Lesson video

Hello, it's Mrs. Butterworth here, and I am here to guide you through your learning today.

And I'm so pleased you have chosen to join me for this lesson, because in the first part of this lesson, we are going to be hearing from the director of "Small Island", Rufus Norris and the writer Helen Edmundson.

And they will be talking about Act 2 of "Small Island" and the end of that production.

And it's really great hearing what they have to say about it.

For the second part of the lesson, we will be watching the end of Act 2.

So you will need to make sure that you have access to the National Theatre's recording of the production of "Small Island".

So it's a really great lesson with lots to get through.

So let's get started.

So in this lesson, you would explain how Rufus Norris and Helen Edmundson creates an emotional impact in the ending of "Small Island", and consider your own responses to the play.

Now, before we delve in, let's look at those all-important key terms. So some of these are theatrical terms today and you may hear Rufus Norris or Helen Edmundson using some of these words in their videos.

So the words are thrust stage, sight lines, revelation, inhabit, and stage directions.

Now a thrust stage is a stage that extends into the audience on three sides.

So it's almost like the audience surrounds the stage, and this creates intimacy and immersion.

Sight lines refers to where the audience can, what the audience can see on stage.

So it's the audience's view of the stage.

So sight lines are where the audience's eyes will fall.

So directors must ensure all key action is visible from different actions.

Revelation is a surprising or unknown fact that is made known.

Inhabit, so in theater they can talk about actors inhabiting a role, and this means to embody a character.

So you really take on the characteristics and ideas of that character, making it believable.

And then stage directions are instructions in a script that guide movement, tone and staging to support the writer's vision.

So when you are reading a play, you will see those in italics in the script.

So the outline of the lesson looks like this.

We're going to begin by listening to Rufus Norris and Helen Edmundson on the end of "Small Island".

And then we're going to watch the End of "Small Island", those Scenes 7 to 11.

So let's get started.

In the first video, we will watch Rufus Norris talk about Act 2, Scenes 7 to 11.

So make sure you are listening to everything he has to say because it really is insightful.

When you have finished watching the video, you'll need to answer the following question: which scenes does Rufus Norris say for the most challenging? Now, you may wish to grab a pen or a laptop in order to jot down some notes, but the most important thing is is that we are listening to what he has to say.

And when we finish watching the video, there will be time to complete the question.

So make sure you are listening closely.

Okay, now we are ready.

I'm going to press play on the video now.

<v ->There are always, in a big story like this,</v> going to be challenging scenes to stage.

Staging a fight in a cinema which involves 20 people, that takes an awful lot of rehearsal.

Or you know, if you've got a dance number at the end of scene three going into scene four, these are things which take a bit of time.

Somebody giving birth on stage was a new one to me.

That's really complicated.

And in the Olivier Theatre, which has audience, it's a thrust stage, so you've got audience wrapped around you, not all the way around you, but you know, if I'm downstage in the Olivier, there's certainly to my right and left as well as in front and above.

So everybody can see everything.

It's quite a challenge.

So that was, it's interesting that, you know, looking at it, you might think, "Oh, that's difficult for that actor to do, you know, to vocally manage all that shouting or to deal with blood on her dress or to deal with the themes of it." Actually, when you are creating something like that, it's just about how she hides the umbilical cord or how we manage to secrete the baby under the bed in a way that can be delivered without it.

It's all the practicalities of how you make that work.

Once all those things are in place, 'cause an actor can't think about what they're doing and what they're feeling until they're really, really on top of the physical aspect of it.

So most of the rehearsal for that scene was really about making sure that it felt real, that the sight lines were looked after.

That actress had not had a baby, though shortly after the show finished she did in fact have have a child with her British-Jamaican husband, which is quite an interesting echo of the show.

But we had to, so we had to make sure that there were people coming in who had given birth or had been witnesses at birth to make sure that it was believable to all the mothers in the house.

'Cause there's another thing, if you've had a baby and you see it done on stage and you don't believe it, it takes you out of the story.

So that scene in particular was quite a complicated one.

It's also interesting that, you know, there's some funny lines in that as well.

And you have to keep the audience on a balance of being really emotionally engaged with the really difficult situation that Hortense is in, but also celebrating the kind of slightly mad nature of that scenario.

