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In his third blog post, Tim discusses how rehearsals have progressed, and how he feels his character has developed.

Rehearsals

This week we’ve been reading through the whole play, getting a sense of pace and time. But we’ve found that it’s still too long, so we’ve had to make some cuts. We’ve put all the scenes onto the floor now, which is rewarding. I feel that Claudius is beginning to have more substance now that we’re acting it out, although working on the physical interpretation of the role, and learning lines at the same time can be a bit confusing.

Character development

I have been thinking a lot about Claudius’ main preoccupation, which, of course is not to get caught by anybody. I think that he begins the play feeling very secure. The whole court is on his side, they all agree with the marriage. I think that Claudius is happy in his relationship with Gertrude. He has no idea that Hamlet knows anything. As he discovers that Hamlet does know about the murder, he becomes very suspicious of everyone. He can’t deal with Hamlet too harshly, as everyone loves him. If he puts him on trial, it’s all going to come out. So, he gradually becomes determined to deal with Hamlet by sending him to England. The plot to kill him doesn’t come until later, probably after the play scene. Once he has that idea, though, he is going to make sure that it’s carried out very quickly. At this point he has no other problems with anyone else. No one else knows anything about it.

There are several things now for me to think about. I don’t want to make Claudius too arch, not to fiendishly villainous. I think that he is much more like a politician. I also need to try and get the verse, the voice and the movement all working together, so that they all come naturally to me at once and I no longer have to think about them. I also have to learn the rest of the lines. I tend do that by using a piece of paper to cover up the lines and then go through them like that again and again. The best time for me is late at night.

I feel like things are really beginning to take shape now, especially since we’ve been through all the scenes.

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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