Thursday 11 March 2010

in situ: The Cherry Orchard Project - 2010 revival

The Cherry Orchard was the second in situ: production I saw and an odd one it was too.

Performed in a suburban house, the first act is played out on a sofa in the living room, the second act on the bed in the bedroom, the third act party alternates between the living and dining rooms and the final act happens on the stairs.

When not performing, the actors sit in a room playing cards and discussing the play, direct other cast members in re-enactments of scenes involving their own character, or wander around the house discoursing on various topics connected to the play and the performance.

This is the world of in situ:, where a professionally-run company trains non-professional actors through its Learn To Act course, then invites them to collaborate in creating a performance, improvised through a year-long exploration of the work in weekly classes.

Four years later, I've joined a revival of in situ:'s Cherry Orchard Project. This is the first of four productions revived to celebrate in situ:'s first ten years and King Lear, Macbeth and Twelfth Night will all follow later in 2010.

I'm taking over the role of Trofimov, a student revolutionary and former tutor who has suffered at the hands of the state for his outspoken views. This means a few long speeches to learn, but the style is intended to be naturalistic and we're expected to convey the story as we would speak, rather than the exact words as written down. It might sound easier, but it means you have to listen carefully to what the other actors say and respond, rather than simply awaiting a cue and barking out a pre-learned line. Repetition, stumbling over words and interruption are actively encouraged. Multiple conversations sometimes happen at the same time, or different scenes occur in parallel. This encourages the audience deeper into the performance. The party scenes genuinely feel like a party, while the leaving scenes on the stairs are cramped and chaotic, with the actors constantly coming and going in different directions.

We open on Tuesday night and I'm looking forward to it.