Meet Imogen and George, Performing in This Year’s Shakespeare on the Lawn

We were invited to join Year 9 students as they rehearsed for this year’s Shakespeare on the Lawn, The Comedy of Errors, and met with them focusing on one specific scene. Taking time to read through their lines with one another, under the guidance of Ms Mayes and Mr Williams, it was a perfect opportunity to understand and see the hard work and process of rehearsals – and why they are so important, and not just from an performance point of view.

As each of the students, in character, read through their lines, there was time to consider what the meaning of some of Shakespeare’s 400 year old language actually meant in modern day language, and what impact this has on the person saying these lines – as well as the character hearing and receiving them; after all one feeds the other in terms of understanding and direction of how to react on stage.

The importance of tone was also discussed, focusing on where emphasis or elongation of particular words is needed – in order for the audience to understand and interpret, and in this scenario, for the other actors to understand what their characters’ reactions should be.

Time was also spent considering movement on stage, imagining props not yet built and thinking about how they would move around and interact with them; rehearsing in the theatre foyer this time due to an examination taking place and the poor weather meaning the lawn wasn’t an option unless they all wanted to be blown away, students really had to dig deep to visualise the stage, props, their position and that of their fellow actors – and indeed they did.

Talking about having hunger for performing, Ms Mayes, our Head of Drama spoke to students about the importance of de-coding Shakespeare before they even think about performing it, as well as the consideration of perspective and interpretation.

It’s clear to see all of the students are having a great time rehearsing, they’re getting to know and understand more about not only their own characters, but all of the others involved in the play. We spoke to Imogen who plays Antipholus of Ephesus and George who plays Dromio of Syracuse about how they feel they’re progressing and what they’re enjoying particularly.

Imogen, who plays Antipholus of Ephesus

A wealthy, hot-tempered, impulsive merchant whose life has been thrown into chaos by mistaken identity, he is married to Adriana, although their marriage is strained to say the least, mostly by misunderstandings and his frequent interactions with another woman!

“I’m really enjoying the rehearsals and excited to be part of this year’s Shakespeare on the Lawn. The process we’re going through means we’re learning so much about the play and our own and each others’ characters, we couldn’t perform without this part of rehearsing. My character is full of cheekiness, and I was really happy to be given this part; he’s always trying to tease his wife, and so that’s fun to play. I am most looking forward to seeing the entire play come together on performance nights, I think we all are!”

George, who plays Dromio of Syracuse

The loyal servant of Antipholus of Syracuse, he is known for his quick wit and physical comedy, often finding himself in the midst of hilarious misunderstandings and mistaken identities. Despite being mistreated by his m aster at times, they have a good relationship and together they provide lots of the play’s humour.

“Rehearsals are going really well so far, it’s interesting discussing the structure of the play and characters, and incredibly helpful to be able to make annotations to our scripts, so we can ensure the next time we come along it’s all taken in and considered so that each rehearsal improves more and more. The language can be quite complex so that’s a challenge at times. I’m looking forward to dress rehearsals, the costumes and props coming to life – just really excited to be part of this.”

Performances will take place as usual on our beautiful Chapel lawn on Tuesday 30 June and Wednesday 1 July. Tickets will go on sale soon, we’ll share details as soon as they become available.