Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night - Violas Ring

Synopsis

Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria and she comes ashore with the help of a captain. She loses contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believes to be dead. Disguising herself as a young man under the name Cesario, she enters the service of Duke Orsino through the help of the sea captain who rescues her. Orsino has convinced himself that he is in love with Olivia, whose father and brother have recently died, and who refuses to see any suitor until seven years have passed, the Duke included. Orsino then uses 'Cesario' as an intermediary to profess his passionate love before Olivia. Olivia however, forgetting about the seven years in his case, falls in love with 'Cesario', as she does not realise 'he' is Viola in disguise. In the meantime, Viola has fallen in love with the Duke.

I chose this monologue because

 I recognised the play from the modern interpretation "She's The Man" so I knew the story roughly, I had fun finding out about the actual original play and the twist and turns Viola takes in that. I had a real struggle learning this monologue and I think that's because of the language used and how unfamiliar it is which made it hard for me to memorise Although I did have fun performing it and using pauses and body language to communicate what was happening.

Many Moons

Many Moons - Summary (Oberon Books)

Juniper is looking for love, Robert is trying to avoid it, Ollie doesn’t know what it is and Meg has resigned herself to never having it. As these four people move through a July day in London, they orbit each other, unaware that they are hurtling towards one moment that could devastate them all. Many Moons is the latest play by new playwright Alice Birch, opening at groundbreaking Theatre 503 in summer 2011.
Winner of the George Devine Award for Most Promising New Playwright 2014

Many Moons – review

Theatre 503, London

     
Maddy Costa - The Guardian, Monday 23 May 2011 18.19 BST                

 

Alice Birch's debut full-length play sets itself up as the gentlest of romances. Ollie is nervous, fearsomely intelligent, and finds people more mysterious than the constellations. The ripely named Juniper Jessop is an optimistic free spirit "actively looking for love", with the heavens mapped out on her bedroom ceiling. If only their paths could cross ... But then there is Meg, heavily pregnant, her mind sharpened to a scalpel point by disappointment and loneliness. Is Ollie destined to make her heart beat for the first time in years? And what about Meg's neighbour, Robert, who likens his wife to a killer whale, and wants his grave stone to say: "He never did it again"?

 

These four characters may talk incessantly of their hearts, but there is nothing sentimental about the way Birch methodically strips each one bare to reveal what those hearts really contain: fear, self-loathing, anger, hurt. The effect – subtly enhanced by Sally Ferguson's lighting design – is akin to looking at the sun in eclipse, golden at the edges, black within. As the four monologues intersect, Birch paints a picture of an atomised society in which people are not nearly as separate as they like to think, and are far more responsible for each other than they are willing to accept.

Birch overplays her hand by having Juniper repeatedly proclaim her belief in the goodness of human nature – but then comes a queasy moment when you realise Birch has undermined your own faith in that goodness, too. This is a meticulously written play, elegantly performed (particularly by Esther Hall as the flinty Meg), that slowly turns you inside out.

 

About the Author

Alice Birch is a young Playwrite who has been putting on plays since 2010 she is a fresh new talent and this has been recognised with many awards and experiences such as:

- BBC Writersroom 2014 - 1 of 10 winning writers; paired with West Yorkshire Playhouse for a year-long development scheme

- Arts Foundation Award 2014 for Playwriting
- Shortlisted for the Bruntwood Prize 2013 for DECEMBER
- Royal Court Super Group (May - Sep 2012)
- Royal Court (Mar - Apr 2012) - on attachment
- Finalist in the 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for MANY MOONS
- Creative Associate at Watford Palace Theatre (from Dec 2011)
- Paines Plough / Channel 4: The Big Room - on attachment
- National Theatre Studio (Mar - Apr 2010) - on attachment
- BBC 24 Degrees (Aug 2008 - Mar 2009) - selected by BBC and Royal Court for writing scheme for 24 writers around the UK
- Royal Court Theatre Young Writer's Programme (2005 - 2007)

 

Why I Chose This Monologue

I chose this monologue because as pathetic as it is I feel like I can really relate to it. I love the chattiness of it like she's rambling on to a stranger on a train who can't get a word in edgeways. I love how she sees her self in different ways whether its a feminist or a cartwheel or just a girl who's mother loves her and is a bit overprotective. It's a really fun piece to experiment and play with and I really enjoyed searching Youtube videos of other peoples takes on it, and if I ever get the chance to go see the play I will jump at it.