Entry Nine - The First Full Run-Through Of The Play

In today’s rehearsal we carried out a full run through of the play, which included costumes and set. The majority of the costumes were being used for the first time, and it was also our first time using the Wardrobe. In any case this first attempt at a run-through had a lot of obstacles against it.

The focus in the most recent rehearsals has been on scenes from the second half of the play, and so the run got off to a slow start as we re-familiarised ourselves with the early scenes as we went along. There were stumbles in the first scene in Narnia when Lucy meets Tumnus for the first time (the woolly shoulder fur that made up part of Tumnus’ costume refused to behave and kept falling off). All of these incidents were detrimental to the run, as the focus slipped, and the energy fell. Once the momentum starts to wane, it’s really difficult to pick it back up again.

We continued on and made it through the first half without too many major issues, but the second half was a lot more problematic – as the second half contains a lot more characters, a lot more costume changes, all of the fights take place in the second half, and there are big changes of set as well. There was a great amount of stalling in places, and at times the run-through just ground to a halt altogether. Aslan’s costume was problematic, as the Great Lion looked significantly less majestic with his mane all askew.

The first full run-through really brought all of the technical needs of the show to the forefront – some scenes were re-shuffled in order to accommodate problematic costume changes – and it was impossible to estimate the show’s run-time by the time we got to the end, because of the amount of stopping that had occurred.

After the run-through we openly addressed all of the issues, and the need to iron them all out. There was not enough time to carry out another full run of the play, but we decided to perform an ‘Italian Run’ – a run of the play at super speed, skipping over costume changes, but including changes of set. This was the right thing to do after the problematic first run, as it brought the energy right back up again, there was more focus when it came to scene changes, and we were able to get through the entire play in under an hour.

The first run-through brought all of the necessary issues to our attention; it was a struggle, and didn’t feel as satisfying as I had originally hoped it would. However, those kinds of run-throughs are very useful, as they prevent a cast from becoming complacent. This run-through provided the incentive we needed to bring a lot more focus and attention to the next one. The ‘Italian Run’ meant that the rehearsal ended on a more positive and optimistic note – which is what we need going into the show-week.

Quotes of the day: “Why this is Narnia. Everything from the lamp-post, to the castle of Cair Paravel in the far east, just beyond that ginger!” James Bush (Tumnus goes a little bit Meta)

“On Dasher!” Tom Chadwick (Father Christmas commands his one reindeer – this statement was followed very shortly by a loud crash!)

"I am the secret captain of the white police" Dan McNeill (Maugrim announces his job title, but gets a little muddled)

“Look at me instead Aslan, I’m not laughing” Melissa Barrett (Aslan’s resurrection was somewhat undermined by a wonkily aligned costume)