Theatre makers in practice KS5

Alison Winter Alison Winter is Head of Theatre KS5 - EDEXCEL COMPONENT 3, SECTION C at Hurtwood House in Surrey, a private sixth form with a strong reputation for the Creative Arts. She has a BA Hons in Drama from Exeter University and a Introduction PCGE from the Institute of The following scheme of work looks at how to apply the methodology of Joan Littlewood to a Education, University of London. production of Sophocles’ Antigone in relation to Edexcel A level, Component 3, Section C. She has taught at Hurtwood for This final question of the Edexcel A level written paper, Interpreting one performance text nearly 20 years becoming Head in the light of one practitioner for a contemporary audience, is worth 24 marks. The whole of Department in 2012. As well paper is marked out of 80 and is worth 40 per cent of the whole A level. This essay asks as teaching in the state sector students to put themselves in the role of a director. They need to be able to craft a detailed in South London, she has also outline communicating their knowledge of the text, Antigone, and its original performing worked extensively in the media conditions, together with their understanding of a key practitioner’s methods. This scheme as a producer/presenter for Forces of work focuses on Joan Littlewood. Not only are they expected to convey this, but be able to Broadcasting and the BBC. apply them to a specific unseen extract and target them to the key demands of the question. This is perhaps the hardest element of the Edexcel specification and student feedback suggests it is still the one with which they most struggle. The following scheme of work is designed to help teachers who might want to adapt it to the specific demands of their timetables. In my experience it is wisest to explore both text and practitioner practically so that students fully engage with the role of a director. Once they see the creative possibilities of the methods in a practical capacity, they are far more likely to communicate those more effectively on paper. The students then need time to be able to practise writing this experience in well argued, concisely communicated and tightly structured essays.

Overview of this scheme Part 1: Reading and Research §§ Research and explore Joan Littlewood’s methods §§ Read and explore Antigone §§ Research original context. Part 2: Practical exploration §§ Develop links between Sophocles’ and Littlewood’s intentions §§ Explore chorus interpretations §§ Characters and relationships §§ Design elements. Part 3: Writing the essay §§ Targeting the question §§ Structuring an answer §§ Using subject specific vocabulary.

Part 1: Reading and research Research Joan Littlewood Joan Littlewood was an inspirational female practitioner who made theatre at a time when the profession was dominated by men. Born in 1914 at the start of the First World War, she grew up in working class London. She was influenced by the key events of the era – the massive social upheaval and financial costs of the conflict led to the General Strike of workers in 1926 and to the economic depression of the 1930s. These events had a lasting impact on Joan and her desire for a fairer more inclusive society. Her ideas about theatre challenged all the normal ways of performing. She felt that traditional theatre was only for the middle and educated classes – she wanted theatre to be truthful and accessible to all. To appeal to the kinds of audiences Joan wanted to attract she felt it was important to include popular forms of entertainment. She had grown up with the Music Hall, a type of variety show popular in the early 1900s comprising different acts - singers, dancers, comedians www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk Summer Term 2 2019/20 Drama & Theatre 1 Theatre makers in practice KS5 - Edexcel Component 3, Section C

and novelty acts – and which demanded audience participation. She wanted to use these devices in her emerging style which aimed to deliver a political message using these popular ‘Joan’s theatre was about energy, methods of entertainment. vitality, blood and sentiment. It could Her desire to challenge some of the inequalities of society were also shared by other be very common; it could be vulgar. practitioners and artists of the age. The political struggles in Europe of the 1930s which led But it was very, very alive.’ Peter to the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 inspired Hall, former artistic director of the Littlewood to join forces with her artistic collaborator Ewan MacColl to form a socialist National Theatre theatre company using agitprop devices such as short satirical sketches and performing in the streets and venues frequented by working class people. Their intention was to revolutionise theatre as well as promoting political ideas in their fight against capitalism and fascism ‘She was a theatrical magpie who sweeping through Europe at the time. stole ideas … she never stood still and During this time Littlewood’s skill at staging and direction was honed. She was inspired was variously associated with the equally by Brecht’s political epic theatre and Stanislavski’s system for creating truthful experimental avant-garde, radical characters. She used Laban’s efforts and techniques to help develop her actor’s physicality. interpretations of classics, new But her clever mixture of styles and forms ensured her own style kept changing and is often writing, musical theatre, rousing difficult to label. comedies and large-scale community Littlewood formed her own company Theatre Workshop during the Second World War; initiative.’ Nadine Holdsworth, author after touring extensively, it eventually settled at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in London of Joan Littlewood in 1953. Her most famous work – her epic devised show Oh! What a Lovely War in 1968 - was created for and by that community to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the sacrifice of so many during the 1914 – 1918 conflict. It best demonstrated her style of savage satire mixed with extreme pathos and is held together by pure entertainment in the recreation of songs and ‘I do not believe in the supremacy of comedy from the First World War. Above all, it is a testament to her belief in the ensemble – a the director, designer, actor or even company of versatile actors and performers who created the show through their own research, the writer. It is through collaboration improvisation and creative imagination. that this knockabout art of theatre survives and kicks!’ Joan Littlewood Read and explore Antigone The next task you need to set your students is to read and understanding the text of Sophocles’ Antigone. The exam text is published by Bloomsbury (ISBN 978-0-4137-7604-4), translated by Don Taylor and includes an excellent set of context notes edited by Angie Varakis. Each student will have an unmarked copy to refer to in the exam, but it would be a useful exercise to ask students to annotate their own copies in order to make a director’s script allowing them to become familiar with the script and its layout.

