We have nearly completed some sort of rehearsal of the whole play; today we wanted to tackle probably the most challenging scene of the play, and its emotional heart: Hamed’s breakdown, after the explosion which kills his friend. We wanted to add an element of physical theatre to express this, rather than just have Hamed rolling around on the floor, expressing inner turmoil. Cristina had suggested some sort of cloth, through which Hamed is struggling to breathe, and I brought along a bedsheet for the purpose. But I had suspected it might prove too thick and heavy for Hamed to be revealed through it, and so it proved. But then Robin dragged out an old sail that was lying around (one particular advantage of rehearsing in a sailing club) and that seemed to do the job perfectly… as you can see.
We had Maria missing today, which constrained us a little, but we did run through some other scenes too, particularly to give Jesus additional practice in his scenes. We are making progress, but it is rather slow, and there is still quite a bit to do. But we skon ought to be in a position to start running through the whole thing.
On the technical side, we are still looking for a soundtrack, but yesterday Matilda’s son Oscar indicated he would be able to put it together. And it seems we will be able to create some sort of backdrop at the Finchley venue, so are being more proactive in trying to source some basic stage lighting, which will help to focus the audience’s attention.
So it seems we are set, with two performances: at Rm 7, Finchley O2 on Wednesday 18th, at 7pm; and Newman College, Harlesden, on Friday 20th at 6.30 (with Sam Alexander standing in for me.) Both shows are free and essentially unbookable, being part of larger Refugee Week events.
