Behind Stage Door: Macbeth (an undoing)'s rehearsals continue

It’s Friday, it’s busy, it’s rehearsals. The company are on to act 2 – they work fast this bunch and scenes are taking shape. This week they have welcomed the king, partied, argued, fought, drunk all the booze and seen blood, witches and murderers. What a week!

Today they continue to work through act 2, starting with Nicole and Adam and then welcoming more cast into the room for the following scene (no spoilers here). For rehearsals today the movement director is also back in the room to give a second eye on scenes and the bigger moments in rehearsals that require careful placement of actors in the space when lots of things are happening at once, this allows Zinnie to focus on the meaning and delivery of lines.

Sometimes the bigger scenes can feel quite a lot to think about and work on in one go. To tackle this, Zinnie asks the actors to find the delivery and meaning of the lines as this can influence the movement and interactions on stage – it starts with less about the blocking and more about the mechanics of the scene. The first way a scene is performed, or even the third or fifth might not be the version that you see on stage, especially the big movement scenes with lots of characters and entrances.

There are moments when reading through or performing scenes where the lines aren’t quite working for how the performance or character is developing. The great thing about that is that the writer is in the room there are moments Zinnie re-writes during the rehearsal in a collaborative development of her words using the perspective of those playing her characters.

After lunch, Zinnie welcomed Radio 4 into the rehearsal room with Nicole and Adam to record some scenes to go alongside an interview they have done with Nicole about the production. Listen out for it on the 16th Feb!

The real exciting thing about this day is that, for the first time, the company is welcoming the young company into the rehearsal room. All 5 cast members, from our youth theatre, went through an audition process and were chosen for the show. For most of them this is their first time performing in a main stage show and it’s safe to say that they are excited, if not a little nervous. Zinnie works with the cast to block the scene before the young people take over their role from a cast member, they work as a group to learn the scene before being incredibly brave and acting the scene on their own in front of the room. They do such a great job, and it is so wonderful to see them being welcomed and feeling comfortable in a space that could be very daunting. Look out for Farrah, Bella, Matilde, Frankie and Charlie when you come to see the show and give them an extra big clap.