ONE WEEK TO GO!!

"Brazil" at the NFT

Just in case you haven't enough to do this Christmas, here's something else for your diaries if you're interested:

The NFT is showing Terry Gilliam's Brazil on 23rd Dec at 20.15. This is one of my favourite films, and something that inspired my choice to direct Hothouse. It's a beautiful, surreal examination of bureaucracy gone mad and an example of the "steampunk" retro-future look. And generally just a blimmin' brilliant film.

"Gilliam's wondrously imaginative fable set in a faintly antiquated bureaucratic future suggestive of the surveillance nightmare of Orwell's '1984', and centred on Jonathan Pryce's clerk, a lovelorn dreamer beset by bad plumbing and illicit desires for a beautiful freedom-fighter. For all their artifice, the creation of both the 'real' and 'fantasy' worlds is utterly persuasive, so that the film succeeds both as metaphorical allegory and as an unexpectedly moving tale of one man's struggle for independence."

Blimey.

Set layout

This is roughly how things are going to look. The stairs have moved to the back, side on. The blocks on the floor indicate roughly where the audience seating might be. Roughly to scale, but obviously the furniture is only an approximation.

Thanks to Aidan for computery whizziness!

More rehearsal dates

Just to confirm rehearsal dates coming up and who is called for them:

Tuesday 28th Nov, SLT, 19.30, Chris and Caroline
Thursday 30th Nov, SLT, 19.30, Peter and Simon
Sunday 3rd Nov, SLT, 18.00 – 21.00, Peter, Simon, Chris (will be blocking from beginning of act 2, so Simon, if you like you can come in at 7pm).

Tuesday 5th Dec, 19.30, Naomi's house, Ed, Simon, Caroline torture scene
Thursday 7th Dec, 19.30, Naomi's house, Simon & Caroline, post torture, character work
Sunday 10th Dec, SLT Rehearsal Room, 18.00 - 21.00, Peter, Simon, Chris, Kevin, continuing work on Act II

Hope this is ok for everyone, do let me know if there are any problems for anybody.

We have a very tight schedule for a complex play, and while we do have enough time, it relies on really making the most of the space and time we have. So far everyone has been fantastic, and even at this early stage I can see it shaping up well, so let’s keep it up!

I am loathe to scare everyone with a firm “books down” date at this stage as I know this is a demanding script with lots to learn. However, I would like everyone to be working towards being off book by mid-late December at the latest, as by this time most scenes will have been blocked and we will be onto the ‘polishing’ stage. With this tight schedule, the absence of books as soon as you can manage it would be very helpful!

Read-through and rehearsals

Our first read-through is scheduled for 12.oo midday on Sunday 12th November at SLT - meet in the bar. The read-through itself will probably be in the Green Room, followed by a bit of a chat about characters etc etc.

I will go through the rehearsal schedule on Sunday too - whilst our schedule appears fairly tight I'm planning to add some dates in between for individual character and speeches work. Nobody (except me and Aidan!) should be too swamped though as the play breaks up nicely into scenes involving two or three people.

So the countdown begins!

Sneak preview of our poster

(with thanks to Maria)

Set v3

Developing set.....all very much a work in progress.