Acting Around Words

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0:00:12 > 0:00:15Fit And Proper People is a play about

0:00:15 > 0:00:17who owns our football clubs

0:00:17 > 0:00:21and what is the corruption at the heart of our football clubs.

0:00:21 > 0:00:23Football and theatre for me

0:00:23 > 0:00:27have always been my biggest passions.

0:00:27 > 0:00:30They're both live performances, they both engage enormous audiences

0:00:30 > 0:00:33and they both allow people to escape

0:00:33 > 0:00:36and feel in an enormous, shared environment.

0:00:36 > 0:00:38CROWD ROARS

0:00:52 > 0:00:55There's a key moment for me within the whole production,

0:00:55 > 0:00:59which is the first time we see Casey and Anthony really talk to each other,

0:00:59 > 0:01:02towards the end of the first act of the play,

0:01:02 > 0:01:06and the play up to this point has deprived you of a simple scene

0:01:06 > 0:01:08where two people talk to each other.

0:01:08 > 0:01:10It's been football and smoke and mirrors.

0:01:10 > 0:01:12Let's go out for dinner one night.

0:01:14 > 0:01:17I genuinely want to spend some quality time with you.

0:01:17 > 0:01:20What? To ensure that I will keep my mouth shut?

0:01:20 > 0:01:22- Casey, please. - Some average high dining

0:01:22 > 0:01:26and a cab home being your idea of fair exchange?

0:01:27 > 0:01:30Somewhere in town where we can just chat outside of this circus.

0:01:32 > 0:01:37You and me are ancient history, Tony.

0:01:37 > 0:01:38It's all in the past.

0:01:40 > 0:01:44And I'm not going to let you penetrate my future or my business.

0:01:46 > 0:01:49Great, so, shall we take it from the top of the scene then?

0:01:49 > 0:01:51You two on the terrace in public,

0:01:51 > 0:01:53important people sat in front and all around.

0:01:53 > 0:01:55But we're stood next to each other?

0:01:55 > 0:01:57Yes, by coincidence or maybe Anthony's plan.

0:01:57 > 0:01:59That's what I was going to ask,

0:01:59 > 0:02:03- do you think he's premeditated this meeting?- Yeah, quite possibly.

0:02:03 > 0:02:05I was conscious that this conversation

0:02:05 > 0:02:08was an incredibly honest, exposed conversation between two people

0:02:08 > 0:02:12where subtext had gone and they'd started really talking

0:02:12 > 0:02:14brass tacks to each other.

0:02:14 > 0:02:17By placing that in a public situation

0:02:17 > 0:02:20and depriving them of the ability to shout,

0:02:20 > 0:02:23they were forced to use other tactics.

0:02:23 > 0:02:25Let's go out for dinner one night.

0:02:29 > 0:02:32I genuinely want to spend some quality time with you.

0:02:32 > 0:02:35What? To ensure that I will keep my mouth shut?

0:02:35 > 0:02:36Casey, please...

0:02:36 > 0:02:38Some average high dining and a cab home

0:02:38 > 0:02:42being your idea of fair exchange?

0:02:42 > 0:02:46Somewhere in town where we can just talk outside of this circus.

0:02:46 > 0:02:50We, from the table discussions, knew that the scene was about control,

0:02:50 > 0:02:53it was about a power struggle, but it was also a love scene

0:02:53 > 0:02:57at its very heart, and it was a scene where someone was seeking

0:02:57 > 0:03:00for a closure that they hadn't had for maybe 20 years.

0:03:00 > 0:03:03There is now an element at the beginning of the scene

0:03:03 > 0:03:05of sussing out the enemy, isn't there?

0:03:05 > 0:03:08- Absolutely.- Them working out what the battle is. Are we going there?

0:03:08 > 0:03:11Yeah.

0:03:11 > 0:03:14So we played various games involving distance and space

0:03:14 > 0:03:17and things that are about the bodies talking to each other,

0:03:17 > 0:03:19not the minds talking to each other.

0:03:19 > 0:03:22If you stand on opposite sides of the space,

0:03:22 > 0:03:25step forward when you think you are making

0:03:25 > 0:03:28- a step up in status in the scene.- OK.

0:03:28 > 0:03:30Step back if you think you've lost something.

