of the play is somewhat problematic to the modern ear (more on that another time) and, whilst it seems reasonable to give the original the benefit of the doubt and history, it feels wrong to contribute to a slightly questionable moral stand point - especially as this is a morality play.
Also the play is presented as the second half following my revival of The Summoning of Everyman, and full dialogue would make it a very long evening - it would be a bit bread on bread. So I decided we would have one actor be Duke Moraud and have a second to act as general narrator and commentator on the play itself - this allowed us to a. keep the original text pretty much as writ and b. change the tone of the show by making it a bit more playful.
Then we started rehearsing. As per my usual practice I'd created a basic edit of the text, modernising the basic spelling but leaving obscure words and phrasing as writ, as well as a rough script for the commentary in between speeches. We then threw ourselves at the words, looking for an in.
The first try was fairly shit - but it was supposed to be. We were too loud, too over the top and, even with the commentary, we weren't communicating what was going on with any clarity. It also took twice as long as planned. We regrouped and began again. And again. Tea was drunk, clarity of meaning improved, but it wasn't working as well as we'd hoped. We planned our next rehearsal and went about our lives.
We met again and then... the idea happened. We felt unclean. It felt good.
The beginning of the play runs thusly - the Duke Moraud enters, greets the various people of the audience, and tells everyone to shut up on pain of pain. So far, so standard. He then tells the audience who he is and says what a great guy he is. He's got lots of stuff, he's got great clothes, horses, he is just great.
Now, we knew that this is boastful hyperbole by a character who shows himself later to be thoroughly horrid, but we just couldn't get that across. It read as a character being genuine about how great a person they were. In an outdoor space, where it probably would have been performed originally, we could out Herod Herod with grandstanding - but we're performing in a nice fringe venue, so it needed to be smaller and subtler. How do we show how prideful, nay delusional, how obsessed about how he is perceived, how small this Duke is. And then we thought...
He enters, announces himself, says what a great guy he is.
He's got lots of great stuff.
He's got lots of great clothes.
He is just lots of great.
He's Donald Trump.
At that moment we realised - we have to do the play with a 'modern twist' - because, obvious though it is, it worked perfectly. The more text we threw at it, the more resonance there was. Though the play Duke certainly goes much further than Trump has ever done - we are not suggesting for a second that the Duke of the play is actually him - the tone of how he speaks about people and women is perfect.
Now we have a way in, we can really tighten the linking script, make the story speak - because we no longer have to worry about getting the audience up to speed with who the Duke is. They will see it straight away. The Duke becomes less Trump like as we go along - as those parallels drift. And we're not Saturday Night Live, we don't have an axe to grind beyond making an old text speak today.
Milk Bottle Productions Presents...
The Summoning of Everyman
Adapted and performed by Robert Crighton
With Simon Nader in bonus play - Duke Moraud
With Simon Nader in bonus play - Duke Moraud
Everyman has been summoned by Death to meet his maker - and he doesn't want to go. This interactive performance brings his struggle directly to the audience, asking them to become part of the story, to stand in the footsteps of Fellowship, Good Deeds and even Death himself. Will you help Everyman make his peace?
Previous audiences have said of the show: “A one man tour de force... gripped from start to finish... a mix of pathos and humour all done with a light touch... a real privilege and honour being there... having volunteered, with no acting experience whatsoever, was guided expertly throughout by Robert... an hour very well spent... I’ve come to see it again! What more do I need to say? In awe of the intensity!”
The Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham
Tuesday 8th to Saturday 12th August at 7.30pm
Tickets available here - www.breadandrosestheatre.co.uk/everyman
No comments:
Post a Comment