Fun and Mindgames

Palmer Park church hall was full of Progress actors last Sunday. I rang the bell for the hall I was expecting Mindgame rehearsals to be in but was let in by someone rehearsing Henry IV who told me Mindgame was upstairs. I then found a room of people I recognised but quickly realised they were rehearsing Mine not Mindgame. It seemed a bit rude to walk out saying "sorry I didn't want to see you" so I stayed to watch a scene. It is early days and the actors were rehearsing the scene for the first time but even though they were reading from their scripts the scene was still full of emotional tension (I'm not just saying this because they bribed me with cake honest).

I finally made it to the Mindgame rehearsal and they were part way through a run of the first act. There was a lot going on, in the twenty minutes or so I watched I saw a fight, someone murdered and someone being put in a straitjacket and threatened with torture. I also found myself laughing in places and I did check with director Chris Hoult later if I was supposed to be laughing. He reassured me that there was some black comedy and it was ok to laugh.

I also asked Chris about the the fighting as it looked very realistic.He told me that they hired Stevie Peart a professional actor specialising in stage fighting to run a workshop with the cast. The video shows an extract from the workshop.The production team and actors had already worked out the basic choreography and Steve advised them on techniques to make it look more realistic like following through properly after a punch. He also gave them some tips on how to use breakaway bottles for a scene where someone is hit with a wine bottle. Breakaway bottles are made with resin and look like a real wine bottle but shatter easily when smashed over someones head. The production crew have just collected 18 of these bottles from Sheperton Studios where Breakaway Effects Limited is based. They drove very carefully on the way home and are hoping that the 18 will be enough for 6 performances and rehearsals. So far they haven't dared take them out of the box!

I really enjoyed the bit of Mindgame I saw but I wasn't allowed to stay and watch the second half in case I gave away any of the twists and turns. I'll just have to buy my ticket like everyone else!

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Coming up -

Mindgame by Anthony Horowitz 10th-12th May and 17th-19th May 2012, Progress Theatre

Auditions for Calendar Girls, by Tim Firth, Sunday 13th (2:30pm) and Wednesday 16th May (7:30pm). There is also a pre-audition evening Thursday 3rd May 7.45pm, a chance to hear the directors vision and ask any questions you may have.

Mine by Polly Teale 11th - 16th June 2012, Progress Theatre

Henry IV Part One by William Shakespeare, 12 Jul - 21 Jul 2012, Caversham Court Gardens

See Progress Theatre website for details of all our productions and auditions.