0:03:30 > 0:03:33If you think there's a big shift in the scene,

0:03:33 > 0:03:34- swap places.- OK.

0:03:35 > 0:03:39What do you dream about?

0:03:46 > 0:03:47Playing Man United.

0:03:50 > 0:03:55Knocking that smile off Sir Alex's smug face.

0:03:55 > 0:03:57Tactics going round in your head.

0:04:00 > 0:04:02You all right, Case?

0:04:04 > 0:04:08I heard you nearly married a once-good footballer.

0:04:08 > 0:04:10Action and physical movement on stage

0:04:10 > 0:04:12have to come from truthful thought

0:04:12 > 0:04:14and what was playable between the two of them

0:04:14 > 0:04:17is a real soreness and a real ache

0:04:17 > 0:04:22about what happened between each other and a real lack of closure.

0:04:22 > 0:04:26There is unfinished business there, and that's what makes it dramatic -

0:04:26 > 0:04:27they have something to resolve.

0:04:27 > 0:04:30Well, secrets is what makes the world go round.

0:04:33 > 0:04:34How dare you?

0:04:37 > 0:04:38Sorry, all right, yeah, sorry.

0:04:38 > 0:04:42There's a key beat in the scene where there's a real power exchange

0:04:42 > 0:04:45between Casey and Anthony

0:04:45 > 0:04:48and that's the moment of the kiss, or the failed kiss

0:04:48 > 0:04:50from Anthony.

0:04:50 > 0:04:52With some thought, in retrospect,

0:04:52 > 0:04:54she might have wanted to kiss him but not...

0:04:54 > 0:04:56As soon as it's there, she knows...

0:04:56 > 0:04:59Her knee-jerk reaction to him is one of repulsion.

0:04:59 > 0:05:01So, can we try a version of it just to heighten that moment?

0:05:01 > 0:05:04This might be completely the wrong thing,

0:05:04 > 0:05:06but just to heighten it where somehow

0:05:06 > 0:05:09he manages to hold that kiss

0:05:09 > 0:05:11for a beat longer than is comfortable.

0:05:13 > 0:05:16You did it! You got there!

0:05:16 > 0:05:19- Winning, yeah? Winning. - Spaceless and timeless.

0:05:19 > 0:05:20The God bit in our brains.

0:05:20 > 0:05:22That place where nothing else matters,

0:05:22 > 0:05:24nothing can hurt you any more.

0:05:26 > 0:05:28I let the scene run a couple of times

0:05:28 > 0:05:31and saw what happened with that kiss moment. We then talked about it

0:05:31 > 0:05:33a little bit more and what happened

0:05:33 > 0:05:35if she were to put the kiss on him

0:05:35 > 0:05:38and how that might affect the dynamic of the scene,

0:05:38 > 0:05:41which I think was very powerful in rehearsal

0:05:41 > 0:05:43but it was, in hindsight,

0:05:43 > 0:05:45it made her the manipulator in the scene.

0:05:45 > 0:05:47Winning, yeah? Winning.

0:05:47 > 0:05:48Spaceless and timeless.

0:05:48 > 0:05:51- The God bit in our brains.- That place where nothing else matters,

0:05:51 > 0:05:54nothing can hurt YOU any more.

0:05:54 > 0:05:55Look...

0:06:01 > 0:06:04My game plan's just a little bit more evolved

0:06:04 > 0:06:06than yours these days, see?

0:06:06 > 0:06:09In the end, I trusted both of their instincts entirely,

0:06:09 > 0:06:12which was that moment of him coming in to kiss her

0:06:12 > 0:06:15and her just limboing back and going, "Got ya."

0:06:15 > 0:06:17You did it!

0:06:17 > 0:06:19You got there!

0:06:19 > 0:06:21Winning. Yeah? Winning.

0:06:21 > 0:06:23- Spaceless and timeless. - The God bit in our brains.

0:06:23 > 0:06:25That place where nothing else matters,

0:06:25 > 0:06:27nothing can hurt you any more.

0:06:27 > 0:06:28- Look...- Ooh.

0:06:31 > 0:06:35My game plan's just a little bit more evolved than yours these days.

0:06:36 > 0:06:39This is a play of gladiators and heroes and myth-makers.

