PERFORMANCE PERSPECTIVES

"Bedrooms and Hallways"
THE VALUE OF SHARING

This is a lovely film.

An often fraught topic is treated here with an unselfconscious, engaging warmth.

Difficult to Criticise
It is easy to understand why film reviewers often just tell the story rather than actually offer a critique. This is a film about which it is difficult to find things to say because it is so charmingly successful - unless of course you look at the performance process. Even then it is not without difficulty because all the performances are terrific.

But why are they good?

Well, firstly they serve the story well.

Secondly they also serve the interpretation of the story for this is a very optimistic approach to story telling.

The most significant contribution to this positive approach is made through positive performances.

Yet this is a film, which maintains good levels of drama and good levels of entertainment. And all this while the majority of characters are simply "sharing". The "need to share" is the most dominant character force in the film. The majority of characters are undoubtedly pursuing this need. There are of course exceptions. HUGO WEAVING is pursuing control and domination until the very end of the story when perhaps for the first time in his life he is forced to consider that sharing might just be a possibility. Others are perhaps not always generous or submissive in their sharing but the "need" of most of the characters for most of the time in the movie could be appropriately labeled "to share".
You might feel that such similarity of choice would,

• reduce the level of drama,
• produce a sameness of performance and character,
• flatten the story-telling.

BUT IT DOESN'T!!

If this production can achieve such success with almost every character building their performance on the same impetus why is it that in rehearsal actors often try to be

• brilliantly different
• incredibly intelligent
• wonderfully versatile
• definitely not repetitive
• astoundingly insightful etc.

when choosing a playable "need" for their character.

This film proves that none of these considerations are at all relevant.
It is particularly unnecessary to be endeavouring to be different from everyone else. Worrying whether this is even a consideration is a waste of rehearsal time.

It is not even necessary to be different from last time.

Among the important elements of choice are that you pick a "need" which you understand, which you can trust and which will not be too easily achieved.

Being 'different' is simply not on the list.

So next time you are picking a "need" make sure it is for character orientated reasons and not for artificial actor's ones.

STEVE MCKIDD, HUGO WEAVING, JAMES PUREFOY, TOM HOLLANDER, CHRISTOPHER FULFORD, HARRIET WALTER and SIMON CALLOW share the honours here.

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