To kickstart the monthly ‘Discussion topics’ project, I thought I’d pose some questions regarding character inspired by Mike Alfreds’ session last week.

Mike’s approach struck me as very similar to that outlined by David Mamet in True and False (invent nothing, deny nothing, etc.) but where it departed completely was in Mike’s emphasis on character (for Mamet, you might recall, ‘there is no such thing as character’). How do Factory members relate to this debate? What role does ‘character’ play in the Hamlet Project?

Should the actor disappear behind character? Should both be visible at once? Mike spoke about the bravery of the actor – of getting up on stage and saying, in effect, ‘this is me’. But what are the implications of this concept of acting for ‘character’? Are we trying to create the illusion of another person, another life? Or are we past ‘illusion’ now, and dealing with ‘reality’?

What are the implications of this for casting? How does this make space (or otherwise) for gender-, age- or colour-blind casting? How might cross-casting work in the Hamlet Project? (Am I opening a can of worms here?)

What about objectives? How important are these? Mike felt these should remain relatively consistent from performance to performance. Do The Factory stick to the same objectives in every performance of Hamlet? Why? Why not?

Thoughts please!

[NB - this topic has already been discussed to some extent on this page - have a read!]