0:06:39 > 0:06:42They needed to go to extremes emotionally,

0:06:42 > 0:06:46points of danger emotionally, but physically really engage with it,

0:06:46 > 0:06:49really drop the body into a moment and get their point across.

0:06:49 > 0:06:52I never wanted a war with you. I never, EVER wanted a war with you.

0:06:52 > 0:06:53Oh, are you threatening me?

0:06:53 > 0:06:57- Agents have wrecked the game but you're going too far.- Woman!

0:06:57 > 0:07:00Dare to try things that you might not be able to pull off,

0:07:00 > 0:07:02emotionally, physically, however.

0:07:02 > 0:07:04For me, that's a very, very important thing to do

0:07:04 > 0:07:06because theatre is at its finest

0:07:06 > 0:07:09at the emotional extremes at the points of danger.

0:07:09 > 0:07:11But, hey...

0:07:11 > 0:07:13no time for feelings.

0:07:13 > 0:07:15On with this job.

0:07:15 > 0:07:17CROWD ROARS

0:07:43 > 0:07:46Stay there, don't move, I'll come back for you.

0:07:51 > 0:07:54I love you, man. More than I love my own family.

0:08:04 > 0:08:07Them man ready to ship me back when I didn't do anything.

0:08:07 > 0:08:09I swear, if you weren't there for me...

0:08:09 > 0:08:11You can't stop living, brother.

0:08:11 > 0:08:13There's no need to live in fear.

0:08:13 > 0:08:19Three Blind Mice is a story of three characters, essentially,

0:08:19 > 0:08:22who have been thrown together in three flats,

0:08:22 > 0:08:24one on top of the other,

0:08:24 > 0:08:27they're coming out of very vulnerable situations,

0:08:27 > 0:08:30either having been long-term hostel residents

0:08:30 > 0:08:34or having been in prison and served a lengthy term inside,

0:08:34 > 0:08:36or an entrenched alcoholic.

0:08:38 > 0:08:40The vast bulk of the performers we work with

0:08:40 > 0:08:43know what it is to be homeless. They have personal experience of it.

0:08:43 > 0:08:46That lends it a power

0:08:46 > 0:08:49because there's a degree of trust immediately established

0:08:49 > 0:08:51with an audience. It's not some smart aleck

0:08:51 > 0:08:52coming in and giving us good advice,

0:08:52 > 0:08:54but it's people like us,

0:08:54 > 0:08:58as it were, talking to us, talking with us.

0:08:58 > 0:09:00And Terry comes on as Mouse...

0:09:00 > 0:09:02Yeah.

0:09:02 > 0:09:06So it's not about training actors or creating actors.

0:09:06 > 0:09:10It's more about strengthening people in whatever change or development

0:09:10 > 0:09:11they wish to make in their life.

0:09:11 > 0:09:13OK, er, fear.

0:09:13 > 0:09:16This ain't the sharp-looking Daps I know.

0:09:18 > 0:09:20Where you staying?

0:09:20 > 0:09:23So the principle is very simple and it's just,

0:09:23 > 0:09:26what are the overarching emotions

0:09:26 > 0:09:28that are going on in this scene?

0:09:28 > 0:09:31What is the word to describe this thing?

0:09:31 > 0:09:34And somebody says fear is present. OK, let's play it with fear.

0:09:34 > 0:09:36Everything with fear.

0:09:36 > 0:09:39I got a new yard. A penthouse.

0:09:40 > 0:09:42Lots of space!

0:09:42 > 0:09:45OK, cool. Brian, well done, you really go for it.

0:09:45 > 0:09:49- Go with bravery.- You got, I got a new yard. A penthouse!

0:09:49 > 0:09:50Loads of space.

0:09:52 > 0:09:53I'm good, you know.

0:09:54 > 0:09:57Bruv, what's a friend, right...

0:09:58 > 0:10:01..if I can't be honest, yeah?

0:10:01 > 0:10:03You look like a crackhead!

0:10:03 > 0:10:06Crackhead? Never that.

0:10:06 > 0:10:09Yeah, but look at you, man. I feel responsible.

0:10:10 > 0:10:12Here.

0:10:12 > 0:10:16OK, good, interesting. Any moments of interest there?

