Through a Glass Darkly - Almeida Theatre

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IntroductionDimitri Leonidas and Ruth WilsonPhoto: Simon AnnandWelcome to the Almeida Theatre’sproduction of Through a GlassDarkly.Through a Glass Darkly, the Oscar-winning film bySwedish director Ingmar Bergman, charts a turbulent 24hours in the life of a family on their annual islandholiday. Reunited after months apart, a father and histwo children navigate the unstable bridges holding theirfamily together, a family both distanced and united bythe mental illness of Karin.Although essentially a ‘chamber film’ and bearing anumber of innately theatrical traits on celluloid, as astage adaptation of a film, Through a Glass Darklypresented a number of challenges to adapter JennyWorton and Director Michael Attenborough. The mostnotable of these was the need to translate the film’siconic visual language into speech and action. Film is amedium where visual storytelling is king, but the stagedemands more from a script than sophisticated imageryalone; a director cannot focus the audience’s eye in suchas strict way nor can you, as Bergman does, cut away toa symbolic shot of stormy sea or barren landscape tounderline a particularly poignant line.The film viewed now may seem somewhat dated,particularly in terms of its handling of psychology andreligion, in light of what we now know about mentalillness and a more popularised and open debate aboutthe place of religion on a social and personal level. Forthat reason, we have kept the piece in its originalcontext, set in the early 1960s on the island of Fårö inSweden. Viewing the play in its original context allows usto see the timeless games at play within the family, theshifting loyalties and boundaries marked out betweenthose most complex of relationships.We look forward to welcoming you and your students tothe Almeida Theatre and hope that Through a GlassDarkly will challenge and inspire you to experience futherthe power of live theatre.Charlie Payne, Samantha Lane & Natalie MitchellAlmeida ProjectsFor more information about Almeida Projects and our recent work please visitwww.almeida.co.uk/education1Resource Pack: Through A Glass Darkly by Ingmar Bergman
HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE PACKThis Almeida Projects Resource Pack aims toprovide an insight into our process of taking theproduction from research stage to performance.We hope you will use it to help you in your owninvestigations into the play both before andafter your visit to the Almeida Theatre.The pack is divided into four sections: the firstcontains detailed information on the plot andcharacters to refresh your memory of the play inthe classroom. The second containsproduction-specific articles on the creativeprocess, with exclusive input from the artisticteam. The third section provides context bycovering background material and themes fromthe play. The final section contains suggestionsof practical exercises for drama teachers to use,to enable students to explore the play in furtherdepth, in the classroom and beyond.LEARNING AREASKey learning areas have been identified underthe following subjects:• AS/A Level Drama or Theatre Studies• AS/A Level English Literature• Psychology • Film or Media StudiesThis Resource Pack intends to supplementthe academic study of Through a Glass Darklyby providing context-specific informationabout the Almeida Theatre’s production ofthe play, covering the following areas:• Staging and world of the play• Production-specific research and context• Rehearsal processThis pack may supplement the exercisesundertaken in Almeida Projects’ IntroductoryWorkshop and is designed to give studentswider understanding of some of the issuesfeatured directly in the narrative of the play.Contents1. The Play Production Credits 3Synopsis 4Characters 5Detailed Plot Summary 62. Production and CreativesDesign 15Ingmar Bergman 17Bergman’s ‘Faith Trilogy’ 21Interview with Jenny Worton 23Interview with Dan Jones 28In the Rehearsal Room 313. Context ‘Through a Glass Darkly’ 35Schizophrenia 36Psychiatrist’s View 39From The Divided Self 424. Practical ExercisesPractical Exercises 43Script Extract #1 46Script Extract #2 50Script Extract #3 51Almeida Projects & Credits 52Resource Pack: Through A Glass Darkly by Ingmar Bergman 2
Page 1: Through aGlass Darklyby Ingmar Berg
Page 5 and 6: SynopsisRuth WilsonPhoto: Simon Ann
Page 7 and 8: Dimitri Leonidas and Ruth WilsonPho
Page 9 and 10: Ian McElhinneyPhoto: Simon AnnandMy
Page 11 and 12: Ruth WilsonPhoto: Simon Annandpsych
Page 13 and 14: Justin Salinger and Ian McElhinneyP
Page 15 and 16: Ian McElhinney, Dimitri Leonidas, R
Page 17 and 18: DesignClockwise from top left: Mode
Page 19 and 20: was Fangelse (Prison in the UK), re
Page 21 and 22: The following is an excerpt from Th
Page 23 and 24: Bergman was influenced by the work
Page 25 and 26: Dimitri Leonidas and Ruth Wilson in
Page 27 and 28: Three Spheres of ConflictINTERNALCO
Page 29 and 30: Ruth Wilson, Michael Attenborough a
Page 31 and 32: AP: Does it make your job easier do
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Page 35 and 36: Ruth Wilson in rehearsalPhoto: Brid
Page 37 and 38: Schizophrenia is a chronic mental h
Page 39 and 40: the full extent of the condition wa
Page 41 and 42: Ruth WilsonPhoto: Simon Annandwould
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Page 45 and 46: Duration: 30 minutesAim: To encoura
Page 47 and 48: SCRIPT EXTRACT #1 (Exercise 2)Scene
Page 49 and 50: David:What about Karin?Martin: Abou
Page 51 and 52: Script Extract #2 (Exercise 3)From
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AlmeidaProjectsThrough a Glass Dark
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Through a Glass Darkly - Almeida Theatre

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