Antigone Sophocles’ play is based on the myth of the cursed House of Thebes and was first performed in Athens in 441BC. Antigone is the eldest daughter of King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta’s four children and the action of the play takes place in the aftermath of Oedipus’s discovery that he has accidently fulfilled the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus blinds himself, Jocasta commits suicide and Oedipus dies in exile leaving his two sons Eteocles and Polynices to rule Thebes alternately every year. However, after the first year Eteocles refuses to give up the throne for his brother’s turn resulting in Polynices marching on Thebes with an army to claim the crown. In the ensuing battle both brothers slay each other and with all the male heirs to Thebes dead, Creon, brother of Jocasta takes over as King, which is when the play begins. Antigone is determined to bury her dead brother Polynices, who has been left on the battlefield while Creon has given his brother Eteocles a full military funeral. He has also issued a proclamation that no one is to touch the body on pain of death. Against the advice of her sister, Ismene, Antigone defies her uncle and is discovered by soldiers and brought before her uncle. She refuses to accept she has done anything wrong and is sentenced to be walled up alive as punishment. Haemon, Antigone’s fiancé and Creon’s son, tries to plead for her life but Creon refuses to change his mind. Challenged by the blind prophet Teiresias, Creon finally sees the error of his ways but is too late to save Antigone who has committed suicide. On discovering her body, Haemon kills himself. Creon’s wife, Eurydice, also commits suicide when she hears of her son’s death. Creon is left a broken man, having lost his entire family.

Themes raised by the play: §§ Politics: What are the qualities needed for good leadership? www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk Summer Term 2 2019/20 Drama & Theatre 2 Theatre makers in practice KS5 - Edexcel Component 3, Section C

§§ Law and order: When is it right to question the law? §§ Public duty versus family loyalty: What is more important – the State or your family? §§ Family conflict: How easy is it to challenge your parents? §§ Personal morality: When should you do the ‘right’ thing? §§ Religion: What comes first, your religious beliefs or the law of the land you live in? §§ Omnipotence: Is the play to some extent a warning about mankind’s belief that he can control the environment? In the era of climate change and the coronavirus pandemic this is very pertinent. Antigone chooses religious obedience over civil obedience. To herself and to her sympathisers she is a freedom fighter, to Creon she is a terrorist. It is no accident Sophocles made the protagonist a woman. In Ancient Greece, women had few rights. Not allowed to vote, own property or often even leave the home, they were handed from father to husband with no rights of their own. That a young woman was able to stand up against the power of the king and bring him down emphasises Sophocles’ warning that man should not put himself above the gods and their divine laws. While that message might resonate to an Athenian audience of 441 BC, the task a modern- day director has is how to make such archaic themes still relevant.

Engage the group in debate Questions they could consider: 1 What in the play resonated with you? 2 Try to identify a situation where you have stood up for something you believed to be right. 3 Who do you feel most sympathy for in the play?

Research original context The students need to know the key elements of the original staging of Antigone. Allocate a different area to each student or get them to work in pairs or small groups. Ask them to create a presentation on their given topic. Possible topics might be: §§ Ancient Greek society – who were the audience? §§ Gods and religion – the Festival of Dionysus §§ Architecture and amphitheatres – the staging of Antigone §§ Actors and performers – the role of the chorus §§ Sophocles – the playwright’s intentions.

Developing a director’s intention using Joan Littlewood’s methodology To identify a clear concept, the student needs to decide on the main aim and intention they, as the director, want to have on their modern audience using Joan Littlewood’s aims and principles: 1 To use popular entertainment to appeal to a wide cross-section of society 2 To make them question an aspect of their modern-day world 3 To relate the original themes and ideas to contemporary issues 4 To use satire and humour to reinforce the message 5 To make a classic Greek tragedy into a piece of twenty-first-century agitprop theatre.