0:10:16 > 0:10:19"Crackhead", when he sort of slapped him round the head.

0:10:19 > 0:10:20I certainly...

0:10:20 > 0:10:23It was lovely to see your physicality

0:10:23 > 0:10:27starting to develop quite naturally there, this stuff,

0:10:27 > 0:10:34but it was also quite nice, actually, to see his stuff back.

0:10:34 > 0:10:36'It's the director, Tony, who will decide

0:10:36 > 0:10:39'how we wish to use any of this stuff, of course,'

0:10:39 > 0:10:42having perhaps discovered some things in this process.

0:10:42 > 0:10:45This process is simply about discovery.

0:10:45 > 0:10:49When we find Dapo in the DIY store,

0:10:49 > 0:10:52he's been given a set of keys to his new flat,

0:10:52 > 0:10:55and he wants to do it up.

0:10:56 > 0:10:58Dapo! Is that you?

0:10:58 > 0:11:00Y'know, he then is faced with a problem

0:11:00 > 0:11:03of not having enough money.

0:11:03 > 0:11:06Henry walks in and further complicates that,

0:11:06 > 0:11:08catches Dapo off-guard, if you like.

0:11:08 > 0:11:11This ain't the sharp-looking Dapo I used to know.

0:11:11 > 0:11:12Where you staying?

0:11:12 > 0:11:16- My sister's lending me her sofa, innit.- Bruv, come stay at mine.

0:11:16 > 0:11:19Henry has a very confident sense of himself,

0:11:19 > 0:11:23inner confidence which is expressed physically,

0:11:23 > 0:11:29a very confident, self-assured man who is used to getting his own way.

0:11:29 > 0:11:31- What's your name?- Pamela.

0:11:31 > 0:11:33Pamela, darling, you got some paper?

0:11:35 > 0:11:37You know him?

0:11:37 > 0:11:40Dapo is stuck, y'know.

0:11:40 > 0:11:42He is pretty much stuck in that moment

0:11:42 > 0:11:45until he can find a way out or Henry allows him to go.

0:11:45 > 0:11:48There's not a lot he can do physically.

0:11:48 > 0:11:52He's just got to process internally and I think we see a lot of that

0:11:52 > 0:11:54being expressed through his face.

0:11:54 > 0:11:57- ..hook you up with a couple of girls.- For real?

0:11:57 > 0:12:00Here, Dap. Still grateful for what you did for mans, y'know?

0:12:00 > 0:12:02- Was nothing.- Nah, man.

0:12:02 > 0:12:05Certain mans was snitching on mans.

0:12:05 > 0:12:08You kept your mouth quiet. I respect that.

0:12:08 > 0:12:09- It's cool.- Catch you later.

0:12:09 > 0:12:10Laters.

0:12:12 > 0:12:14Actors who are playing off each other is, of course,

0:12:14 > 0:12:17what we want, actors who will,

0:12:17 > 0:12:19when a ball is thrown, will catch it,

0:12:19 > 0:12:22and then throw it back.

0:12:22 > 0:12:23Need a driver.

0:12:26 > 0:12:28It's just for one day.

0:12:28 > 0:12:31It's an hour-drive there,

0:12:31 > 0:12:33and an hour-drive back.

0:12:34 > 0:12:38That's it. And you get 500 for it.

0:12:39 > 0:12:40£500?

0:12:40 > 0:12:43Yeah, cash!

0:12:43 > 0:12:45Just to drive one car!

0:12:45 > 0:12:48You want to pay me 500 to drive you somewhere?

0:12:52 > 0:12:53500.

0:12:55 > 0:12:56What's the catch?

0:12:58 > 0:12:59There's no catch.

0:13:03 > 0:13:05I just want someone I can trust.

0:13:05 > 0:13:06I trust you.

0:13:08 > 0:13:09Five zero zero.

0:13:09 > 0:13:10< (Yes.)

0:13:12 > 0:13:14Cash in hand.

0:13:14 > 0:13:15If you say yes,

0:13:15 > 0:13:17you get half up-front now!

0:13:17 > 0:13:19HE LAUGHS

0:13:22 > 0:13:24- So, what's it going to be?- When?

