Sleuth-Director’s Blog

8 February 2013

We’re now into the last week of rehearsals and the wheels are all in motion. Today we’ve had our first costume fittings so the boys have been trying on an array of seventies suits and smoking jackets from the ‘golden era of detective fiction’. Fittings are one of my favourite parts of rehearsals as the characters come to life visually. Not only is it exciting in terms of the play coming together, but it often has an effect on the actors’ performances as it heightens their sense of who they are.
One of the joys of working on a play is the stage at which each of the creative artists involved- composer, designers, fight directors- adds their contribution into the mix. We’re now dropping Isobel’s music in in rehearsals. She’s taken 30s detective movies like Dial M for Murder as inspiration, mixing this genre with contemporary flavours to keep the music pacey and original. Working on a now well rehearsed scene with the added layer of a tension-building underscore really spices up rehearsals. We are lucky to have a composer writing a fully original score for us, and Isobel and I have been working on the musical language as if she was writing a movie soundtrack, as there is something very filmic about both the style of the writing and the genre. And now, what with the additions of props and furniture, the fight choreography and costume, the whole plan, as they say, is coming together.
It’s a tricky time for the actors as they have so much to remember; not only is the blocking (moves) becoming more complicated as we add detail, but they have to time their performance, entrances and exits to the music, juggle props, remember specific timing, take notes, learn choreography and know their lines. It’s certainly not an easy task but they are certainly game! We’ll keep you posted!

Director, Jessica Swale