Through a Glass Darkly - Almeida Theatre

Dimitri Leonidas and Ruth Wilson in rehearsalPhoto: Bridget JonesI want you not to make use ofyour daughter. I want you not totwist her suffering into yoursearch for meaning.MartinScene Elevencontributing to a version that we all felt happierwith as a team.By the end of week one, it became apparent justhow tight the show is in structure and how precisethe writing is. It is not verbose: every word iscrucial. This week around the table helped us to beincredibly specific before getting involved inquestions of how to put the show into action. Therehearsal wall became a space for research andimages that would inform the creative process:from research on schizophrenia, to images of thefish stew that the family eat in Scene Three, andeven the island of Fårö where the film was shotand where Bergman eventually lived. The wall wasa reflection of and service to the creative processthroughout.Week TwoThis week was about putting the play on its feet.An accurate mark-up of the set was outlined incoloured tape on the floor along with mock-ups ofmajor pieces of set, such as a wooden table withadjustable legs for it to become a bed. Props wereall set by the stage managers and wheneversomething was needed, it would go into therehearsal notes and would be there the next day.We worked chronologically through the play, doingbetween two and three scenes a day in great detail.This week was very much about playing aroundwith possibilities, asking questions, working outthe logistics of each scene and slowly beginning tounderstand each individual character.Through a Glass Darkly, a ‘chamber film’, asBergman called it, spans less than twenty fourhours, hence things happen at startling speed. Idrew up a timeline so that we could see where anytime lapsed and where scenes followed on fromone another without any time passing. It feltcrucial to understand where and what Karin isdoing in every minute of this twenty-four hourperiod in order to create a cohesive journey forRuth to play.In the Rehearsal RoomOne of the big questions of this week revolvedaround Scene Eleven, where David and Martin arein a boat. We considered the possibility of havingthem sat on a jetty so that they could in fact faceout more towards the audience. After the firstexperiment with it both ways, it was achinglyobvious, to the performers and Mike, that the boatwas essential: a gift rather than a hindrance. Weneed to see these two men truly and utterlytrapped, on a boat in the middle of the sea. It isResource Pack: Through A Glass Darkly by Ingmar Bergman 32