Day 12: Layer Upon Layer

A far nicer day than yesterday weather-wise, as the sun made its long-awaited return, was marked by a nice day in the rehearsal room as well. Sade, Marat, Coulmier and the Herald worked solidly on the ground we had already covered, reassuring ourselves on where we were, what we were saying and how we felt at any one moment. It was nice to revisit material which we hadn't touched for a few days, refreshing our memories and polishing the scenes up. Then again, there were previously undiscovered moments - I'm sure I heard Nico, at a point when Sade was apparently offering whispered advice on the script, finish a sentence to Clare with the words "...shove it up her ass". He's really connecting with that character.

Then Leonie and Robbie subbed in and we disappeared for a cup of tea, a biccie and some work with Colin Sadler, voice-coach extraordinaire. He gave me an especially useful exercise, involving swinging my arms around me as I speak which helps to free the voice and to give variety to the pitch and rhythm of speech. He then set about making Nico's accent less American and more RP while I spent an enjoyable twenty minutes laughing at Duperret groping up poor Charlotte Corday. The desperate efforts of Leonie to slip from Robbie's clutches were sinister and hilarious, like a sleazy music-hall dance routine.

After lunch, the rest of the team joined us and, with Asa watching, we showed her some of the set-pieces which involve the duck-boards and masks. Then we divided again, with Andrea leading some singing and puppetry practice while Nico, Leonie, Robbie, Clare and I edged ever-closer to the end of Act 2, stopping just before a dagger was shoved into my ribs - which was a relief, of course. Joined by our extra lunatics for the evening, we ran the whole of Act 1. It's a constant delight to act in the midst of this brilliantly playful cast. It takes a whole lot of hard work from everyone to maintain the inner life of their characters and, at this stage, the characters are very much alive. It's getting slicker, it's getting more confident. When we finished, the feeling was one of satisfaction with where we are and optimism for what we are creating.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "The difference between directors and stage management is we make things look good, they just count them." Mike Bradwell, tongue firmly in cheek and never one to mince his words.