"You Come To Say Something."

Christine presented a monologue from the 'dick heads' text but Philippe killed her for being boring. 

"She is not alive...we don't see she's happy...[that] she has fun."

"La we have a poor woman sad...and she has to be the opposite of sad."

Philippe got Christine to change out of her tramp costume and into something more 'pin-up'. She ended up wearing a blue and red sequined outfit with a blonde bob wig - she looked like a Moulin Rouge dancer! 

Then Philippe got André (her boyfriend) to sit on the edge of the stage and to gossip with Christine. Then he got her to say the text in this way. Like this she was much lighter and had more fun. "We see her."

~

In response to my questions about different interpretations of play texts Philippe spoke a little about the importance of doing what the writer says. Beckett says the tree is centre stage. So put it centre stage. If it's not centre stage, it's another play! "The writer give a frame. "You do it!" even if it presents problems..."it's funny to have a problem."

~

Mark, Sophia, Charles and Mike presented a slightly longer and spruced up version of their Happy Valley Care Home number with Charles in the bin, Mark as the spanish maid and Sophia as the visiting daughter. Mike featured in a cameo role as one of the old people who had recently died, and they sang the full version of When I'm Sixty Four at the end. They also added a great moment where Mark feeds Charles porridge like a mother feeding their young child with an aeroplane spoon. Charles got porridge all over his face!

It wasn't given the 'yes' yet (nothing really has yet...) but it will. There are just a few more tweaks it needs.

~

The apartheid/Africa number which Ben directed was presented, in which André said the text imitating Hitler, whilst an ensemble of Bouffons hunted him like tribal Africans. But it wasn't clear. 

"We have to understand. But we don't understand."

Ben said the text is subtle. It's hard to know from the speech that the guy is actually nasty.

"He's a bastard who uses subtlety...we have to show that."

Philippe then got André to improvise the text of a commercial for White'n'Shine Toothpaste. 

And whenever Philippe beat his drum the rest of the Bouffons on stage, who were busy brushing their teeth whilst smiling, had to hoik and spit. Then André said the apartheid text with the same cheesy voice and rhythm and the ensemble still spat on command. Like this it was clear they 'spit' on this guy.

"It's important we understand the chorus says 'we shit on this text'."

~

Steph presented her 'the time for asking has passed' monologue again, trying to be beautiful they way she was the last time Philippe worked with her. But she was boring this time.

"You are untrustable...you are like Lee." = meaning she can do it one day and the next she can't.

"We have to see she has the devil in her body."

~

"A theatre teacher, he says: 'Ah we love you now, and ah we hate you now."

~

Mia and Vicky also re-presented their scene with the bread and wine of jesus. But the box of crackers split open at the bottom and so crackers went everywhere. It was quite funny, and they kind of made it work, but it still wasn't clear what they were trying to say.

"You come to say something."