Friday 30 June 2017

Patience dialogue and The King's Speech....

Dialogue is such a funny thing ! We had a rehearsal for all those chunks of speech in Patience which make almost no sense at all ! Words like Della Cruscan, Fra Angelican, Botticellian...........so jolly utter, so, so all but.......let us think of nothing at all........

There are hilarious references to cold gravy, the inner brotherhood and being a Narcissist. It really is the most 'barmy' of all the G&S Operas, and frankly, that is saying something ! They are all verging on the edges of madness.

We worked our way through the dialogue with a will and it was a very successful evening. Once the teenagers have actually deciphered the meaning of many words and phrases it zipped along with such wit and humour. The RP Victorian accents are coming along beautifully as well, and in many ways it almost speaks itself.

Last night I watched for the third time the film 'The King's Speech' with Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter. It is such a wonderful portrayal of the despair of the stammering king. There is a short reference in the early part of the film where Lionel Logue makes the king sing, saying he will not stammer whilst singing - this is totally true, and I have, over the years watched the total joy and complete relief which is almost tangible, when a pupil who stammered could express themselves with freedom and ease when they sang.

I am no scientist but it must surely be to do with the brain being distracted or occupied with other messages when we sing, so the part of the brain or nervous system which causes the stammer is forgotten, or the stammer switch is flicked off ? I wonder if any speech therapist has written a paper on it !! 

Whatever the reason, it must feel like a miracle. Perhaps singing is a miracle too ?



 

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