Death and the Maiden and the World Cup

Sunday lunch time and the rest of the country was preparing to cheer on England but the cast and crew of Death and the Maiden were busy at the theatre.

The set building crew were working on creating the interior of a South American beach house complete with veranda doors with an "impression" of a sea view. None of them were concerned about missing the England game and were looking forward to being able to visit B&Q for supplies without the usual Sunday afternoon crowds.

The cast were rehearsing in the theatre foyer. When I walked in they were trying different techniques for stuffing a pair of knickers in Dino's mouth. He was also tied to a chair with pairs of tights. I watched a very powerful tense scene between the three characters - its amazing how much acting it  is still possible to do with a pair of pants in your mouth!

Certain cast members were less happy about missing the big  game and when I left were still hoping to persuade director Zsuzsi to let them have a couple of hours off - perhaps now they are grateful she spared them from having to watch it!

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Coming up...

Death and The Maiden by Ariel Dorfman 5 - 10 July 2010

Auditions for Metamorphosis  adapted by Steven Berkoff from Franz Kafka’s novel. Tuesday, 6th July at 7:30 pm at Palmer Park (United Reformed Church, Palmer Park Avenue, Reading, RG6 1DN); Sunday, 11th July at 2:30 at Progress Theatre.

See www.progresstheatre.co.uk for details of all our productions and auditions.

Birth and Death and the Maiden

Director Zsuzsi Kingsnorth has got more than the production of Death and the Maiden to look forward to in July - she is expecting her first baby at the end of the month. Death and the Maiden runs from 5th - 10th July so if all goes according to plan she will have time to finish the rehearsals before becoming a Mum. Just in case though she has been working with Esther Walters as assistant director. Esther and Zsuzsi met during the 2007 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream when they were both playing fairies. 

Esther has been on board from the beginning and has sat in on most of the rehearsals. She is playing an active role and puts forward her views on the production as well as taking rehearsals if Zsuzsi can't make one. She will be in a good position to take over the ropes if necessary - as long as she has a plentiful supply of diet coke. 

As well as rehearsing, Zsuzsi and Esther have been out in Reading taking random photos of people in the street. Death and the Maiden is set in an unnamed South American country which has suffered under a dictatorship. In countries like Chile and Argentina one thing the governments did was to arrest people randomly from the streets. These people may have had nothing to do with any political action it was merely one method of keeping people in fear and under control. The taking of photos in Reading was a way of replicating this randomness but as Progress is not a repressive regime they did ask permission first. The photos will be on display during the run.

Death and the Maiden at Palmer Park

During dress rehearsals and production runs other plays in rehearsal can't use the theatre and have to find another space. Usually this is the Park United Reformed Church by Palmer Park. As the Youth Theatre were using the theatre on Sunday getting ready for the first performance of Is this it on Monday, I found the cast of Death and the Maiden rehearsing at the church. Sometimes rehearsals are held in the church itself. I once ran some rehearsals of Dracula there which felt a bit weird but as it was a traditional telling of the story where good triumphs over evil with the help of Christian symbols I decided it was quite appropriate.

The Death and the Maiden cast were not in the Church but in one of the function rooms. When I arrived they were rehearsing a scene where the two male characters are discussing a commission to examine the crimes of the previous regime in the unnamed South American country the play is set in. They are putting the world to rights over late night drinks and much of the director's comments centred around portraying that increased certainty about our own opinions many of us get when we've had a few drinks.

Richard Tripp and Dino Costa who play Gerardo Escobar  and Roberto Miranda have got their lines and basic moves pretty well learnt and with nearly three weeks to go are now concentrating on the subtle nuances and turning points of scenes. 

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Coming up...

Youth Theatre week - Parcans (11 - 13 year olds) 14th and 15th June "Is This It?"
Strobes (13 - 15 year olds) 18th and 19th June Beary Tales and Bored Office Drones.

Death and The Maiden by Ariel Dorfman 5 - 10 July 2010

See www.progresstheatre.co.uk for details of all our productions and auditions.

Auditions for Death and the Maiden

Auditions for Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman will be held at Progress Theatre on Sunday 28th March at 2:30pm & Wednesday 31st March at 7:30pm. 

This will be the fourth time that director Zsuzsi Kingsnorth has been involved in a production of Death and the Maiden but she says it is a play she could never get bored of.

There are only three characters, a woman who has been tortured in the past, her husband and the man she suspects is the torturer. It is passionate and spine-tingling and Zsuzsi particularly enjoys seeing audiences' reactions which can range from bewilderment, to sobbing, to anger but never indifference.

Zsuzsi says that she sometimes feels theatre has lost its edge and she loves producing shows that have an impact - positive or negative.She is certainly no stranger to controversial productions. In 2004 she directed Corpus Christi by Terence McNally which led to a complaint of blasphemy to the local police. Last summer a production of The Laramie Project she directed as part of the first Shanghai Pride week was cancelled by the Shanghai authorities.The play, which deals with the murder of a gay student in Wyoming, was later performed at a new venue. 

Since 2001 Zsuzsi has run Zuloo, a small production company. Zuloo has produced plays in Scotland, China and America and can now be found here in Reading.  They are currently running weekly workshops at the Rising Sun Arts Centre Be Part of Part of a Play! 

If you want to be part of a passionate play with a director clearly passionate about the power of drama then come along to auditions for Death and the Maiden.

If you are interested in what goes on at Progress Theatre then sign up to this blog. Enter your email in the box under ‘about us’ and click on subscribe. New postings are made weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails.

Coming up ….

The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Mon 22nd & Weds 24th March 7.45 pm, Saturday 27th 5.30 and Travesties by Tom Stoppard Tues 23rd, Fri 26th March & Saturday 27th 7.45 pm 

Auditions for Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. At Progress Theatre, Sunday 28th March 2.30 and Wednesday 31 March 7.30

Intimate Exchanges by Alan Ayckbourn 14 - 24 April 2010

See www.progresstheatre.co.uk for details of all our productions and auditions.