~ 'The York Realist', Peter Gill ~
The York Realist
Week 1
We were given the following quote from the play: 'I live here. I live here. You can't see that, though. You can't see it. This is where I live. Here.'
We discussed what we thought about this quote as a class. A few people agreed that the way it was written is a child-like way of speaking. One person suggested that it could be an immigrant child talking to a bully, because of the phrase ‘you can’t see that’. I mentioned that the use of short sentences and repetition suggests that the speaker is desperate and/or panicky. We talked about what sort of situation, or conversation it would be said in. We all agreed that it would be said in a conflict. I said that I thought it would be said near the end of an argument because of how exasperated the speaker seems to be.
Next, we picked a partner and devised a short scene that had to include this quote. We thought that the quote could be said in an argument with a landlord, threatening to throw out a tenant who wasn't paying their rent. But we agreed that it sounded too territorial and desperate for this situation. We wanted a scene with a situation that had more tension, where the stakes are higher. I came up with the idea of the speaker being a squatter, so if they were kicked out they would be homeless. We tried to imagine how a squatter could live somewhere without the owner finding out. We eventually came up with the idea that the squatter was staying in a hunting cabin in the woods throughout Winter, thinking it was abandoned. Then, in Spring the owner returns to discover them.
We read through Scene 1 as a group, pausing every few pages and discussing the plot to make sure we all understood. This took up an entire hour-long lesson.
Week 2
We were put into small groups of 4-5, and devised an improvised piece based on the first scene to show our understanding. My group and I found this task challenging as we found it difficult to use the same characters and plot without quoting or copying the script. Therefore, we only managed a very short 30 second scene that covered the first 2 or 3 pages.
We were put into pairs and each given a different section from the first scene, of a couple of pages each. We marked units of action onto our scripts, and wrote down our reasons for why we changed it.
The unit of action changes when:
- a character enters or exits the scene.
- there is a change of time.
- there is a change of subject in conversation.
- the location changes.
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| {I marked the units of action with ~ } |
[Our Teacher was ill for a week so I worked on studying the play, and researching some context to the play.]
Context
'The York Realist' was written in 2001 by Peter Gill. The play premiered at the Lowry Theatre in November 2001, and moved on to the Bristol Old Vic and the Royal Court Theatre in January 2002, by the English Touring Theatre. Peter Gill himself directed these productions. 'The York Realist' then moved to the Strand Theatre in March 2002. The play was performed again by Good Night Out Presents at the Riverside Studios in September 2009 in order to celebrate Peter Gill's 70th birthday. The latest performance began at the Donmar Warehouse in February 2018.
'The York Realist' is set in Yorkshire in the 1960s, and explores being gay at this time, north/south divide and relationships. Peter Gill was a gay man working in the theatre industry and Peter Gill used some of his own personal experiences in the play. For example, Peter Gill was sent to ask why an actor was not attending rehearsals, the same as John does with George. At the time the play is set, homosexuality was illegal, so John and George could face serious consequences for their relationship.
Week 5
We did our first two workshops with the Donmar Warehouse. The first day was in their rehearsal space with some staff and three other schools. We did a warm up with all the groups, where we walked around the space and when they called out a number we had to get into groups of that number, and then they would tell us to make a freeze frame of something with our bodies. Some of them were a bike, the London Eye and a horse.
After this we were split into our school groups, we went upstairs to work with the director we will be working with called Toby. We did an exercise where he said a series of statements and we would stand in a line with one side of the room being 'agree', the other being 'disagree'. We then did another exercise where we imagined there was a world map on the floor and stood on the map where we grew up, where are parents grew up, and where our grandparents grew up. We also stood where we would like to grow up, and where we would like to live when we are older.
