It's a heavy lifter

The White Devil is a seriously complicated play. As Ricky, the wonderful Artistic Director of LTC made clear by the end of the day, it’s like three plays that have been jammed into one. Now; one could certainly come to the conclusion that adapting such a play would be an exercise in futility, due to its labyrinthian plot and dynamic tonal shifts, yet attempting to figure out this theatrical puzzle TOGETHER is exactly what made this reading so special to me.

It was a very welcoming atmosphere, and although I think I was (or at least was one of) the

youngest actors there, I didn’t get the impression that my two cents were being overlooked for someone with more experience. The warmth that was shown to all of us actors was, I believe, incredibly important to finding the collective patience required to understand this script. It’s a heavy hitter; elements of political intrigue, comedy, racism, sexism, classism (just to name a few-isms that could be accredited here) make up the plot of TWD.

Our breaks between each act allowed us to healthily discuss our understandings of not only the lines and characters but, perhaps more importantly, how on earth LTC would stage it.

Of course, my favourite part of the day was the reading itself, where we had quite a few

chances to physicalise our characters’ movements and turn each scene into slightly more than a simple sit down ‘’reading’’. Overall, I had a lovely, accommodating and educational experience with LTC, and I would gladly do it again.

Nikhil Girard