Nathaniel & Nadia: Readthrough
From the beginning of this process, I was adamant that for this show to succeed we needed to hear the thoughts of as many minds as possible. Most people are familiar with the play, many are passionate in their love and devotion to it, but everybody has a perspective that should be heard and allowed to valuably contribute. On another level, the nature of this production for this student theatre organisation means that transparency and inclusivity must be key principles that guide and motivate all that we do.Â
To these ends (and simply just for fun), read throughs of the play open to anyone and everyone were vitally important. Raucous fun and unsurprisingly useful, I canât think of any better way to spend a Thursday night. Thank you to everyone who attended!
P.S. And thanks to these read throughs, we now have an amazing Dramaturg!
Not being a member of SUDS, I initially had no idea what an open read-through was meant to entail. I expected to go along, maybe read a little Rosencrantz, and try my best to ingratiate myself with the people there so that they let me join the production. What I was not expecting was ghosts with jumpers over their heads, rousing discussions, ice-bucket graves, and unchoreographed, impromptu stick fights.
The first read-through began amiably â and quietly â enough: a good section of the group already knew each other, and we eased into the text, asking questions and mulling (or occasionally shouting) over characters and lines, eventually making it not-quite-halfway through. There was no obligation to stand, but some of the attendees did so willingly, fuelled by enthusiasm, or delight, or perhaps just the wine.
The second read-through was when the fun really began.
Some of the faces had changed and some remained, but this time, there was a little more action. I myself, emboldened by the previous experience, took more opportunities, and not only did more people stand, but more were urged to do so, and more happened when we did. Royals sat in raised thrones, the gravedigger sang, and Hamlet fought with Laertes over the grave of Ophelia: all, of course, clutching scripts. I foolishly kept demanding Horatio's parts, blind to the fact that this would implicate me in the final carnage â by which point there were more people standing than sitting (though this, unsurprisingly, changed by the end of the play). There was more laughter than one would expect from a Shakespearean tragedy; but in our defence, we hardly knew what we were doing â and had all the more fun because of it. Everyone had a go at something (mostly dying), and I got to farewell a Hamlet who died in my arms, and whose real name I didn't learn until afterwards. Perhaps the cheers which ended the session were a little unsuited to the tragedy â but then again, we had gone more than an hour overtime. A little raucous enthusiasm was due, and we gave more than our fair share.
