From 22nd to 28th November 2011

Mollie and i rehearsed practising our Pinteresque technique, and our characterisation.

We used hot seating to get into our character, using the magic 'what if ' technique. Doing this we were able to make our character our own. We made background stories for them both, and delved into our characters thoughts, wishes, feelings, and history.

Mollie and i both learnt our scripts during this time, and fully blocked our extract.

Harold Pinter

Theatre of the Absurd, and Harold Pinter

What is Theatre of the absurd?

Absurd theatre basically means that the human situation is meaningless. The 'absurd' plays by Samuel Beckett, Arthur Adamov, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet, Harold Pinter and others all share the view that man is living in a universe where he is out of step. Humans live in an obscure place without purpose. Man is bewildered, troubled and obscurely threatened.

Where did the theatre of the absurd originate from?

The origins of the Theatre of the Absurd are rooted in the avant-garde experiments in art of the 1920s and 1930s. At the same time, it was undoubtedly strongly influenced by the traumatic experience of the horrors of the Second World War, which showed the total impermanence of any values, shook the validity of any conventions and highlighted the precariousness of human life and its fundamental meaninglessness and arbitrariness. The trauma of living from 1945 under threat of nuclear annihilation also seems to have been an important factor in the rise of the new theatre.

Harold Pinter
Pinter's career as a playwright began with a production of 'The Room' in 1957. His second play, 'The Birthday Party', closed after eight performances, but was enthusiastically reviewed by critic Harold Hobson.

In 1948–49, when he was 18, Pinter opposed the politics of the Cold War, leading to his decision to become a objector and to refuse to comply with national service in the military. In 1949 Pinter was fined by magistrates for having, as a conscientious objector, refused to do his national service. Pinter had two trials. "I could have gone to prison - I took my toothbrush to the trials - but it so happened that the magistrate was slightly sympathetic, so I was fined instead, thirty pounds in all. Perhaps I'll be called up again in the next war, but I won't go." Pinter's father paid the fine in the end, a substantial sum of money.

Harold Pinter's plays are noted for their use of silence to increase tension, understatement, and cryptic small talk. Equally recognizable are the 'Pinteresque' themes - nameless menace, erotic fantasy, obsession and jealousy, family hatred and mental disturbance.

Pinter's major plays originate often from a single, powerful visual image. They are usually set in a single room, whose occupants are threatened by forces or people whose precise intentions neither the characters nor the audience can define. The struggle for survival or identity dominates the action of his characters. Language is not only used as a means of communication but as a weapon. Beneth the words, there is a silence of fear, rage and domination, fear of intimacy.

14th November 2011 The Caretaker

The aim of this lesson was to rehearse our Pinter extracts, and to ensure we apply Pinter's style in our extract.

Mollie and I decided that we need to use more pauses, and plan where our characters should stand, and when they should rise and fall. (Blocking)

Davies is a brave, proud, and clever character. He know when to be brave and when he need to back down, but also he knows who to make friends with; in order to get benefits. I don't think Davies is a very trustworthy character.
In this lesson i tried to play Davies brave and scared at the same time.

Davies character is really contrasting. In order to show this Mollie and i used levels. When Davies was trying to be stand his ground he would stand up, and Mollie's character would invade Davie's space to force him to back down.

Mollie's character tells very long story's which are pointless, which is typical Pinter. To show Pinteresque techniques Mollie and i would both pause, stare at the pretend drip from the ceiling, look at the bucket (all really slowly), then Mollie character would ask Davies a question; as he always does after his long stories.

14th November 2011 The Landlord from Jim Cartwright

25/10/11 Cartwright

• we needed to demonstraight our ability to interpred the text, showing our understanding of the text.

"First night in here? Well, you'll get used to us. We're a livly pub. It's calmed down a bit now, but it comes in waves. Not going to ask you what you're doing here, never do, that's one of our few rules. We get a lot of rendezvousers here you see, but we're also stong on couples, don't get me wrong. They either come in pairs or end up that way. That woman over there is my wife, bitch. I run this place virtually on my own. we've been here bloody years. in fact we met outside this pub, we had our first drink in here, we had our twentyfirst in here, our wedding reception here, and now we bloody own the place. i only did it for her, it's what she'd always wanted. I've done some knocking through recently, got the walls down, made it all into one. You can get around better, and more eyes can meet across the room. better than, better for business and pleasure, and for keeping an eye on that roving tart.... I wouldn't mind a bloody drink myself, i'll have one later. it's a constant battle keeping you throat away from the stock. it really is the landlords last temtation, becausethis is it, for us proprietors. this is our life, these bar sides, to them wall sides and that's it. people and pints, and measures, and rolling out the bloody barrel. working and social life and mixtured, a cocktail you can't get away from. untill night when we fall knacked into bed, but i'm not complaining, no ,no. as long as many mouths are clacking at many glasses, and the tills keep on singing. what more could a publican want?"

What is our characters perpose?

• To introduce the audience to the pub scene. It's a friendly pub, but there is tension between the landlord and his wife.

What emotion do they feel in the scene?

• The landlord is bitter, but covers it up with fake smiles at the customers. He feels hard done by, there is something painful about this character. I think He is depressed.

What do i belief?

• He believes in hard work, and fairness. He doesn't think his wife is fair.

How do they move?

• He has stiff strained movement, like he just wants to give up. But tries to be energetic and happy.

How do they speak?

• He has a gruff manly voice, it's too manly like he's trying to cover up a hidden agony. But his toine is encouraging, and forced positive.

04/11/11 The end of "The Caretaker."

Notes made from the end of Harold Pinters "The Caretaker"

• I found the characters really childish/adolescent at times. E.g.

Aston: "You stink."

• Davies gossips between both brothers. His loyalty switches from brother to brother. He gets aggressive when he doesn't get his way. He is scared of going back to the streets, so tries to side with the brother who will benefit him the most.
• Pointless questionable actions. Aston got Davies some shoes, but they didn't have any laces rendering them useless. They have a debate about how he will use the shoes with out lace. Then Davies gets angry, and Aston gives him some laces, but they are brown and won't match. This builds SO much tension, because it is SO pointless.
• Characters have huge contrasts, they argue in confusion.

Mick: "I Don't want you to pick it up. I want first-class experienced interior decorator. I thought you were one."
Davies: "Me? Now wait a minuet- wait a minuet- you got the wrong man.

• Characters stand smiling at each other, or the floor, or just stare at each other for ages.
• Prolonged pauses.
• Pointless activities such as: Putting random decorations up. Fiddling with trinkets.
• Aston ignores Davies's pleading.

Key words

• Pointless
• Tension
• Dysfunctional
• Disproportional
• Weird
• Strange
• Repetitive
• Contrasting
• Blunt
• Agitating
• Aggressive