Globe Education Online
Resources for people passionate about learning and engaging with Shakespeare's plays
Rehearsal Notes: 6
This is Harry's last blog post. This week he discusses performing in The Antipodes, the differences between The Antipodes and his performances last year in The Comedy of Errors, and what he will be doing when the season ends.
The Antipodes
The Antipodes has been very successful. The audiences have loved it and the reviews have been fantastic. It has been lovely for me to have such a central role in the play.
Last season I performed at the Globe in The Comedy of Errors. There is a big difference in the comic nature of the two plays. The Comedy of Errors was very farcical. This is more gentle. The Comedy of Errors ran at terrifically high pace I had a small part and it felt like jumping on and off a carrousel. In this play, I am on stage for most of the time.
As The Antipodes is such a little known play I can’t presume that anybody in the audience knows anything about it. I therefore have to concentrate on getting everything over as clearly as possible. This can be hard as the play moves quickly.
The end of the season
We are coming to the end of the season and I feel as though it is a time to enjoy myself. Guildenstern is not really changing any further. I am at a very relaxed stage in the production process. Other characters are still doing something different every now and then and I just respond to their actions. This keeps the performances ‘fresh’.
I am starting to think about what I will be doing once the season comes to a close. The Hamlet company will be going on tour to Vincenza, Italy for two performances in early October. We will be performing at a venue that is over 400 years old, older than the original Globe Theatre. After that I will be returning to London to play the fox in a production of Pinocchio. I am really looking forward to this as it will be directed by Marcello Magni, who I worked with last season in The Comedy of Errors at the Globe.
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.