After this we went into a script writing workshop, where we were split into groups of three or four. We were given an image, and two post-it notes. One said a location and the other said an event. We used these to write a scene. The image my group was given was of two girls in uniform lying down, floating in the shallows of a lake. The location was a mountain, and the event was B telling A they wanted a child. We wrote a scene about a lesbian couple, however A wants to get out of the relationship to be with a guy. So A tells B they are pregnant, saying that she cheated on B. The pregnancy and the cheating are both lies, she just wants to make B angry and break up with her. However, this backfires as B says that they've always wanted a child and is really excited. We condensed the scene down to four lines, but had to make the scene ninety seconds. Our first run through was thirty seconds and we rehearsed it three times before getting it the right length. At the end of this session we performed them in front of the rest of the group.
Second Workshop
The second workshop took place at our college the next day. We did a warm up where we walk around the space, making sure it is balanced (there are no gaps or big spaces, we are evenly spaced throughout the room). We did an exercise where if Toby said clap, we clapped, jump, we jumped and so on. If he said side, we ran to the sides of the room, centre, we formed a clump in the middle of the space. This increased our energy levels and reaction speeds. We then worked on writing a short, 30 second piece of writing about a place where we felt most ourselves. I decided to write about Alexandra Palace in Muswell Hill at night because you can see a great view of Central London.
We also looked at walking around the space in different ways, and how having one person moving differently from the others can draw attention to them. For example, if they are moving slowly while everyone else is moving quickly and vise versa, or if they are still.
We also looked at stage presence, splitting into two groups and one group would walk on stage and stand there facing the audience before walking off. Someone from my class said that I looked confident on stage. We then walked on and took turns saying "I live here" to see who was convincing and who wasn't. One of my classmates said that I was confident walking onto stage and saying the line.
Week 6
We did a series of workshops at the Donmar lasting the whole afternoon. We started with a music based workshop for an hour where we listened to various pieces of music and moved in the way it made us feel. We then wrote those emotions down on paper, and in groups of 3 or 4 we created a movement for each emotion. We put them into a sequence and performed them too each other. This was to look at different ways of devising, this example was through music.
We then did a workshop with Toby, who is working with us for devising our piece. We did a quick warm up then played Grandma's footsteps in two groups, one group played while the other watched. We then discussed what was interesting to watch, and what wasn't. People sabotaging each other was interesting and funny, but it got dull when it was done too often. We then played Grandma's footsteps without Grandma, so we all had to stop and start as a group. This was challenging as I could not always see everyone around me. This also helped us form an ensemble and work together effectively.
After this, we went to our final workshop looking at Polari, a language spoke by gay men in the 1930s to the 1960s. This patchwork language of English, Italian, cockney rhyming slang, saying words backwards and other languages enabled gay men to talk to each other in public without worrying about police. Although Polari is not used in the play, it is interesting to note because John is from London and would most likely know how to speak Polari. George, on the other hand, is less likely to use or understand it because he is from rural Yorkshire.
That evening we then watched the production at the Donmar Warehouse.
[Review below]
In College
In our next lesson at college we discussed the show and our opinions of it. Someone in my class pointed out that the actors clearly understood the meaning behind their lines as they delivered them.
We were split into groups of 3 or 4 and each group was given a different area of the production to look at. Below is the result.
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| {One group looked at what to write for a review.} |
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| {Another group looked at how the actors portrayed the characters.} |
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| {Characters continued.} |
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| {My group looked at the technical aspects of the show and how this helped the show.} |
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| {The final group looked at the production overall.} |
York Realist Review
'The York Realist' is a 2001 play by Peter Gill about gay and familial relationships, and how they can fall apart because of personal and professional differences. The play deals with themes of love, sense of self, family and roots (where a person feels at home). The play is set in the early 1960s, in a small cottage rented by George and his widowed mother in rural York.
George is a farmhand in rural York who does part time work as an actor at his local theatre. He meets John, an assistant theatre director from London. They fall into a secret relationship until John has to return to London and George has to choose between his family, home in York and his love for John by moving to London. However, homosexuality was not legalised until 1967 so they could face serious consequences if their relationship was discovered.
Throughout the play George struggles with sense of self: should he stay in a gay relationship with John, or marry a woman keep his sexuality secret? This discomfort is portrayed clearly by the actor in scenes where George is discussing his relationship with John, where he shifts from side to side. George is not the gay stereotype (perhaps a conscious decision by George?), he is strong but does not voice his opinion often and, at least in private, is relaxed about his sexuality. With others, however, I got the impression that he is cautious and sometimes uncomfortable. John, on the other hand, is closer to the stereotype as he is a theatre director who is talkative but polite and is quite confident in himself when he meets George's family and friends.
