Tuesday 9 May

Previous entry	Next entry

Scene 1

At the start of the day the cast sit around a table to read and then discuss the scene. Initial discussions surround the relationships between the characters – particularly that between Signora Sarti, the housekeeper (played by the actor Julia Ford) and Galileo Galilei (Simon Russell Beale). We go through the scene bit by bit, looking at the different focuses and points. Howard Davies talks of Galileo’s jovial and enthusiastic nature during the scene and paraphrases parts of the text, making it clearer and more contemporary, guiding the actors to the thought behind each line. We discuss Bertie Carvel’s character, Ludovico, for some time: what sort of background he has, why he has come to study science, and what he really thinks of Galileo and his “wretched study.” The argument between the University Chancellor (played by Tim McMullan) and Galileo starts off basically over money but soon escalates at the mention of Giordano Bruno, the heretic burned alive for spreading Copernican teachings. This is the first mention of a dangerous and potentially threatening topic for Galileo. Simon Russell Beale discusses with Howard the different reactions this may cause and what level of danger is invoked in Galileo by the mentioning of Bruno in this first scene.

Howard is keen to put the play on its feet quickly. This helps to give the actors a sense of the context of the lines and also answers many of their questions about why and how certain things should be said. We try to work out the logistics of the demonstration that Galileo gives the young Andrea to teach him the truth of the Copernican theory. In this episode Brecht cleverly gives the audience a very quick and simple lesson in the Ptolemaic astronomical system (the belief that the earth was the centre of the universe) and then the Copernican system (the model showing the sun to be the centre) by using young Andrea as an interested but inquisitive student. Within 10 minutes the audience is given all the information they need to comprehend the scientific discussion.

With scripts in hand the actors start to shape out the scene. On its feet for the first time the director and the actors get a good sense of the rhythms of the scene. It is a chance for Simon to chart Galileo’s behaviour: the enthusiasm, cunning, anger and severity, which jump around as different characters enter.

David Hare adds more detail by suggesting that Andrea pronounces Copernicus “kipper-knickers” and Galileo corrects him. This plays well and is a nice moment between the two characters. It also sets up a moment later in the scene where Andrea’s mother also mispronounces the name, earning her a ‘look’ from Galileo, and adds depth to the fact that there is a difference in education between Signora Sarti and her distinguished lodger.

Scene 2

Practical discussions surround Virginia’s (Galileo’s daughter) role in the scene. A line in the script indicates that she will present the telescope to the dignitaries in Venice, and Elisabeth Dermot Walsh who is playing the role experiments with the idea that Virginia doesn’t know this is her task. Such exploration is encouraged by Howard and this adds a freedom for the actors to find further subplots within the scenes. This is a remarkable part of the rehearsal process, which inspires some great creativity from the actors at this stage of the production. They are full of ideas and intelligent reasoning. Howard is keen to harness this and continues to say, “try it”. If ‘it’ works ‘it’ will be kept; if not, Howard will ask for the actor to revert to how they played it previously.

Putting the scene on its feet, Howard informs the actors that he will ask other members of the company to play the glitterati of Venice, who will react and applaud. In this initial sketching of the scene the focus is on positioning Galileo and Sagredo for their various asides away from the crowd. It proves tricky to place Sagredo’s character as there are some things he needs to hear and some he shouldn’t (this sets up pay-offs in scene 3). Duncan Bell, who is playing Sagredo, describes how much he thinks Sagredo knows of the telescope, science, and his general standing within Venetian society.