“I’ll so offend, to make offence a skill,
Redeeming time when men think least I will.”

WORKSHOP 1 – 11th May

First readthrough and discussions.

Topics explored included:

 
Hal and Hotspur
Henry and Henry
Falstaff – Bad Santa?
Hal is the protagonist but do we like him? Do we need to?
Bad Fathers
Addiction
John of Lancaster – the silent presence
Poins doubling
Husbands and wives
The Welsh scene 3:1
Prose/Colloquialism – Falstaff
Hotspur

WORKSHOP 2 – 25th May

Masterclass: Acting Drunk – Tobias Deacon

An exploration of how an actor can convincingly, appropriately and accurately pull off drunk acting. Are there tricks? Conventions? Should one simply get drunk before going on? Why do playwrights use the device so often?

“If sack and sugar be a fault, God help the wicked! if to be old and merry be a sin, then many an old host that I know is damned. If to be fat be to be hated, then Pharaoh’s lean kine are to be loved. No, my good lord. Banish Peto, banish Bardolph, banish Poins, but for sweet Jack Falstaff, kind Jack Falstaff, true Jack Falstaff, valiant Jack Falstaff, and therefore more valiant, being, as he is, old Jack Falstaff, banish not him thy Harry’s company, banish not him thy Harry’s company. Banish plump Jack, and banish all the world.”

“I do. I will.”