40 Dei - Thursday March 19th

Big crusade going on all week near us. ‘Jesus didn’t have a PA system,’ says Matthew in the play. ‘It’s a different world today,’ says Lei and she has a point. I am reminded of that scene in Life of Brian with the huge crowds listening to Brian preaching and John Cleese at the back going ‘What’s he saying?’ But it is increasingly difficult to find a crusade free part of town these days. Sound on night shoots in films is constantly bedevilled , whoops, wrong word there, by the sound of PA boosted pastors somewhere out there in the dark.

Teeth. I am prepared to bet that more than most directors in the world I am saddled with actors with tooth problems. Dental hygiene is not high up on many people’s priorities or affordabilities and most of the group suffer terribly, with the older members having lost a fair few by their late thirties, early 40s.Poor Albert, not one of the oldies, has had several sleepless nights with tooth ache of late and still comes to work. I must give up a day once the whole thing is blocked to getting dental appointments for all in need.

And we’re nearly there. Thought we might make it today but chose instead a slower more detailed approach. It’s lovely when you see actors agree with your notes and transform a scene in the next run through. Amazing what a difference it makes just thinking for a second where you have come from or what’s just happened to you as a character in your off stage life. Great work from several people today. So good to see Bob’s performance beginning to grow.

Big discussion about how to do the beating up of the escaped prisoners. We have a beautiful chilling song but what action do we put with it? General agreement that if we have any kind of mimed beating up or slo-mo kick boxing show the audience will piss themselves..with laughter. We experimented with the singers coming on, stony expressions, and towards the end of it 3 policemen dragging in the bloodied bodies of the prisoners. The music finishes, we hear crickets over the PA and the police drink a shell of kava as the bodies groan; one prisoner mumbles shoot me and the policeman wanders up to him with a lighted cigarette and slowly stubs it in his face as we cut to black out. Probably too much and the dragging of bodies may cause laughter. We have another couple of simpler, more symbolic, reserve options. And I just don’t know how communities split. Jennifer (our reseach officer) , how about a street poll asking people whether they think it is good the escapees are beaten senseless when captured? Could go in the program. Was walking home and met an ex youth club member (who found a job!) and keen film WSB extra. I asked how many prisoners were still out and then said, ‘I hear they’re really badly beaten when the mobile force get them…’

‘I gud ya’ End of conversation.