It’s been over a week now since we
performed This Breathing World, a student-written play which sets
Shakespeare’s Richard III in a dystopian (almost Orwellian) future.  |
| "Don't think of it as murder. Think of it as Political Removal." |
I was cast before Christmas, auditioning
with a few scraps of the script that the writer/director (a friend of mine) had
pieced together. I admit I was a little wary of the project at first—would it
be worth it to invest so much of my time and effort into such an odd play,
especially when the script didn’t exist yet?
Then callbacks happened, and the script
we read from (parts of which had been written just the night before) was
fantastic. I immediately got a great sense of character from the script and
chemistry from the other actors I auditioned with. I left the callbacks
desperate for a part… and was absolutely thrilled when I was offered the role
of Lieutenant Brackenbury in an email at about 1am that night.
 |
| "I may not be the one that makes the laws, but I'm the one who enforces them." |
Lieutenant Brackenbury was a fascinating
character to play. She’s by far the strongest character I’ve ever portrayed—a
sassy, gender-bent, powerful version of the conflicted character in Richard
III. She’s important yet respectful, upholds justice but loves mercy,
professional yet emotional… The writer, Catriona, really expanded on Richard
III and made Brackenbury a proper character, not just a figurehead for the
law.
The play itself was intriguing,
concentrating on Harriet, Duchess of Buckingham (a gender-bent version of Henry
Buckingham) and her reasons for helping Richard seize the crown. Together, they
murder and manipulate their way into power… until Richard’s decision to kill the
princes in the tower (his own nephews and the rightful heirs to the throne)
convinces Harriet that what she’s doing is wrong. The play was an interesting
look at doing the wrong thing for the right reasons and the disastrous
consequences of “simply following orders.”
My character was the embodiment of the
famous phrase: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do
nothing.” As the Lieutenant of the Tower, I had some authority, yet I used it
almost unquestioningly to help Richard. I was the one who oversaw the execution
of all of his political enemies, many of whom were innocent. I felt bad about
it, I tried to help people, I nearly cried… but I never actually had the courage
to stand up and say that it was wrong.
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| "My Lords and Ladies of Albion, on behalf of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Richard III, I would like to remind you that the Tower complex is a secure area." |
It was a hard play to perform,
emotionally. When I act I try to get deeply into the character, to feel
everything they’re feeling. In Brackenbury’s case, by the end of the play, this
was complete and utter brokenness, a loss of faith in the empire, humanity, and
herself. It was so hard to perform the execution scenes, acting as if I was
allowing my friend to die behind me. After the act one finale, a particularly distressing
execution, I had to run offstage and literally sob against the wall because
that was the sort of emotion Brackenbury (and thus, I) was feeling.
I’m sad This Breathing World is
over. I miss running around with my leather jacket and my space gun and my
snazzy All-Seer jewellery. Still, I don’t mind leaving that dystopian future
and returning to the significantly happier present. I loved taking over
Brackenbury’s life for the rehearsals and performances, but the fact remains
that I’d far rather be a student at St. Andrew’s than a lieutenant on the
planet Albion. Acting is a wonderful escape, an adventure, but, after the last
light fades, it’s time to live my life.
