KNOT HEART - Almeida Theatre

telling a joke, telling a story, watching a film). Can you think of other examples?Practical Exercise: Set up the room end-on style with an audience and a playing space. Ask for avolunteer (person A) to leave the room. Ask for five further volunteers whose job it will be to try andmake the person who has left the room drink a glass of liquid (or, if water is not available, to doanother simple action as agreed). The five ‘manipulators’ can use any tactics they want and will havethree minutes to try and persuade person A to drink – the rule is that they can’t touch person A, butthey can drink the liquid or do anything else so long as it is safe. Ensure the five volunteersunderstand their task. Then brief person A outside the room – they should start from the position ofnot wanting to drink but after hearing all the five volunteers they can choose which one would makethem consider drinking and why. Ideally the liquid should look suspiciously like urine - to maximisethe effect of manipulation - so use apple juice rather than water and put it on a chair or table at thefront. Let each person take a turn and then ask A who would have persuaded them and why?Practical ExercisesEvaluate: What tactics were used? How were language and physical elements used? Were they highstatus or low status? What other ideas can the audience think of? What would have worked for them?Watching the Play: How do the characters in The Knot of the Heart control and manipulate eachother’s behaviour? Notice in particular how manipulation can often be unspoken - how is thisexpressed between Lucy and Barbara; between Angela and Barbara; between Angela and Lucy. Howmight the actors have created this tension through their rehearsal period?Exercise 3: Language and RepetitionIn the play, there are several instances where the dialogue is highly repetitive, and the same words areused multiple times in succession, but their meaning and emphasis may change.Duration: 20 minsAim: This exercise, a yes/no game, encourages students to look at how words can mean differentthings in various contexts.Practical Exercise Part 1: Split the group into As and Bs. The two teams will be arguing about aResource Pack: The Knot of the Heart 48