In my last blog everything about Mary Stuart was still theoretical; I was editing the script, thinking about the staging and the characters were just voices in my head. Now the script is printed and bound, the set design has been approved at pre-production and the cast have been rehearsing for the last three weeks.
My feeling from the start, based on my own shameful ignorance of Tudor history, was that an hour and a half of 16th century politics would be a stretch for an audience if they didn’t recognise the contemporary parallels. But now the characters are inhabited by real, live actors the politics have become secondary to their personal stories.
Consequently I now feel I can chuck out some of my more egregious directorly interventions (but not the orange boilersuit – that stays!) and concentrate on telling the story. I spend rehearsals telling the actors to try everything in rehearsal and then get rid of what they don’t need and I’m in the process of taking my own advice.
Andrew Cowie (director)
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