The production effectively used technical elements to support the performance. The set was naturalistic, and made the audience believe in the story and the characters. Lighting was used to show the passing of time, and create moments of tension. An example of this is when John is spending the night, and George turns off the lights to the main room so the only light onstage is coming from the stairway, lighting up George from behind him. I thought the costumes represented the characters convincingly, the women all wore long skirts and modest clothes, which reflected their religious, church-going selves. George wore overalls, or an old-looking shirt, this shows that he is a poor farmhand. In contrast, John was wearing fresh, clean-looking clothes. His shoes looked new and shiny. This shows that John is used to living in comfort, and emphasises his differences with George.
Overall, the production had great chemistry between the actors, character dynamics and clear characterisation. It was successful in portraying not only the relationships, but all the factors that were adding to the relationships either working or falling apart.
Directing 'The York Realist'
If I was directing a production of 'The York Realist', I would first ensure that the actors playing George and John had good on stage chemistry. This is important as the audience need to believe that they are a couple.
I would set the play in Manchester in the 1960s, as people in this area were very homophobic. I would keep John as a theatre director, and George as a farmhand, but would have John live in Manchester, and George in a small cottage just outside Manchester. As they would live in close proximity, it would show how close they become, and make the idea of them living together more achievable, and more tragic when it doesn't work out. Having them so close together would emphasise their differences, George's sense of home and roots, while John seems more carefree.
I would use lighting effects similar to the production of the play, in that I would use lighting to create tension between the characters. In scenes where the entire family are onstage, with John there as well, I would light the stage in a general wash, with bright lights to highlight that everyone is present and can see George and John, so will emphasise that they cannot be affectionate around others. In the scene where John is staying the night, I would have a single ceiling light on stage, to show that they are alone and not being watched.
For costume, I would dress George in farmhand wear and dull colours as he doesn't always express himself very well. I would have John wear slightly more formal looking trousers and a shirt with the sleeves rolled back, to show that despite his relaxed nature, he does care about how others perceive him. I would dress Doreen, and Mother in modest dresses, to show their religious and societal beliefs.
Week 7
This week we focused on rehearsals, working out the order of the scenes and making sure everyone was onstage all the time. We also worked on transitions, and made sure everyone knew what they were doing for the performance next week.
Week 8
Final rehearsals for the performance. We did a quick warm up, followed by a run through, before going into the stage space and doing a tech rehearsal. We then did another run through on the stage with all the tech (for the first time). We then performed our piece alongside the other school groups.
Performance Evaluation
The performance went extremely well, there were no mistakes and everything went smoothly. I also found it enjoyable because we had made it, it was unique to us. It was our words, with our opinions and emotions. It was also staged well, with lots of time spent on blocking so everything was clear to the audience. It was interesting to do a contemporary piece, where we played ourselves onstage. The only issue was that we were used to rehearsing in an end-on staging, while we performed on a stage in thrust so we had to adapt some parts. Each scene was a story about the speaker's safe space, or a person with whom they feel comfortable. I enjoyed the ensemble work, the way we all reflected off of each others energies and supported each other in this storytelling. It was also a great experience as I have done devising work before, but not a piece that is based on a play.
We incorporated the themes of home, and sense of self from 'The York Realist'. While other groups included characters, quotes and references to the play. This made our piece feel different as it was more loosely connected to the play, and closer to ourselves.
York Realist Review
'The York Realist' is a 2001 play by Peter Gill about gay and familial relationships, and how they can fall apart because of personal and professional differences. The play deals with themes of love, sense of self, family and roots (where a person feels at home). The play is set in the early 1960s, in a small cottage rented by George and his widowed mother in rural York.
George is a farmhand in rural York who does part time work as an actor at his local theatre. He meets John, an assistant theatre director from London. They fall into a secret relationship until John has to return to London and George has to choose between his family, home in York and his love for John by moving to London. However, homosexuality was not legalised until 1967 so they could face serious consequences if their relationship was discovered.
