2009 Productions
"Great Expectations" : c’est le PLAY 2009 !
by Paddy Salmon and the producers
A poor, oppressed orphan, Pip, from the rural working classes suddenly discovers one day that he is going to inherit a fortune (he has "great expectations").
Is this really good fortune for him as he tries to move to London, a place of dreams, and climb into a higher social class ? Will prosperity bring him the love and happiness that he hopes for ? Can money really help him forge a new and better identity for himself ?
“Great Expectations”, first published in instalments in 1860 and Dickens’ 13th novel, is in many ways his most prodigiously imaginative and complete novel, in which he carefully revisited his own troubled childhood, already explored in such depth in “David Copperfield”.
He recreates a childhood for Pip of deprivation and loss, terror, ambition, frustration, vanity, but, eventually, self-realisation. Pip’s quest for an identity, is also a search for adequate parent figures, who can guide him in finding out who he really is and wants to be.
Pip’s identity is constantly shifting and is commented on ironically by an older Pip, who is in touch with and yet also distant from his arrogant, egotistical younger self. The subtle complexities of the narration are one of the novel’s great features, and so I have tried to give a role to whole teams of Narrators in the drama, who together will embody the voice of this older Pip.
Dickens created a highly memorable cast of characters, from the fearsome Magwitch, the lovable Joe and the utterly bizarre Miss Havisham, to the all-powerful lawyer, Jaggers, his associate, the friendly Wemmick and the dauntingly beautiful but ice-cold Estella. He also created memorable settings ranging from the cold, wet marshes of Kent and Miss Havisham’s mysteriously haunted Satis House, to the great, dirty and morally polluted centre of London, dominated by the ruthless Newgate Prison, near which Jaggers has his offices in the area known as Little Britain.
In Pip’s search for his fortune and his identity, Dickens shows us how strange and difficult growing up can be, and how fate can change everything in a flash. In such a difficult and dangerous (but also at times very funny) world, he shows how it is the heart which must be privileged and nurtured above all else.
We shall be starting to audition for the play directly after the Toussaint holidays. The text can be downloaded before then and pupils can prepare for the auditions.
As always, there are some key parts, but there are also LOTS of little parts. The important thing, as anybody who has taken part in previous productions will say, is to be “part of the team”.
We shall also be looking for a Backstage Team (lycée) and musicians (from any of the schools). Any serious musicians should make themselves known as soon as possible to Sergio Lopez ( sergenothere@hotmail.com ), who is coordinating the music and the songs.
The dates are important as there may be conflicts with other projects (e.g., the Dulwich Exchange): 7th-11th April 2009.
NB the last performance will be on the Saturday night at the end of the term. Anyone wishing to be in the play, and it is open to everybody from 4e upwards, must sign a charter this year, as we expect total commitment once rehearsals start !
Dernière modification le 04-08-09 par
