Throughout the process of TITUS ANDRONICUS we’ll be bringing you a series of guest blogs from our lovely cast and company, old and new. First up we have actor Elly Condron, who will be playing Lavinia in TITUS, our all-female production at Greenwich Theatre 28 April – 2 May.
I am part of an all-female choir. We have been meeting every Tuesday, doing gigs and going to festivals for two years now and it is one of the joys of my life. When I think about why it makes me feel so good and feels so restorative, the only thing I can reason is that there is something about the energy of a group of women working towards a shared goal that is unlike anything else.
Now, I’m not saying that a mixed group of men and women can’t create something special, of course they can, but when I walked into the rehearsal room on Saturday and straight into a lively, animated conversation about the state of theatre today and whether the National Theatre was truly representative of our Nation, I knew it was going to be interesting.
Over the course of the first couple of days the atmosphere was one of excitement, focus, generosity and support. I think support, here, is key. Women often get the bad rep of being bitchy – not so, here. Everyone had room to express their thoughts and feelings on the play, its characters, each other – this wouldn’t be possible without feeling like whatever you said was going to be listened to, thought about and responded to.
Yaz, our Director, being the only Rough-Faced Gent (sorry Yaz!) in the room, could well have disrupted the intensely female buzz that in the room, but instead he totally got how to harness it and focus us in on the unique perspectives that a woman can bring to her portrayal of a man.
An all-female Shakespeare is a first for me, but if the introduction is anything to go by, it will be a pretty revelatory experience. Best book your tickets now!
Book tickets now →
Elly on Twitter: @misselly23 | SFG on Twitter: @SmoothFacedGent