Throughout the play George struggles with sense of self: should he stay in a gay relationship with John, or marry a woman keep his sexuality secret? This discomfort is portrayed clearly by the actor in scenes where George is discussing his relationship with John, where he shifts from side to side. George is not the gay stereotype (perhaps a conscious decision by George?), he is strong but does not voice his opinion often and, at least in private, is relaxed about his sexuality. With others, however, I got the impression that he is cautious and sometimes uncomfortable. John, on the other hand, is closer to the stereotype as he is a theatre director who is talkative but polite and is quite confident in himself when he meets George's family and friends.
The production effectively used technical elements to support the performance. The set was naturalistic, and made the audience believe in the story and the characters. Lighting was used to show the passing of time, and create moments of tension. An example of this is when John is spending the night, and George turns off the lights to the main room so the only light onstage is coming from the stairway, lighting up George from behind him. I thought the costumes represented the characters convincingly, the women all wore long skirts and modest clothes, which reflected their religious, church-going selves. George wore overalls, or an old-looking shirt, this shows that he is a poor farmhand. In contrast, John was wearing fresh, clean-looking clothes. His shoes looked new and shiny. This shows that John is used to living in comfort, and emphasises his differences with George.
Overall, the production had great chemistry between the actors, character dynamics and clear characterisation. It was successful in portraying not only the relationships, but all the factors that were adding to the relationships either working or falling apart.
Directing 'The York Realist'
If I was directing a production of 'The York Realist', I would first ensure that the actors playing George and John had good on stage chemistry. This is important as the audience need to believe that they are a couple.
I would set the play in Manchester in the 1960s, as people in this area were very homophobic. I would keep John as a theatre director, and George as a farmhand, but would have John live in Manchester, and George in a small cottage just outside Manchester. As they would live in close proximity, it would show how close they become, and make the idea of them living together more achievable, and more tragic when it doesn't work out. Having them so close together would emphasise their differences, George's sense of home and roots, while John seems more carefree.
I would use lighting effects similar to the production of the play, in that I would use lighting to create tension between the characters. In scenes where the entire family are onstage, with John there as well, I would light the stage in a general wash, with bright lights to highlight that everyone is present and can see George and John, so will emphasise that they cannot be affectionate around others. In the scene where John is staying the night, I would have a single ceiling light on stage, to show that they are alone and not being watched.
For costume, I would dress George in farmhand wear and dull colours as he doesn't always express himself very well. I would have John wear slightly more formal looking trousers and a shirt with the sleeves rolled back, to show that despite his relaxed nature, he does care about how others perceive him. I would dress Doreen, and Mother in modest dresses, to show their religious and societal beliefs.
Week 7
This week we focused on rehearsals, working out the order of the scenes and making sure everyone was onstage all the time. We also worked on transitions, and made sure everyone knew what they were doing for the performance next week.
Week 8
Final rehearsals for the performance. We did a quick warm up, followed by a run through, before going into the stage space and doing a tech rehearsal. We then did another run through on the stage with all the tech (for the first time). We then performed our piece alongside the other school groups.
Performance Evaluation
The performance went extremely well, there were no mistakes and everything went smoothly. I also found it enjoyable because we had made it, it was unique to us. It was our words, with our opinions and emotions. It was also staged well, with lots of time spent on blocking so everything was clear to the audience. It was interesting to do a contemporary piece, where we played ourselves onstage. The only issue was that we were used to rehearsing in an end-on staging, while we performed on a stage in thrust so we had to adapt some parts. Each scene was a story about the speaker's safe space, or a person with whom they feel comfortable. I enjoyed the ensemble work, the way we all reflected off of each others energies and supported each other in this storytelling. It was also a great experience as I have done devising work before, but not a piece that is based on a play.
We incorporated the themes of home, and sense of self from 'The York Realist'. While other groups included characters, quotes and references to the play. This made our piece feel different as it was more loosely connected to the play, and closer to ourselves.
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