Part 2: Practical exploration The chorus is possibly the most important aspect of the play to consider. The chorus are all older men, the Senators (Politicians) of Thebes. Over the course of the play they change from blindly obeying Creon to questioning his laws by the final scene. Track the chorus throughout the play and identify the scenes where they begin to challenge his decisions. Littlewood’s idea of the ensemble is at the heart of her work. Characters can multirole – thereby keeping the cast small and versatile. As they comment throughout the play on the action, they provide the main ‘link’ between the audience and the message of the play. In the original, the chorus are all men from the ruling class. The play challenged the men of Athens to think about male leadership and blind obedience. It posed the question of ‘when it is right or moral for the individual to stand up against the power of the state?’. How can you update this? Think about your audience. Can you replicate Joan Littlewood’s idea of Community Theatre and perform to a wide variety of people who may not be regular theatregoers? www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk Summer Term 2 2019/20 Drama & Theatre 3 Theatre makers in practice KS5 - Edexcel Component 3, Section C

If you have a wide age-range, you might want to update the chorus to recognisable politicians or members of the corporate world today. Those with the power to influence the lives of the type of people in the audience. If you are confined to your school audience, what might appeal to them? Perhaps your chorus might be staff or governors – those with authority over them. Think about gender too if you are in a single-sex environment. Would the play work if the chorus were all women?

Practical tasks for exploring the chorus 1 Deconstruct the chorus episodes throughout the play. Identify the mood and tone of each one. How might modern music best express each one?

2 Explore the first entry of the chorus. a Try finding a modern song that might suit the triumphant tone of their victory song. b Experiment with chorus techniques: singing, clapping, chanting, rapping, harmonising c Use percussive instruments to accompany the song and provide a rhythm d Add choreography, dance or physical actions.

3 Once you have established a style which works for your concept then start to apply the same idea to each of the other chorus sequences. Remember the idea of knockabout fun and Music Hall which so influenced Joan Littlewood’s productions. Above all, have fun together: through play come creativity and ideas.

Exploring characters and relationships §§ Antigone – heroine or antiheroine? Antigone is the title character of the play. Would you describe her as a heroine? She stands up for what she believes in but is also stubborn and reckless. How do you feel about her moral position? Can you sympathise? Have you ever had a serious argument with an authority figure/parent/teacher? §§ Ismene - What is the relationship like between Antigone and Ismene? Ismene portrays the more acceptable female qualities of compliance and submission. Antigone is the opposite. She is argumentative and opinionated, not qualities women were encouraged to have. Is this still true? To what extent does the play focus on men? §§ Creon - The country has just emerged from a brutal civil conflict – to all intents and purposes Creon is showing powerful leadership at a time it is most needed. But his intransigence causes the deaths of most of his family. To what extent do you think he was he right? Can you feel any sympathy for him? §§ Haemon - Haemon tries to challenge his father’s view. He clearly loves both Antigone and his father. He shows courage in trying to change his father’s mind and in his attempt to save Antigone from her punishment. What kind of a leader would he have made? §§ Teiresias - A key scene of the play and a turning point for Creon is the arrival of the mystical prophet, Teiresias. A representative of a higher power you might want to decide what kind of archetype might fit that role today. §§ Eurydice - Creon’s Queen and Haemon’s mother. A minor character but you can decide in how much of the play she might appear. She may be silent but her presence in other scenes could emphasise the lack of voice women have to influence events. Think of ways you might achieve this.

Practical tasks for exploring character Explore an exaggerated performance style to create the satirical comedy that Joan Littlewood used so effectively in her production of Oh! What a Lovely War. a Creating archetypes. Creon is a leader. What types and styles of leadership do you want to convey through his characterisation? Perhaps you could parody modern leaders such as Boris Johnson or Donald Trump. Or use the generic idea of a suited businessman to represent corporate hierarchy, a uniformed military leader to emphasise a dictator. b Apply this exploration to other characters in the play. Explore a heightened physical language for each character. This will help create the exaggerated archetype demanded of Littlewood’s style of theatre. c Use off-text improvisation to help create the essence of these character’s relationship. Joan Littlewood believed that ‘freeing’ an actor’s creativity would help keep a production fresh, immediate and more truthful. www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk Summer Term 2 2019/20 Drama & Theatre 4 Theatre makers in practice KS5 - Edexcel Component 3, Section C

d Develop physical and vocal qualities. Use Laban’s efforts to help create physical and vocal attributes, explore States of Tension or Gestic actions and movement to help communicate the archetype.