0:13:24 > 0:13:26Tonight, brethren!

0:13:26 > 0:13:28- What?- Yeah!

0:13:28 > 0:13:30You got something else you need doing?

0:13:31 > 0:13:33What if I'd said no?

0:13:35 > 0:13:37There's plenty of man out there who'd say yes.

0:13:40 > 0:13:42All I have to do is drive?

0:13:42 > 0:13:45If you want me to write you out a contract

0:13:45 > 0:13:46for you, then yes!

0:13:46 > 0:13:49Drive there and drive back.

0:13:53 > 0:13:55I ain't got to do nothing but drive?

0:13:57 > 0:13:59(Cool.)

0:14:01 > 0:14:03Emotions being invisible things,

0:14:03 > 0:14:06of course, they get expressed physically.

0:14:06 > 0:14:08We can play with that

0:14:08 > 0:14:12in terms of scale, if you like, to which we heighten that,

0:14:12 > 0:14:15y'know, pull it right in, and equally,

0:14:15 > 0:14:18we can choose to heighten it and express it

0:14:18 > 0:14:20in a much larger scale.

0:14:20 > 0:14:22- When?- Tonight.

0:14:22 > 0:14:24- What?- What, you got something else you need doing?

0:14:24 > 0:14:27- What if I said no?- There's plenty of man out there who'd say yes.

0:14:27 > 0:14:29All I got to do is drive?

0:14:29 > 0:14:32Do you want me to write you a contract?

0:14:32 > 0:14:34Yes, you drive there and you drive back.

0:14:34 > 0:14:36SIREN WAILS

0:14:54 > 0:14:57- Frustration.- Why can't it be winter all year round?

0:14:57 > 0:15:00- Thwarted ambitions. - Do we really need summer?

0:15:05 > 0:15:09I want to escape her, one of us is plotting to kill one of us.

0:15:09 > 0:15:11- I feel so forsaken.- How will it end?

0:15:11 > 0:15:12I always seem to lose.

0:15:12 > 0:15:14We scheme, we plot. Who will win?

0:15:15 > 0:15:18- You are Jennifer, you are me. - You are June, you are me.

0:15:18 > 0:15:21- You are Jennifer, you are me. - You are June, you are me.

0:15:21 > 0:15:24- You are Jennifer, you are me. - You are June, you are me.

0:15:24 > 0:15:28- You are Jennifer, you are me. - You are June, you are me.

0:15:28 > 0:15:33- You are Jennifer... - You are June...

0:15:33 > 0:15:35BOTH: You...are...me.

0:15:37 > 0:15:41We really are about both the physicality

0:15:41 > 0:15:43and the language, the meaning.

0:15:43 > 0:15:46So the exercises in the rehearsal room

0:15:46 > 0:15:49is primarily about playing objectives.

0:15:49 > 0:15:51The only thing you have

0:15:51 > 0:15:54in order to change the other person,

0:15:54 > 0:15:57you can move your chair and place yourself upon it.

0:15:57 > 0:15:59And answer that immediately.

0:16:08 > 0:16:10The twins were bullied.

0:16:10 > 0:16:13They were the only black family in an all-white community,

0:16:13 > 0:16:15and then, of course, they were identical twins,

0:16:15 > 0:16:18which makes them doubly conspicuous.

0:16:21 > 0:16:23I love that exercise because

0:16:23 > 0:16:27simply by playing conflicting objectives,

0:16:27 > 0:16:31if the actor is really trying to change the other person,

0:16:31 > 0:16:32it will come alive.

0:16:35 > 0:16:38Ultimately, to be safe and secure

0:16:38 > 0:16:41and protect themselves is their strongest objective.

0:16:43 > 0:16:45The terrible thing about the story is,

0:16:45 > 0:16:47it's also a prison,

0:16:47 > 0:16:53and in the end that becomes a place that is really unbearable.

0:16:53 > 0:16:56Shall we see what happens if we put obstacles into the mix?

0:16:56 > 0:17:00- Because, Demi, you said there was an anger, didn't you?- Yeah, yeah.

0:17:00 > 0:17:02I feel angry, yeah, because she made me...

0:17:02 > 0:17:05- forced me to lie about how I was feeling.- Yeah.

