Globe Education Online

This is Jasper's fifth and final blog entry for the 2000 production of The Tempest, in which he talks about switching from The Tempest to The Two Noble Kinsmen, the differences in characters and plays, and the difficulties in switching from one to another.

Moving from Caliban to Palomon

Playing Palomon in The Two Noble Kinsmen has been difficult at times because there seems, at first, to be relatively little difference between him and Arcite in the text. Will (Keen, Arcite) and I have worked hard to find the two characters very separate identities because, of course, they are two different people. Arcite and Palomon are dressed virtually identically in the play, which means that we have to make them appear physically different with our bodies, as we can’t rely on clothing. In rehearsal we used to think that they were quite similar. It was not until performance that I began to see Palomon as being quite different. I think that he is much more flamboyant than Arcite. The more I looked at the play the more I began to believe that they are almost opposites and that that is why they get on so well.

I have also noticed from the text that it almost seems as though Palomon has a death wish. He mentions dying far more than Arcite. He says ‘prithie kill me’, ‘let's die together’. When he loses the fight, Emilia says that she thought Palomon would not win but she does not know why. It is implied that Palomon does not want to win. He does care whether or not he lives or dies because in some way he is not satisfied with his life. He loves his cousin so much that he would rather his cousin lived and was happy because he thinks that he may not be happy even if he did marry Emilia.

Palomon seems to love Emilia in a very different way from Arcite. Palomon only says that he loves Emilia once during the play and that is in the middle of the fight scene. Arcite says to Palomon that he loves her as a woman, to enjoy her. Palomon tells Arcite that he loves her as a goddess. I think that Palomon puts Emilia on a pedestal. This is one of the big differences between Palomon and Arcite.

The Two Noble Kinsmen at the Globe

The Two Noble Kinsmen is an unusual play because it juxtaposes a tragic story with moments of great wit and comedy. Its wit can be very difficult to pick up on. When I had first read the text I wanted to play it as more of a comedy, but Tim (Carroll, Master of Play) said that we were going to play up the story and not make a joke out of it. Normally I like to take the comic approach, as I love to make people laugh. I don’t think comedy makes the story any less pointed. Tim said that he was not directing it as a comedy. It's a witty play and if they laugh they laugh. Taking the serious approach sets me lots of exciting challenges. I was astonished by how funny the audiences have found the play.

The Two Noble Kinsmen uses the yard in performance. This has proved to be quite difficult for me. At one moment I have to hide underneath the staircase in the yard. It is just a set of wooden steps so the audience can see me. But they are not supposed to know that I’m there. However, they all keep staring at me and I have to try and make myself invisible. I want to say to them ‘ignore me and concentrate on the play’, but, of course I don’t.

Another problem for me, at this point, is that I have to crawl out of a little whole in the steps wearing chains. The steps have metal bits on them, which means that the chains make a terrible noise. I have had to develop a routine to try and make as little noise as possible. It is very complicated.

I do enjoy exiting though the yard at the end of the play. I carry Arcite's body. I improvised this during the dress rehearsal and I thought that Tim would not like it as it is a bit sentimental, but he did, so it has stayed in.

Switching from One Play to the Other

We had a fantastic performance of The Tempest last night. The audience were great and the company were also really excited because Lenka (Udovicki, Master of Play for The Tempest) was in and she hasn’t been there since the opening weeks of the show. We wanted to show her how much the play has developed and changed over 59 performances.

I have found that coming back to The Tempest when we have been playing The Two Noble Kinsmen for a while is very difficult. The Tempest has a very different vibe to The Two Noble Kinsmen. It's not that either show requires more energy or concentration, it is just that The Tempest is harder to return to. I don’t know why that is.

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.

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