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We are now re-examining the first part, which we have titled 'The Occupation' as it mainly concerns the wars in France.Ìý In some cases it has been a while since we looked at these scenes, and there have been some cast changes along the way, as well as people who were missing for one reason or another the first time we looked at them, so at times we are struggling to remember the ground we have previously covered.Ìý

This is hugely frustrating.Ìý As a director, I tend to work on my feet and create the scene out of what is in front of me, responding to what is there in the rehearsal room rather than planning it all out beforehand.Ìý I will have a back up plan worked out in case we need something to get us started, but that is usually abandoned within five minutes as the the scene takes shape, and an actor does something more interesting than what I originally had in mind.Ìý The upshot of this is that I rely on the stage manager, Cath, to write down the exits and entrances, and the cast to remember or write down individually the detail of their performances.Ìý

With four and a half hours of theatre and about a hundred speaking parts, my head is exploding with the enormity of this show and I am finding my memory is suffering at times.Ìý Some cast members cope with this better than others, so the work is slower and more laborious than I had hoped for.

Having said that, at times it is really taking shape.Ìý The scenes around Henry in the English court, and the machinations of Bishop Beaufort and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, are compelling, and feature some superb work from Robin Sanger and Richard Easterbrook.Ìý

The French scenes need a bit of a lift however, to create the sense of time and place and make the audience believe that we are in war-torn, occupied France.Ìý I bring in a little outside help, an ex-soldier who comes in and puts them through their paces.Ìý Having had great fun beforehand agreeing with him what is an acceptable level of abuse to give the actors (I want them treated as much like raw army recruits as possible), we set about taking them through the basics of drill.Ìý How to salute, how to walk, turn and move etc.Ìý

I want them to start moving like soldiers, projecting the strength and physical presence that a trained soldier does.Ìý For some this is easier than others.Ìý We then go through some set piece scenarios.Ìý How to secure an area, how to move in formation, how to man a checkpoint etc.Ìý It is a really rewarding, fascinating evening and great fun.Ìý

Curiously, by far the most convincing soldiers by the end of the evening are two of the women present, Sally Mitcham and Bex Calpin.Ìý Bex in particular has a worrying glint in her eye as she storms across the room brandishing an assault rifle.

Mark