0:17:05 > 0:17:09It's an interesting conflict. You want her to forgive you,

0:17:09 > 0:17:12because, as you say, she can make your life...

0:17:12 > 0:17:15- Hell. - ..hell,

0:17:15 > 0:17:16and you want to see Dallas.

0:17:17 > 0:17:20Lucy's bringing her parents home today.

0:17:20 > 0:17:23Valene and Gary are coming to Southfork.

0:17:25 > 0:17:31I need to see what Sue Ellen is wearing. Aargh!

0:17:36 > 0:17:38Don't do this. Not tonight.

0:17:45 > 0:17:47I can hear them talking!

0:17:47 > 0:17:49We're missing the plot.

0:17:49 > 0:17:53On the one hand, we know that, when they're outside of their bedroom,

0:17:53 > 0:17:56of their home, not only were they silent,

0:17:56 > 0:17:57but they were almost unreadable.

0:17:57 > 0:18:00Their faces were completely impassive

0:18:00 > 0:18:02and they did this extraordinary thing

0:18:02 > 0:18:06of moving almost in unison.

0:18:12 > 0:18:17'A lot of the process was about exploring, on the one hand,

0:18:17 > 0:18:21'this desire to appear to be the same,

0:18:21 > 0:18:23'so lots of work mirroring,

0:18:23 > 0:18:26'lots of work around moving in unison,

0:18:26 > 0:18:29'and yet, underneath that,

0:18:29 > 0:18:32'looking at all the tensions, if you like, all the obstacles

0:18:32 > 0:18:36'that are making that unity

0:18:36 > 0:18:39'become more and more impossible to maintain.'

0:18:39 > 0:18:41And Demi, lead.

0:18:50 > 0:18:52And Tash, lead.

0:18:53 > 0:18:55'In fact, the unity,

0:18:55 > 0:18:59'it's not something flowing and smooth and easy.

0:18:59 > 0:19:02'In a way, the reason they're having to move in unison

0:19:02 > 0:19:06'is in order to cover up all the fractures,

0:19:06 > 0:19:10'all the discord that's bristling away underneath,

0:19:10 > 0:19:14'and I think that was something that we felt was very important to find,

0:19:14 > 0:19:18'that this was a unison that was full of tension.'

0:19:20 > 0:19:24And Cathy has left her bag in the room.

0:19:27 > 0:19:33And Demi, June really wants to look inside the bag.

0:19:33 > 0:19:37'In rehearsal, I will clap my hands in the middle of an improvisation

0:19:37 > 0:19:40'or a scene and the actors will express

0:19:40 > 0:19:43'whatever it is that they're feeling in that moment,

0:19:43 > 0:19:45'totally physically.

0:19:45 > 0:19:48'And then when I clap my hands again,

0:19:48 > 0:19:51'they have to return to the scene and suppress that, cover it up.'

0:19:54 > 0:19:56HANDCLAP

0:19:56 > 0:19:58THEY HISS

0:20:05 > 0:20:08HANDCLAP

0:20:08 > 0:20:10And cover it up.

0:20:10 > 0:20:12'We see when they're out in the world,

0:20:12 > 0:20:16'we see them really kind of paralysed and frozen.

0:20:16 > 0:20:19'It wasn't that they couldn't speak,

0:20:19 > 0:20:21'it wasn't that they weren't able to speak,

0:20:21 > 0:20:22'but that that they were...

0:20:22 > 0:20:24'they WOULDN'T speak.'

0:20:27 > 0:20:31Hello. I'm Ju...

0:20:31 > 0:20:34You want people to know your name, don't you?

0:20:34 > 0:20:36What will we call you if we don't know your name?

0:20:36 > 0:20:38The twinnies?

0:20:38 > 0:20:39Is that who you are?

0:20:39 > 0:20:42Is that who you want to be for the rest of your life?

0:20:42 > 0:20:43June!

0:20:43 > 0:20:46One of June's obstacles to being safe

0:20:46 > 0:20:49is that she longs to have a life

0:20:49 > 0:20:54and be able to exist out there in the world and to feel valued

0:20:54 > 0:20:58and recognised and some of the things that most of us want,

0:20:58 > 0:21:02whereas, for Jennifer, I think her biggest obstacle

0:21:02 > 0:21:06is her terror that she's going to lose June,

0:21:06 > 0:21:09and that without her, she wouldn't be able to survive.

