Globe Education Online

This is Jasper's fourth blog entry for the 2000 production of The Tempest, in which he talks aboutthe developing Caliban's character and beginning rehearsals for The Two Noble Kinsmen.

Developing Caliban's Character

The character Caliban continues to develop. I just keep pushing things to see what works and what doesn’t. The audience is also very helpful for this. My performance is changing and developing. I used to take my first sip out of Stephano's bottle in Act 2 Scene 2, and look at the audience and say that it was ‘good’. One night, by accident I blew my cheeks out as if I had a mouthful of liquid. People in the yard immediately moved away from the stage and it occurred to me that they thought that I was going to spit on them. So I explored that, by going up to them and working them into a state of terror before finally blowing out air from my cheeks. The actors are much more relaxed on stage together now. We give each other a lot of space and time to pursue any ideas that occur during a show.

We’ve done 40 performances now and we’re all tired. I’ve bruised my foot, hurt my back and my voice is tired. We’re all a little battle weary. The audiences have changed a lot, especially at matinees. They used to be very enthusiastic, and they are more subdued now. Although they are still filled with young people I think that we aren’t getting the same response because some of the audience members don’t speak English as a first language. I think this because it seems to be a lot of the verbal jokes that they don’t get, whilst still responding to the physical ones.

Beginning Rehearsals for The Two Noble Kinsmen

We have also started to rehearse The Two Noble Kinsmen. I am playing Palamon. Rehearsing and performing is making me very tired! We did have an idea that Will Keen and I would alternate between Palamon and Arcite, playing each part on alternate nights. However, we both realised the work that this would entail and decided not to do it. We found that we were unable to focus on either part. I was worried that instead of playing one part properly I would be playing two parts badly. It was a constructive experience though. I learnt a lot from hearing Will say my lines. He sometimes stressed things in different places, making the meaning much clearer to me.

Tim Carroll (Master Of Play) has a very different rehearsal approach to Lenka Udovicki (Master Of play for The Tempest). He may have lots of ideas in his own mind, but in rehearsal he lets us improvise scenes and discover things for ourselves. It's a very free rehearsal process. I find this a very constructive way of rehearsal. Lenka had a much clearer idea of what she wanted when she came to rehearsal. I think her ideas were wonderful and am a very big fan of hers, but is interesting to see how different her approach was from Tim’s.

I am working on The Two Noble Kinsmen slowly, discovering things every day. As yet I’m not very clear on the story as it's very confusing with lots of subplots. We’re making creeping progress.

Yesterday I began to try on costumes for the Palamon. I never complain about costume but I did try on a particularly ugly pair of boots yesterday. There were quite tatty with lots of straps. I’m not sure if they’re appropriate for Palamon. We shall have to see.

On a more serious note, the big question for me with regard to The Two Noble Kinsmen is a question of nobility. How do ‘noble kinsmen’ behave towards others and how does that differ from the way they are in each other's company. Noblemen are courteous and loyal, but at the same time they are also warriors.

It's still only early days in rehearsal and I’m enjoying myself. I still have lots to discover.

These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process – they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

Back to Caliban