Sleuth – The Director’s Blog

1 February 2013

It’s the second week of rehearsals and we’re well and truly steaming along. Matt and Richard have been working furiously to get off book, in order to be able to concentrate on detail. For me, this stage is about painting in the colour, having mapped out an outline of the play in the first week, when we focused on tone and character. The more we know about the characters’ backgrounds the better; we create “back stories”-information which gives context to their decisions.For example, we decided that Andrew’s father was a top city lawyer and that he went to an expensive private school. This isn’t in the play but tells us where he inherited his money from and hints at his attitude to class.

By creating a full history of a character, an actor has a chance to tromp around in his boots, getting a feeling of being inside his skin, thinking, breathing. An audience will spot a two-dimensional characterisation a mile off.  In a play like this, where tonally we jump between comedy, thriller and insightful naturalism, the characters are complex and unpredictable. That’s what makes them exciting to watch.

This week we’re going back to the beginning to unpick the text, beat by beat, to put in physical detail and find the comedy. It’s probably my favourite stage because we know the lay of the land now -we can get muddy and explore. Fitting in Bagnor, where each day for me starts with a countryside stomp with Hedda (Artistic Director) and her dog, Bear, a good chance to think and digest the work we’re doing. Whilst working in London is great fun, there’s something about being so pleasantly marooned in the countryside which lends a focus and intensity to our process. Let’s just hope while we’re ensconced in our country retreat that the detectives don’t come knocking…

Director, Jessica Swale