0:21:09 > 0:21:14You...are...Jennifer.

0:21:14 > 0:21:16You are...me.

0:21:16 > 0:21:19I am June!

0:21:20 > 0:21:24I...am...June!

0:21:24 > 0:21:27- SHE LAUGHS - Well done!

0:21:31 > 0:21:33Well done, Jennifer.

0:21:36 > 0:21:39That's what makes it feel like a real tragedy.

0:21:39 > 0:21:41How could these two girls

0:21:41 > 0:21:45who had so much going on inside

0:21:45 > 0:21:50have ended up in Broadmoor for 12 years

0:21:50 > 0:21:52for committing violent crimes?

0:22:30 > 0:22:32When people ask us...

0:22:32 > 0:22:34When people ask us...

0:22:34 > 0:22:36- ..how did you two... - ..meet...

0:22:36 > 0:22:38..they want a story, a good story.

0:22:38 > 0:22:44So together, over the years, we have built ours.

0:22:44 > 0:22:46A quiet, shared mythology.

0:22:46 > 0:22:48Throughout Lovesong, an older couple

0:22:48 > 0:22:53are glimpsing these memories of a former self.

0:22:53 > 0:22:56And sometimes they don't recognise what they've lost,

0:22:56 > 0:22:57or the people they once were.

0:23:01 > 0:23:04We've always been inspired by film, and the music video,

0:23:04 > 0:23:08and we talk constantly about the change in focus,

0:23:08 > 0:23:11from the largest spectacle to the tiniest little moment,

0:23:11 > 0:23:13the touch between people.

0:23:13 > 0:23:17And we feel that each of those is equally dynamic.

0:23:22 > 0:23:25We want to make that brush of skin against skin

0:23:25 > 0:23:28explode throughout this theatre,

0:23:28 > 0:23:31just as we would want to make any large-scale

0:23:31 > 0:23:33physical scene do the same.

0:23:33 > 0:23:37But you have to construct the work in a way in which

0:23:37 > 0:23:40your audience can see that tiny thing as something massive.

0:23:47 > 0:23:49I think the hand means

0:23:49 > 0:23:52- you get stuck on the hand just there.- Yeah, yeah I do.

0:23:52 > 0:23:55Whereas if you have her on here, you can actually roll her up

0:23:55 > 0:23:56to your chest and shoulder.

0:23:56 > 0:23:57Yeah, yeah!

0:23:57 > 0:24:00'Whenever we start a project,

0:24:00 > 0:24:04'we always recognise that we might have a cast of four, five, six, however many,

0:24:04 > 0:24:06'and they've never worked together,

0:24:06 > 0:24:08'and they may not have any physical experience,'

0:24:08 > 0:24:12but we still recognise this spark within them,

0:24:12 > 0:24:14so we need to find a way of bringing that out,

0:24:14 > 0:24:17and that needs to be done in an environment that is safe for them,

0:24:17 > 0:24:21where they trust each other. But you can't just ask for that.

0:24:21 > 0:24:23You've got to create that environment.

0:24:23 > 0:24:25Woo! Oh, see, now,

0:24:25 > 0:24:28that's different for me going up now.

0:24:28 > 0:24:33We do that by setting tasks, and those tasks are very, very simple,

0:24:33 > 0:24:35but once everyone's got that,

0:24:35 > 0:24:38you move on, and you add and add and add to that.

0:24:38 > 0:24:41And what that does, it slowly builds up

0:24:41 > 0:24:43a shared level of expertise

0:24:43 > 0:24:46amongst the team.

0:24:46 > 0:24:50Let's just do a run for memory, just straight through.

0:24:50 > 0:24:53One, two, three,

0:24:53 > 0:24:56four, five, six...

0:24:56 > 0:24:59Probably the most physically demanding scene in Lovesong

0:24:59 > 0:25:01has lots of counts. It's quite dangerous

0:25:01 > 0:25:05cos they're all flying around in close proximity.

