As Murray states, when first deciding what play to put on;

“The best scenario is straightforward.  You have a play you are desperate to do. You feel at one with an author. The play is something you care for passionately; you may even have a vision of how to do it.” (2012)

This was certainly the case when choosing our companies play. I knew that in order to create the high quality performance of a professional theatre company I was going to have to be enthusiastic and committed to the play.

I had wanted for years to direct Berkoff’s adaptation of ‘The Trial’ and being strongly influenced by Peter Brook’s theories as a director I craved to merge these two theatrical worlds. I felt this was achievable as both directors focus on “the actor [applying] his physical and emotional efforts to achieve [the] aim of simple forms of theatre that are both understandable and simultaneously packed with meaning” (Coing, p.149).

Once deciding upon ‘The Trial’, I chose to work with company members that shared a similar attitude to me as to what theatre should be; a performance that focusses on the actors, the storytelling and the shared experience. From this stemmed our Company Manifesto, which further confirmed a unanimous agreement that ‘The Trial’ was a play that correlated with our company aims.

Word count: 222

Works Cited:

Murray, B. (2012) How to Direct A Play:: A Masterclass in Comedy, Tragedy, Farce, Shakespeare, New Plays, Opera and Musicals, Oberon Books

Coing, H., Ius Commune 27, Vittorio Klostermann