Cambridge Footlights Revue 1/5

Is there anybody there?

Is there anybody there?

This is Radio 3, is there anybody there?

You dancin'? -- Who's askin'?

I'm askin'. -- You're askin'?

I'm askin', are ya dancin'?

Am I dancin'? I'm dancin'.

A'right, I'll have yer chair then.

Hello, good evening and welcome to the third in our series of

Shakespeare Masterclass: An Actor Prepares.

Last week, if you remember, we were concentrating largely on the body.

Well, tonight it's the turn of the voice, and we'll be doing some vocal work.

Well, here's our space, where's our actor?

Well, we're very lucky to have with us in the studio this evening Hugh.

Hello Hugh. -- Hi. -- Hi.

What have you prepared for us this evening, Hugh?

I have a speech from Troilus, III.3 ... it's the Ulysses speech.

The Ulysses speech, T&C, three three. That's on page sixty-six in your Cambridge editions

if you'd like to follow at home.

So, Hugh.

What I want you to do first of all is to imagine that you're a racing car going round a track.

All right? -- Right. -- Now there's a video camera attached to you, so

as you go round the track we're all going to get a good view of it.

OK? OK. Now later on, Hugh, we'lll be taking your engine apart.

Piece by piece. Oiling it, putting it back together again.

All right. -- All right? But first of all, let's have a view shall we?

OK. -- Thank you, Hugh.

Hugh?

Yes?

Why are you squatting?

Oh. Sorry, I thought ...

I don't think we're ready for that yet, are we? -- No.

Just the speech.

Time hath, my lord,

A wallet at his back, wherein he puts

Alms for oblivion, a great sized monster

Of ingratitudes.

Well. As you can see, Hugh, there's still a long way to go, isn't there?

All right, let's start right at the beginning, shall we?

Right.

What's the word -- what's the word, I wonder,

that Shakespeare decides to begin his sentence with here?

Ummm ... "Time". First one.

"Time".

"Tiiime". -- ... yup.

And how does Shakespeare decide to spell it, Hugh?

T, I, M, E.

T, I, ...?

M. -- Emmm E. -- Yup.

And what sort of spelling of the word "time" is that?

Well, it's the ordinary spelling.

It's the ordinary spelling, isn't it? It's the conventional spelling.

So why, out of all the spellings he could have chosen,

did Shakespeare choose that one, d'you think?

Well, um, because it gives us "time" in an ordinary sense.

Exactlywelldonegoodboy, because it gives us "time" in an ordinary ...

in the conventional ... sense. --Oh, right.

So. Shakespeare has given us "time" in a conventional sense.

Yeah.

But he's given us something else here.

Have a look at the typography, what do you espy?

Oh, aaah ... it's got a capital T.

Shakespeare's T, very much uppercase there, Hugh, isn't it? -- Yeah.

Why.

'Cause it's the first word in the sentence.

Well, I think that's partly it.

But I think there's another reason too.

Shakespeare has given us "time" in a conventional sense ...

Uh huh.

... and "time" in an abstract sense.

Right. -- All right? -- Yeah.

Think your voice can convey that to the viewer? -- I hope so.

I hope so too. All right, give it a go.

Just the one word?

Just the one word for the moment. -- Yeah. OK.

Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoah.

Hugh, Hugh, Hugh.

Where do we gather from?

Oh the buttocks!

Always the buttocks! Sorry. Yeah, right.

Gather from the buttocks. Thank you.

TIIIME

What went wrong there, Hugh?

Um ...

I don't know, I got a bit lost in the middle actually.

What I want you to do now is to take the word "time"

and to start adding some of your own feelings.

All right? -- Right.

Some of your feelings of ruin and hopelessness and tragedy and despair,

feelings of loss and grief and bereavement.

But feelings, too, of hope and spirit, and love and ambition.

All right?

Feelings of jealousy, envy and covetousness.

Right. Um.

Wantonness?

No, leave wantonness out, Hugh.

All right. -- All right?

So. One more time then, all right?

But I think what we'd better do first is ...

do you feel ready for a little exercise designed to build up your confidence

and help your voice projection?

Yes. -- You do? good.

With me, then, I want you to adopt the Mime Stance. All right? -- Right.

Mime Stance ... good. Now, hand on shoulder ... good boy.

Now what I want you to do, after 3, with me,

is to say the word "time", ten times, very fast.

Right. -- All right? -- Yeah.

Without the script? -- Off book, yes.

So: Three.

Timetimetimetimetimetimetimetimetime, time.

You see? -- Oh, right.

You get that sense? That sense of ...

Uuuhhh ...

drivel.

That sense of what I like to call time ... collapsing into nonsense, Hugh.

A sense of nonsense. -- Nonsense.

Shakespeare knew it was there, we can't shirk it now.

Put it in with the others, all right? Gathering from the buttocks.

Thank you.

TIME!

Hm.

Much, much better, Hugh.

Well done, we make tremendous strides. This is very exciting work.

I'm very excited, I hope you're excited too.

All right?

So. Hugh.

What I want you to do now is to see how great the strides we've made have been

by reading the rest of the speech as well,

using what we've learned.

OK. All right. -- yeah? -- right.

TIME! hath my lord a a wallet at his back where he puts alms for oblivion

a great sized monster of ingratitude.

Well, as you can see, still a very long way to go there.

But we'll be returning to Hugh with that speech later on,

perhaps in our 1988 series.

But meanwhile, until the same time next week,

from Shakespeare Masterclass: an Actor Prepares,

it's good night and God bless.

Eh. Diz iz well in control.

I play queen D8,

followed by knight H5 to F4,

exploiting his double deaf bones and weak king side.

Yeees.

Iz ztrong move.

Queen D8.

Oh, wha's he done that for?

Was all nice before, it went black-white-black-white all the way down, in a kind