0:25:05 > 0:25:07The making of that... you just give it space,

0:25:07 > 0:25:10and you give it time, knowing that what you are going to do

0:25:10 > 0:25:13over time in the rehearsal room is, once they feel secure,

0:25:13 > 0:25:16you're going to squeeze the space, and squeeze the time.

0:26:02 > 0:26:05There is a moment in the show where

0:26:05 > 0:26:07Maggie opens the cupboards,

0:26:07 > 0:26:10tries on these shoes that she holds very dear,

0:26:10 > 0:26:12finds that she can't walk in them any more.

0:26:12 > 0:26:16It's a particularly heartbreaking moment. When she puts them back,

0:26:16 > 0:26:19suddenly she's in the arms of the younger version of her lover.

0:26:19 > 0:26:22- It should be one move, yeah? - Oh, right.

0:26:22 > 0:26:25But it's just fluid.

0:26:25 > 0:26:27It's just slower.

0:26:27 > 0:26:29It's just slower, isn't it?

0:26:29 > 0:26:30- Yep.- OK.

0:26:30 > 0:26:31Lose the feel for it.

0:26:34 > 0:26:36Good! Yep, that's all right.

0:26:36 > 0:26:38Cool! Yeah!

0:26:38 > 0:26:41Our demands of any physical scene within our work

0:26:41 > 0:26:43is that it must move the narrative forward.

0:26:43 > 0:26:45It's not just there for effect,

0:26:45 > 0:26:48it's not just there for shapes.

0:26:48 > 0:26:50'They're not just thrown across the stage.'

0:26:50 > 0:26:53That one there, let's think about the storytelling of this moment.

0:26:53 > 0:26:56It's all very nice, but what is it? It should be an embrace

0:26:56 > 0:27:00that she somehow comes out of rather than preparing a space for her to...

0:27:00 > 0:27:02That's it, that's it, good.

0:27:02 > 0:27:04I need to get closer, yeah.

0:27:06 > 0:27:08So, do we look at each other when the hand...

0:27:08 > 0:27:11- ..or don't we? Or perhaps not? - Even then it's just that,

0:27:11 > 0:27:13that's much more interesting.

0:27:13 > 0:27:15Because we follow eyes all the time...

0:27:15 > 0:27:19OK, so, perhaps we should be looking that way anyway,

0:27:19 > 0:27:22- so there isn't a head-turn. - Actually, I know what it is.

0:27:22 > 0:27:24Let's try this. So what we'll do is,

0:27:24 > 0:27:27we just let the hands happen first, so the hands do that

0:27:27 > 0:27:31- and then we look. - And then look, OK.

0:27:31 > 0:27:32OK, so it goes...

0:27:33 > 0:27:36'When it's as fast and as precise as you want it,

0:27:36 > 0:27:39'then you suddenly remind the performers that

0:27:39 > 0:27:41'now it's time to perform it,

0:27:41 > 0:27:43'it's time to act it, it's time to remember who you are'

0:27:43 > 0:27:45on stage in that moment.

0:27:45 > 0:27:47And they just fly with it.

0:27:50 > 0:27:54Just as she couldn't walk in her shoes a moment ago,

0:27:54 > 0:27:56the young life comes in and just

0:27:56 > 0:27:58sweeps her across a room like he used to.

0:27:59 > 0:28:03It's one of those moments where she grabs strength from memory,

0:28:03 > 0:28:05but these moments are fleeting,

0:28:05 > 0:28:07and these dreams pass,

0:28:07 > 0:28:10and unfortunately, he fades away.

0:28:18 > 0:28:22The show has culminated in this crisis in their life,

0:28:22 > 0:28:24and they make a decision.

0:28:24 > 0:28:28The time has come, they need to act on this,

0:28:28 > 0:28:32and that clears the air somehow.

0:28:32 > 0:28:37So that scene, where they're all out in the garden,

0:28:37 > 0:28:40preparing for this last night or this birthday party,

0:28:40 > 0:28:46it had to have all the air and all the excitement of a life well lived

0:28:46 > 0:28:50and of a future together all rolled into one.

0:28:50 > 0:28:53And that is the story of...

0:28:54 > 0:28:56..our beginning.

0:28:58 > 0:29:00And this is the story of...

0:29:02 > 0:29:04..the end.

0:29:27 > 0:29:30Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:29:30 > 0:29:33E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk