Dr Hills Casebook - blog 9

The ninth instalment of Robert Fairclough’s blog about the Change Minds project which unites history, mental health, creative writing and theatre.

It wasn’t a smooth start to the first week of rehearsals for ‘Dr. Hills’ Casebook’ at the Cut Arts Centre in Halesworth. Some restructuring of the play was required, which made things a bit tense last Tuesday when I first visited. It was also tense in the Zoom meeting on Wednesday, with the general consensus that people were, overall, “stressed” and “fed up.” Happily, the mood picked up before the end, and – by osmosis? – the atmosphere was considerably different when I returned to the Cut last Friday, to conduct some interviews and photograph the work in progress.

For a start, a major obstacle had been ironed out. One of the actors, Charlotte McGuinness, was vulnerable to COVID-19, and couldn’t perform her scenes separately on film, as had been originally planned. An effective compromise was reached: she’d have the left-hand side of the stage to herself and not interact physically with the other actors. Although that might sound awkward, the way the staging was done throughout the scenes I saw was so inventive, that you’d never know if you didn’t know.

The play is built around the simple, effective and very adaptable idea of using five coat stands and five chairs, one per actor, that can hold a change of costume or double as other props. One thing that particularly impressed me was Russell Turner, in the guise of angry agricultural labourer James Thompson, inverting his chair to use as a spade. When Russell’s character changed to Henry Groom, the actor spent an impressively long time working out how the younger, placid character would use a shovel differently. Russell also contemplated how that transformation from one persona to the other could be conveyed through how the chair/shovel was handled – ultimately, Henry became left-handed. It was fiddly, but it was worth it.

Incidentally, on Russell’s line “I like potatoes”, he and Charlotte (as Henry Long) couldn’t look at each other, as there might have been some serious giggling. (Another joy of the rehearsal process.)

The James Thompson/Henry Groom scene is an example of how fascinating the rehearsal process is to watch. However, the most significant thread running through the theatrical development of ‘Dr. Hills’ Casebook’ is not just the rehearsal of the scenes, but devising how to fluidly go from one scene to the other; a succession of stage exits, entrances and scene changes not being tenable because of the way the play is structured. It’s effectively told from the point-of-view of Jabez (Ben Elder), “the puppet master”, who introduces, then steps back from, staff, patients and visitors to the Asylum, as well as being the driving force behind the narrative. This stylised approach was a gift for the actors, bringing out a wealth of suggestions and improvisation. Like I say, it was a fascinating watch. 

Take the first scene: while a babble of whispered voices is heard, Ben suggested reinterpreting it slightly from what was written, so the actors walked through a central shaft of light on a dark stage – offering the briefest glimpse of the performer, nothing more – to take their places at the back with their chairs, while the voices were played in from a recording. As the play’s now being filmed, that strikes me as a very cinematic image to open with.

Another memorable sequence is the scene where a group of unsympathetic sightseers is shown around the Asylum. While Jabez talks, Evie Woods, Clare Hawes and Charlotte twisted around and leered from behind their chairs, emphasising the feral, jackal-like nature of these sensation seekers. Everyone was pleased with how the scene turned out; personally speaking, I love seeing great ideas like this take flight.

There was a lot more, but I don’t want to give too much away before people see the finished production…

Another plus of visiting the Cut last Friday was meeting the costume designer Charlotte Bird for the first time, who arrived in a flurry of eccentricity. As we sat down to do an interview that’ll go in the article about ‘Dr. Hills’ Casebook’ I’m writing for the ‘Eastern Daily Press’ and the ‘East Anglian Daily Times’, Charlotte filled me in on her amazing career; the RSC, ‘Sunset Boulevard’ and the film of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ are just some of the highlights. “Right,” she announced. ““I’ve been doing this for fifty years, so I hope you’ve got a lot of paper.” Then, “Do you want the truth, or the legend?” 

Welcome to the creative rollercoaster that is ‘Dr. Hills’ Casebook’. :-)

'Robert Fairclough writes on a variety of subjects, including mental health and popular culture (sometimes both at once). He has written six books, contributes to magazines and websites, and writes regular blogs for The Restoration Trust. He can be contacted on robmay1964@outlook.com, and his website can be viewed at www.robfairclough.co.uk '