Through a Glass Darkly - Almeida Theatre

Ruth WilsonPhoto: Simon Annandpsychotic episode. She can hear the noise ofseagulls and it scares her. She starts to hearwhispering, voices calling her; she gets up andfollows the voices to another room in the house.This room is derelict and has long since beenunoccupied. There is a large crack in one wall andKarin is drawn towards it as the whispering voicesintensify. Karin concentrates, listening to the blur ofvoices. She begins to whisper in response to whatshe is hearing, we cannot hear all her words but sheis grateful for the voices being there and feelscomfort in what they are saying. Karin sinks to thefloor, now quiet, as the voices subside.Scene SixDavid is in his room. He has been up all nightworking on his manuscript. He reads aloud from asection of it, trying to find the right words, editinghis work. Suddenly overcome with frustration andself-loathing he begins hitting himself, over andover. Meanwhile, Karin has entered; she calls to himand he turns round, apologising. She asks himabout his work but he does not want to talk. He tellsher about his intense frustration as a writer, offeeling unable to grasp hold of the genius to writethe masterpiece he feels is inside him. Karin urgeshim to follow his calling and make difficult choices ifneed be. She tells him she feels that she too mayhave a calling, that they understand each other,whereas Martin does not. Karin begins to try toexplain something, but David stops her and puts herto bed, tucking her in. Karin sleeps.Plot SummaryThere’s something inside. Thereare times still when I can feel itburning inside me. But as I getolder it wavers. Oh God, thereare times, terrible times when Isee my life laid out before me.And away to the side there is thisother thing, this thing I wasmeant to write.DavidScene SixDavid moves to a chair and picks up Max’s script.He begins to read, but cannot manage more than afew lines. He puts the script down as Max enters.Max asks him excitedly if he wants to bring in thefishing nets. David goes to get his shoes. As hedoes this, Max sees his script with his father’sthings. Quickly, he snatches it up and tucks it intohis pocket before following David outside.He tells his father about his own writing, giving hima brief synopsis of the play that he’s written. David’sreaction gives nothing away but we sense that Maxhas not written a masterpiece. David asks his son ifhe is serious about writing. Max says he is and giveshis father the play for the second time. David pausesbefore taking it. When Max replies that he findswriting fun, David scoffs at this. Max takes offenceand snatches the play back and storms off. Davidremains, the picture of inadequacy.Scene SevenBack in David’s room, Karin has climbed out of bedResource Pack: Through A Glass Darkly by Ingmar Bergman 10