The focus of this year's theme work is Theatre FOR the oppressed. From the 4 th Century BC to contemporary drama, playwrights have written about political oppression, conflict, war and survival. History provides us with many examples, some of which include the following: the political moralising by Aristophanes in Lysistrata, the pacifism and protest of Oh What A Lovely War, the political tragedies of William Shakespeare, the pogroms in Fiddler on The Roof, or the propaganda plays of Max Aub during the Spanish Civil War. The world’s troubles have inspired and motivated some of the most crucial and exciting theatre ever written. From tragedy to comedy, from realism to expressionism, from musical comedy to documentary drama, we have a huge range of material to choose from in engaging with our theme this year.

Songs have been written about war, oppression and conflict, sometimes as propaganda, often in protest, but always utilising the unique expressive drive and potency music has for engaging emotions. We will be looking at various pieces written in settings of conflict. We will rehearse ensemble pieces and duets from the musicals Cabaret and Fiddler On The Roof. Additionally, will collaborate with Janice Dunn’s Theme group in Oh What A Lovely War swapping with them for one of the Theme sessions. This will be the first occasion where two project groups have formally joined together. This project will therefore contain an acting element over and above the usual acting through song approach that I normally take.

We will be exploring a range of plays that deal with war and conflict in very different ways theatrically. From Oh What A Lovely War through Peter Weiss' U.S., (concerning the Vietnam War), to The Overwhelming (about the Rwandan genocide), this course will cover a range of twentieth century texts and styles in a dynamic and practical way, and is suitable for everyone. We will collaborate with the singing group on the Oh What A Lovely War part of this project and do a swap with them in one of the Theme sessions.

There are many different perspectives on war in Shakespeare's plays. Through his verse, characters and life we will explore civil unrest, illegal conflict, honourable war, the rhetoric and hypocrisy of heroes and leaders and the infection of greed and destruction in mankind. We will practically explore monologues and scenes from Shakespeare's works and discover how placing them within different contexts can draw comparisons between his times and the world today.

In the midst of the Stalinist purges during the 1930’s the writer, teacher and cultural theorist Mikhail Bakhtin wrote influential works on carnival, grotesque and laughter. He viewed laughter has having a universal coinage and saw the manifestation of a profound drive towards liberation and subversion in carnival. He believed that carnival as a comic theatre style can navigate such epic themes as power, war, oppression and exploitation. Based on a recent workshop I ran with the Royal Shakespeare Company we will use several comic devices: commedia, clowning, buffoonery and slapstick to look at these themes within the framework of Bakhtin’s philosophy. We will use a variety of texts including ideas from a San Francisco Mime Group production of Goldoni’s The Military Lover.

The SKILLS singing project this year will once again concentrate on a diet of singing technique and repertoire. The technique sessions will follow a holistic approach: an integration of body, mind, spirit, emotion and voice. We will apply these techniques to a variety of scales and exercises. We have some glorious music to rehearse; some by our old friend Stephen Sondheim (Into The Woods) and also songs made famous by Edith Piaf. Complex music yes, but don’t be put off if you’ve never done the singing course before or indeed if you have little singing experience. We’ll work hard, we’ll get tired at times, but with patience, laughter and luck we’ll achieve quite a lot…we usually do!

A very practical exploration using a variety of approaches to the same piece of text. This allows us to experience many directing methods and compare their relative merits and possible pitfalls. We will cover various styles and practitioners using a varied selection of texts to facilitate this. However, participants may bring texts of their own to explore as well. No previous directing experience is necessary.

This course explores improvisation and creating performance material through practical devising. We will experience acting and reacting spontaneously through improvisations and games; look at different source materials including text, music and images; investigate how to set up improvisation scenarios; fine-tune rehearsed improvisations and follow the development of devising from starting point to performance.

We will pursue those age old skills, essential items in the comic actor’s skills toolbox: comic timing, double takes, stops, animal work, masks, suspensions, rhythmic agility and props in comic and tragic mode. We will develop our proficiency in these skills, trying them out and developing our understanding of them within in the context of Pantomime, the Victorian Clown, Moliére, silent movies, Dario Fo and Alan Ayckbourn.