KNOT HEART - Almeida Theatre

Practical ExercisesEvaluate: Who do you think was doing the right thing in each of the group’s scenes? What are thechallenges of trying to do the right thing? What about ‘tough love’? What did it feel like to play acharacter struggling to do the right thing - were the choices obvious?Watching the Play: What things do the characters do that they think is for best, but might not be? Ifyou were Barbara, what would do differently towards Lucy and Angela? Think about the othercharacters.Exercise 5: Script ExtractsDuration: 15-20 minutesAim: To encourage students to consider the theme of guilt and its purpose within the context of theplay’s dramatic action.You will need: A copy of the script (extracts available on request from Almeida Projects, or full copiesare available to buy from the Almeida Theatre Box Office or Kiosk).Practical Exercise: In pairs, look at the following script extracts. These are examples of how thethemes we’ve looked at are explored in The Knot of the Heart. Consider what we’ve learnt about thesethemes, and how they might influence the choices you make in staging your extract.1. Scene 2: Page 12 (start of scene with Lucy rummaging in Angela’s bag) to Page 16 (Angela:When are you going to leave?). Two-hander - 2 girls.2. Scene 2: Page 22 (Angela: Why do you prefer her to me?) to Page 26 (Angela: GoodbyeLucy. Goodbye Mum. [Cutting Lucy’s lines on page 23 and page 25]). Two-hander - 2 girls.3. Scene 4: Page 59 (Brian: So if you’re a TV presenter how come you’re sleeping rough?) toPage 64 (Lucy: Help me.). NB - this extract contains strong language. Two-hander - 1 girl, 1boy.3. Scene 9: Page 87 (Dr Harris: I have read your notes Lucy….) to Page 91 (Lucy: It’s cured….Iknow it’s gone.). NB - this extract contains strong language. Two-hander - 1 girl, 1 boy.4. Scene 10: Page 102 (Marina: Lucy’s care worker will be coming to collect her) to Page 105(Marina: Lucy’s decided…it must be very painful.). Three-hander - 3 girls or 2 girls, 1 boy:Marina could be played by a boy if needed.5. Scene 11: Page 110 (Andrew: And what we’ve got is a great new format for a kids natureshow…) to Page 113 (Andrew: Can I quote you on that?) NB - this extract contains stronglanguage. Two-hander - 1 girl, 1 boy.Share short extracts back and, thinking about your knowledge of the play, discuss which themes cameup in each extract.Evaluate: What was effective about each group’s staging of the scenes? How did they differ? What doyou feel you have learnt about the character you were playing? Was your status clear? Did you find thelanguage easy to perform?Watching the Play: Ask students to keep an eye out for the short scenes they performed. What did theactors do different under Michael Attenborough’s direction? How was this effective?Resource Pack: The Knot of the Heart