Far From The Madding Crowd – Rehearsal Blog – Week One

20 March 2015

‘When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to chinks, and diverging wrinkles appeared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun.’ Chapter One: Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

On Monday morning, as we gathered for the first day of rehearsals for The Watermill Theatre’s production of Far From the Madding Crowd, I must have resembled Farmer Oak. I was about to begin assisting Jessica Swale upon her new stage adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel and there was the familiar sense of nervous excitement in the room that one always feels on a first day.

As I listened to the actors bring the text and rich tapestry of characters to life, I was struck by how expertly Jessica had captured the sense of the community at the heart of Hardy’s story. And it made me think how this was a perfect choice for The Watermill Theatre. It is a play with a rural community at its heart, being created by a creative community, within the rural community of Bagnor and Newbury. “I wanted to adapt this book because it has all the Hardyesque drama, but with a degree of joy too. It’s unusual that Hardy writes a happy ending, and there’s something celebratory about the book. It’s a love story to English rural life, and that felt so appropriate for Newbury,” Jessica told us.

Jessica and her designer Philip Engleheart guided us through their research, and then took us through the model box set and costume designs. It always astounds me the sheer quality and imagination of the designers who work at this incredible venue, and Philip is no exception. Within this unique playing space he has created a multi-functioning set with trucks that move in and around the playing area to create architecture. Just as with Philip’s design for Sense & Sensibility, there are ingenious reveals, clever details and a set that achieves the ‘everyday that does everything.’ We will be transported to intimate interiors, open spaces, burning barns, churches and festivals.

Set Designer Philip Engleheart showing the model box to the company of Far From the Madding Crowd.

We have also been incredibly fortunate to have Danielle Pearson working as our research expert. Having studied Hardy there seems to be no detail that escapes her. Coupled with this, we have original music by the wonderful Catherine Jayes, who composed the musical arrangements for Calamity Jane last year, and a talented cast of actor musicians with our brilliant DSM Ceire Hoey keeping track of everything.

At the end of today’s rehearsal I turned to Danielle and we began to discuss the themes of the piece. The play is set in the Victorian era of the mid 1800’s and covers a great many issues, politics and agendas so how could we sum it up in one precise sentence? Danielle suggested a mighty fine starter for ten:

Sexual politics in relation to shifting class.

I think she may have nailed it.

More to follow…

All the best,

Neil Bull
Assistant Director, Far From The Madding Crowd