Welcome to Bangladesh!

A new year, new faces and a slightly new name for the Blog. I'm looking forward to an exciting year with Grade 12 here at ISD.

Independent Project - the final performance!

Independent Project & Research Investigation

Here are some research links for you:
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has produced an excellent reading list which might help you make a start on researching your chosen area.
Woza Albert, Aisha - (bear in mind this is a film review but it has a reading list which might prove useful. And here is an interview with Ama Ata Aidoo.

Gulam might like to look at this blog on Elizabethan acting style.
Ahad and gulam - for Ahad's work on Godot and for both of you in your IP, have a look at some work by Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, and the Marx Brothers. Can you find some Azerbaijani equivalents?


Olivia - have a look at this article on devised theatre. And this one on Greek staging.

Tahir, Maybe this theatre company who put on a version of The Servant of Two Masters can give you some advice?

IB1January exam PPP stimulus

Here is the link to the music stimulus, Banana Republic by The Boomtown Rats
And here are the images:And here is the link to your poem.

Good luck!

IB2 Mock exam PPP

IB2 mock exam music stimulus is Shostakovich's String Quartet number 8, Movement 1.


Here is the image which didn't print very well:

British humour and the First World War

You might find it interesting to look at this youtube clip from Blackadder, a UK TV series from some years ago. It shows very clearly the class differences within the British army, the politics behind some of the decisions made and the harsh realities of 'the push'.

Think about the way that humour is juxtaposed with horror. Silence with laughter. Darkness and light. What can you take from this that will help you in your work on Oh What a Lovely War?

Acting with accents

Are you struggling with accents in our rehearsals for Oh What a Lovely War? Remember that Joan Littlewood advised:

"No 'put on' accents. If you can't use somebody else's easily, use your own but take great care with the pronunciation..."

She also said: "play in the present tense. Avoid declaiming. Cut emotion. Find the action in a speech ... Don't slow down".

Have a look at this link to find some examples of different UK accents as well as actor's advice on working with accents
It's worth remembering that both the actor's on this website and Joan's actors in the original production all started with British accents of one kind or another. You are all starting with a wonderful range of accents from all around the world, with an audience many of whom speak English as a second or third anguage, so clarity on stage is more important than realism!