Keeping a role fresh

Running time: 2.51mins

Film maker: Mike Marriage

A thorough exploration of the play in the rehearsal room is an important preparation for a production that may run for several months. Performing the play is not necessarily a boring task; with a good play, the actor will discover new things every night, with no performance exactly the same. The National's repertory system (swapping in and out of a theatre with another company performing another play) also helps keep a production fresh.

Acting

Acting requires a wide range of skills, vocal, physical, imaginative, expressive, intellectual, intuitive, and work can demand different dialects, languages, accents, vocal control or body language, improvisation, observation and emulation, mime, and often dancing or stage combat. A stage actor will often be required to research around a character or a period of history. In an ever changing world it is a continually evolving profession. This collection aims to give an insight into what it is like to be an actor at the National Theatre.

Voice work on ‘To be, or not to be…’

Jeannette Nelson works on Hamlet speech with actor Ferdinand Kingsley.
Playing the King

Oliver Ford Davies talks about playing the King of France in All's Well That Ends Well.
Voice work on ‘O what a noble mind…’

Jeannette Nelson works on Ophelia speech with actor Ellie Turner.
One Man, Two Guvnors: Video diary #3 - singing and dancing

A music rehearsal for One Man Two Guvnors
Text work on blank verse

Chris Saul works on a blank verse speech from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.
One Man, Two Guvnors: Video diary #4 - the dinner scene

A complex scene requiring many props and split-second timing.
The job of the stage actor

Director Nicholas Hytner and actor Lesley Manville talk about the job of the stage actor.
One Man, Two Guvnors: Video diary #6 - press night

Excitement is high before the One Man Two Guvnors press night.
Acting in the Olivier

Simon Russell Beale, Lesley Manville and Roger Allam talk about acting on the Olivier stage.
'O that this too too solid flesh...'

Rory Kinnear performs the first half of the soliloquy.
Acting in the Lyttelton

Simon Russell Beale, Lesley Manville and Roger Allam talk about acting on the Lyttelton stage.
Fiona Shaw prepares

What does an actor do before the curtain opens?
Acting in the Cottesloe

Simon Russell Beale and Roger Allam talk about acting on the Cottesloe stage.
The importance of rehearsal

Simon Russell Beale talks about why actors rehearse.
Devising a multimedia production

A look at how two of Katie Mitchell's multimedia productions, Waves and ...some trace of her, were developed using novels as a starting point.
Working as part of a company

Simon Russell Beale talks about the benefits of working as part of a company.
Acting in a multimedia production

A look at the many different roles and responsibilities of an actor in a multimedia production.
Rehearsal overview

Actors spend much more time rehearsing for a play than they do for a film.
Keeping a role fresh

How do you keep a role you are playing every night fresh?
An actor's dressing room

The dressing rooms at the National Theatre are arranged over four floors.
One Man, Two Guvnors: Video diary #2 - stage fighting

In this second episode, the cast of One Man, Two Guvnors work out some of the show's fight sequences and slapstick comedy with stage fighting expert Kombat Kate.
Conleth Hill on Parolles

Conleth Hill talks about playing Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well
George Rainsford on Bertram

George Rainsford talks about the difficulties of playing Bertram in All's Well That Ends Well
One Man, Two Guvnors: Video diary #1 - Meet Daniel

Peek into the rehearsal room for One Man Two Guvnors and meet actor Daniel Rigby.
Michelle Terry on Helena

Michelle Terry talks about the role of Helena in All's Well That Ends Well.
Christopher Eccleston in conversation

Christopher Eccleston talks to Al Senter about his stage, film and television career as well as his role in the National Theatre's 2012 production of Antigone.
Working on the Spectrum: The Making of Curious Incident and the Dog in the Night-Time

The creative team talk about bringing the novel to the stage in this short documentary for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Una Stubbs in conversation

Una Stubbs talks about her fifty-year career in film, television and on stage.
Simon Russell Beale in conversation

Simon Russell Beale talks about his career including his role in Timon of Athens.
John Lithgow in conversation

John Lithgow talks to Nicholas Hytner about his career and his current role in The Magistrate.
Antigone: Creon and Antigone

This film looks at the relationship between the two main characters in Antigone.
Rory Kinnear talks about playing Hamlet

Rory Kinnear is interviewed by Matt Wolf.
Antigone: Haemon and Antigone

This film looks at the relationship between Antigone and Haemon.
Antony Sher in conversation

Antony Sher talks about his career and his role in Travelling Light in this Platform event from 2012.
Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing

Simon Russell Beale and Zoë Wanamaker talk about playing Beatrice and Benedick in the 2007 production of Much Ado About Nothing.
She Stoops to Conquer: Video diary #1

Episode 1 of the She Stoops to Conquer video diaries.
Acting in The Cherry Orchard

How does an actor approach a Chekhov text?
She Stoops to Conquer: Video diary #2

Meet the director Jaime Lloyd and see the cast in early rehearsals of the play.
She Stoops to Conquer: Video diary #3

Here's a look at the cast during dance rehearsals.
Lenny Henry in conversation

Lenny Henry talks to Al Senter about his career and role in The Comedy of Errors.
Julie Walters in conversation

Julie Walters talks about her acting career and role in The Last of the Haussmans.
Rory Kinnear and Helen McCrory in conversation

Rory Kinnear and Helen McCrory talk about their acting careers and their roles in The Last of the Haussmans.

Keeping a role fresh

Acting

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