Don John rehearsal blog pt 1

With the kind permission of Kneehigh Theatre, we're reproducing Carl Grose's rehearsal blog. This is the first part of five. Don John is on at Northern Stage from the 27 - 31 January.

Week One

Rehearsing a Kneehigh show can be many things, but it is always surprising. My first surprise came on Day One when I arrived at The Barn in Gorran Haven eager to start work, only to be told I was not to play the title role of Don John (the world’s greatest lover) as I had initially presumed. The part, I discovered, had gone to an ugly Icelandic actor. With all the professionalism I could muster, I refrained from causing a scene (the poor Nord’s country is bankrupt – he needs all the work he can get!), and accepted the role of Alan (a character I couldn’t quite recall from Mozart’s opera). Our director, Emma Rice, seeing my fragile actor’s pride somewhat cracked, came close and soothed me with words of reassurance: “You’ll probably be wearing a mullet wig.” A mullet wig? There is hope for the production yet…

Actually, I’m just pulling your leg. I knew I was going to play Alan. But it is true that rehearsing a new Kneehigh show is full of surprises. And yes, I may get to wear a mullet wig. And yes, the Icelandic guy playing Don John is very ugly.*

So. What happened in the first week of rehearsals?

It’s all a bit of a blur but it went something like this:

We discussed the story of Don Giovanni or Don Juan or Casanova (or, as he is in this show, Don John). We dipped and skipped through Anna Maria Murphy’s gorgeous poetry. We had a close call with a herd of sinister, theatre-loving cows who might well have never been there at all! We got all nostalgic talking about Corona lemonade, The Clash and The Incredible Hulk (the show is set in Britain in 1978). We took each other’s weight, and found some balance on the cliff. We winced and strained to hit the right notes on Stu Barker’s fantastic harmonies (long way to go yet). We dressed up and met the characters of our story (in low light - with a 70s soundtrack). We lit a fire, set off some fireworks, and endured a seemingly never-ending Beatles medley. We picked our jaws off the floor after some pretty awesome Polish violin playing. We tussled with the minutiae of the rules of Volley-Ball. We (or rather, I) tried to survive a sweaty day long Tango lesson (still scarred from that one). We got to know each other, and sample the world we where about to enter for the next five months.

There’s lots to do. But as our director Emma says: “Every day, in every way…”

* He’s not really. He’s a seven foot tall, ex-gymnast with matinee idol looks. But I’ll cut him down to size over the course of the tour.