Decide how you want your audience to react to these characters. You might want the character of Creon to be a parody but ensure that Antigone is more truthful. You could still use the archetype of an environmental activist – someone who puts their care and concern for the planet above all else – but to create sympathy and a sense of pathos for the audience in this interpretation.

Exploring design elements How will you stage your production using Joan Littlewood’s influences? Remember her influences are Music Hall and Street Theatre. She was also considered ahead of her time in her use of technology and if working today would use a multi-media approach in her staging. She was known as a ‘theatrical magpie’ – combining a range of ideas and making them her own. a Space. It needs to be versatile. You might be using your school theatre. Or you might be touring your production round local Community Centres. Joan Littlewood’s production of Oh! What a Lovely War was designed to resemble an ‘end of the pier’ seaside variety show. b Set. What elements do you need to create the world of your interpretation? Visual clues quickly help the audience into the world of your play – Joan Littlewood used back projections and slides to reinforce the world of World War 1. You might even want to include a video screen and use film clips to make the production more contemporary. c Light and sound. You might want to use sound effects to enhance your concept further – sounds of modern warfare, soundbites from well-known political speeches, soundscapes of the stock exchange would instantly signal the world of the play to the audience. d Costumes and props. These can further accentuate the archetype of the characters – Littlewood dressed her ‘Chorus’ as Pierrot clowns in Oh! What a Lovely War and then used indictive props and costumes for the roles of soldier/officer/German woman/newspaper seller, etc. How will you dress your chorus?

Imaginatively present design ideas. Students could make a mood board, draw a set design, collect images and sounds that might help convey their ideas for an artistic concept. Dragons’ Den – ask students to collectively decide which one might work best for your group’s overall production. Allocate different elements of design to different students and then work on combining the best of them into an overall design concept. Maybe your students have different ideas and would prefer to do their own interpretations. Keep them focused on delivering their key ideas following Joan Littlewood’s techniques.

Part 3: Writing the essay Why would Joan Littlewood be an appropriate theatre maker to apply to Antigone?

Targeting the question However imaginative the concept, the key thing is to make it clear and ensure students can answer the exam question. They must be able to write in detail about their overall aims and intentions but use the extract they are given to provide the examples. They must communicate their understanding of the wider play as well as their grasp of Joan Littlewood’s techniques under timed conditions.

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THEATRICAL ORIGINAL USING LITTLEWOOD ELEMENT CHORUS Sung and danced Uses music and choreography with popular appeal CHARACTERS Archetypes using direct address Recognisable modern archetypes would reinforce meaning of the play STAGING Simple outdoor staging elements Simple versatile staging makes audience use imagination and makes production easy to tour and reach a wider audience POLITICAL Sophocles wanted to make audience Littlewood wanted to make people THEMES question aspects of their society question political/social issues through tragic outcome. using satire. AUDIENCE All men in Athenian society. From all walks of society, wanted Compulsory attendance as civic duty. to bring theatre to non-traditional theatre goers.

Structuring an answer The table above will help give students a framework for targeting the different aspects they might need to cover. Adding a key moment from their extract to illustrate each of these elements will keep the students on track in the exam room. Although the students can prepare by writing different practice questions, they will not know what extract they will be given in the final written paper.

Using the script The students will have access to an unannotated script in the exam. If they have spent time creating a Director’s script in their own copies this will ensure they know their way around the script and be familiar with the layout of scenes and lines. An excellent creative task would be to add design ideas in colour and to add specific stage directions for character interaction and chorus delivery.

Using subject specific vocabulary Remember the exam is about their understanding of the director’s role. Ensure the language and vocabulary of their essay reflects this. It is a personal response, so use ‘I’ throughout the essay even if you have worked on a group concept together. They need to own their creative decisions. D&T

www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk Summer Term 2 2019/20 Drama & Theatre 6 RESOURCES

PowerPoint presentation https://ibtheatrereadingroom.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/joan-littlewood-education-pack.pdf https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/an-introduction-to-joan-littlewoods- theatre-practice http://essentialdrama.com/practitioners/joan-littlewood/

References Littlewood, J. (2003), Joan’s Book: The Autobiography of Joan Littlewood (London: Methuen, 2003) Goorney, Howard, The Theatre Workshop Story (London: Methuen, 1981) Holdsworth, Nadine, Joan Littlewood (London: Routledge, 2006) Leach, Robert, Theatre Workshop: Joan Littlewood and the Making of Modern British Theatre (Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2006) Melvin, Murray, The Art of the Theatre Workshop (London: Oberon Books, 2006) The Joan Littlewood Archive: British Library Add MS 89164

Photographs There are many excellent photographs of Joan Littlewood and performances of Antigone available online.

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