Offical photos by Arne Hyckenberg.
Rehearsal photos by Louie Woodall and Aslam Husain
What happens when two ensembles meet on an opera house stage like the Berwaldhallen?
How ludicrous is this? A 17 member Symphony ensemble from Trondheim with English soloist Daniel Hope plays Max Richter’s 4 seasons by Vivaldi as backdrop to an Original Practice and Pronunciation version of Pericles from Ben Crystal’s ensemble of 13 actors.
It should be a giant fluster cluck. But shouldeva, wouldeva, couldeva. It worked.
Our roles were slight and these pictures will tell our part of the tale.
Let’s start in the rehearsal process.
New Tee-SHirt Ben shouts out and hands over this tee-SHirt. This photo thereof, taken the next day and tweeted by the producer Anna from the Berwaldhallen.
She like everyone else around is obviously uncertain as to what’s going to happen. But she’s clearly enjoying the process. Or at least putting on a brave face. Something all of us are doing. Hindsight is always 20/20. The moment by moment as it is happening allows fears and uncertainties to besiege even the strongest of conviction.
Time contracts and expands as we’ve recorded before. A rehearsal day of 12 hours can span four seasons of experience. A late meal in an excellent fish or italian restaurant with drinks to unwind can wipe the slate clean for the next round. Simultaneously bonding with fellow players and crew.
The essentials of any theatrical experience are not only the people onstage. There are others who are the oil in the machine; they who will not be named and never are. These extra personnel whose essential roles and parts remain undeniably as servants to the arts. They never make the scholarly or theatrical results of performance.
Nathan M. and Sassy S. are our servants to the arts, Anna C. and Kasja H. their Swedish counterparts. Swedish radio and its facilities cannot be bigged up enough. The Berwaldhallen and its technical staff afforded every attendance. The Hotel Hasselbacken and especially night staff Andreas made welcome to rehearsal sodden thesps.
Rehearsals and run-throughs are covered by Louie W. a journo from the Shakespeare Standard. Louie works in the finance world and Shakes is his passion. His review of our Tanner Street experience with Makkers hit the mark. He covers this project in a series of articles.
Here Nathan laughs as we rehearse in one of the studios from the Swedish Radio building. An amazingly comprehensive and well-used facility.
David Crystal as Gower did a re-written Star Wars prologue suiting his words to his costume, his costume to Shakespeare’s words. In honour of one of our cast members btw.
This stick exercise took us (royal we) by surprise. Typical Ben methodology to just launch into something so group unifying.
David C as Goer rehearses in the one and only chance we had to resolve the problems of two ensembles meeting and the resulting amplification troubles. Also typical, a mere two hours before we go up. Flying by the seat of our pants and trusting in the result.
The evening started with David giving his talk on Original Pronunciation whilst the actors onstage behind him warmed up and listened.
Whilst we found an opportunity to show off our role. And get to know our audience a little.
Ben strikes an iconic pose.
Our first part in the telling of the story when the Prince of Tyre is shipwrecked. A spirally choreography devised by Jenny. Live and on film communicates better than on photograph.
Our main role was Simonides, the good King. And we admit it is good to be the King. A spur of the moment thought turned into a fortuitous course of action for his first entrance.
The ensemble playing the music was amazeballs. No but truly amazetestes. Daniel Hope rocks. The Trondheim ensemble rocketh with him. Their amplification dude wasn’t happy with the concessions that inevitably had to be made for comprehension. Miked actors and a music ensemble that requires amplification are a contradiction in terms.
We knew the music Spring 2 was 3 mins and we’d been instructed to play it by ear, preferably sit it out as birthday gift for Thaisa our daughter. So we decided that a throne was necessary. During our rehearsal with the 2 ensembles, the Berwaldhallen techies (all hail) had brought seats for the music ensemble and luckily there was an extra left.
We summoned our manservant from the opposite side of the stage, which he was reluctant to cross whilst another scene was happening. We told our daughter of our intentions, which she negated forcefully, as is her wont with all our decisions. Then we entered the scene, followed by manservant with daughter dancing around over-joyed we’d organised a live ensemble. We ordered the throne just off centre stage and sat and enjoyed a truly royal command performance. Fortunate old Simonides.
‘Come Queene of the feast, For daughter so you are. Here take your place. Martiall the rest as they deserve their grace.’ (Between you and us I fluffed that couplet on the night).
‘Your presence glads our days. Honour we love.
For who hates honour, hates the gods above.’
Simonides realizes Thaisa may be falling for this unknown guest.
Of course just like off-stage she questions our decisions.
‘How? Do as I bid you. Or you’ll move me else.’
We can’t help dissembling with Pericles before accepting him as our son in law.
And sending him to wed and bed our daughter resulting in a grand-child born at sea whom we never see.
Then another storm at sea which seperates Pericles from Thaisa and their daughter Marina (which in OP rhymes with RP vagina)!
Next follow two minor roles, both firsts:
What was our lackey is now my fellow superstitious sailor.
‘Your queen must overboard.’
Then the first of two gentleman of Metaline (which rhymes with Medellin)
‘I’m for anything now that is virtuous. I am out of the road of rutting forever.’
And then unencumbered we got to enjoy the part that everyone agrees belongs to Shakespeare. Acts 4 and 5 are the inverse of the first 3 acts whose expository lengths contrast with the psychological validity of Marina meeting her father. Coming after Marina’s masterfully eloquent defence of her virginity in the brothel to Lysimachus and Bolt.
We acknowledge the solipsistic nature of this post. It should in no way diminish the efforts of our fellowes. We can do what we do only because of our fellowes. And our enjoyment was rapt and attentive. The ensemble beside ours likewise, not one is diminished because she/he had fewer or more notes. Without the parts there is no whole.
The magic is achieved through the efforts of everyone involved. And that we can be a part is humbling and enervating. We ended that night with a discussion mediated by Marcus Nordlund.
We try to say something worthwhile. Daniel Harding jokingly tells us we’re dreaming that the players and the actors work the same way.
Man I’m glad he said yes to this whole thing. It might have been a fluster cluck. And yet it rocked, and we all owned it!
That’s Sassy Smit btw. She is master-mistress of my passion.
The PRINCIPAL Players.
And we got reviews.
One from Louie:
One from the Swedish news:
(Google translated for your reading pleasure)
Now it’s done. Let it rest. Move on to the next thing. OMG what an experience!
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