Then, of course, it lifts off into the memory of Michael and the beauty of the hummingbird speech.

And then we're heading towards the revelations around Bernard's story and the real heart of the play coming out.

And then the most difficult scene emotionally, which is the scene where Queenie asks Hortense and Michael, Hortense and Gilbert to take her child.

And that, you do preparation for it, but in the end it's only really going to affect the audience if the actors are completely within it.

And that made huge demands on the actress playing Queenie because it really requires her to fully inhabit the sort of devastating emotional truth of that scene.

So building that up and taking our time through rehearsal and making sure we weren't getting there too early so that the actress felt completely supported to be able to go on that journey was a really careful step-by-step approach.

It is, of course, followed by one of the worst examples of racism in the story.

And again, difficult for the actor that has to deliver it, but very difficult for the actor that has to receive it.

You know, in terms of staging as well, it's quite complicated because there's lots of key moments in that final scene where you want everybody to.

We need to, Bernard needs to be in a strong position on stage to deliver that devastating racism, and then you've gotta turn it round so that Gilbert is absolutely the center of the picture for when he writes down exactly what Andrea Levy thinks about the world when he says, you know, "The difference between you and me, you know, is nothing.

You know, you're just white and I'm black.

So what?" And it's a very, very powerful, beautiful writing and of course, is the thing that makes Hortense finally fall in love with this person that she's accidentally ended up being tied to.

So yeah, the pragmatics around the birth scene, all practical.

The pragmatics around that big scene at the end, all about how you support the actors through what's very challenging emotionally.

And then we're running towards the end of the play, beautiful final scene with Gilbert and Hortense, which was just about getting them to take the time with it and to make sure it's really clear.

Hortense doesn't say, "I'm now in love with you." She just puts the blanket on the bed.

She kisses him and puts the blanket on the bed.

It's gorgeous to direct that kind of scene.

It's so beautifully written and the perfect payoff.

And then we've, of course, we've got the huge, huge big moment where you remind everybody of the whole story and the theatrical gesture of the whole piece to come back to that very simple ending.

<v ->Great, okay.

Thank you so much for listening.

</v> What you're going to do now is answer that question, which scenes does Rufus Norris say were the most challenging? You'll need to pause a video to give yourself time to complete that, and we'll feed back in a moment.

Pause the video now.

Thank you for your responses.

Now let's see how two of our Oak pupils answered.

So we have Izzy and Alex here, so now would be a really good time to compare your own answers.

So what did Izzy say? So Izzy identified that "Norris said the birth scene was one of the most technically challenging.

Due to the thrust stage, careful attention had to be paid to sightlines and practical elements.

The actress also needed to research childbirth to ensure the performance remained believable." I thought this was a really interesting insight from Norris 'cause I didn't expect him to talk about that scene in particular.

And Alex says that "Norris described the scene where Queenie asks Hortense and Gilbert to take her baby as emotionally difficult.

He said it only works if the actors are fully in it, which put a lot of pressure on the actress playing Queenie." And I agree, and maybe you'll notice this when you watch the scene.

It is incredibly emotional and powerful.

So we can think about these things as we watch those scenes later on in the lesson.

So what I would like you to do now is just think and discuss.

Can you add anything to Izzy and Alex's answers? So you'll need to pause the video to give yourself time to do that.

Pause the video now.

Okay, so now it is time for a true or false question.

So here is your statement.

Rufus Norris said that rehearsals for the birth scene focused mostly on making it look realistic and managing sight lines.

Is the answer true or false? Come up with your answer now please.

Okay, so hopefully we got the answer that is true, but I would now like you to explain why that statement is true.

So pause a video to give yourself time to come up with your answer.

Now off you go.

Okay, so the reason that statement is true is because Norris explained most of the rehearsal time was spent ensuring the scene looked real and worked from all angles on the thrust stage.

So it was actually kind of technical challenges that made this scene challenging.

In this next video, we will hear from Rufus Norris again, and this time he's talking about staging the end of "Small Island".

When you have finished watching the video, you will need to identify two reasons why they changed the ending of the play according to Norris.

Okay, so keep that in the back of your mind as you are watching this video.

Okay, I'm going to press play on the video now.

<v ->There is something that happens with most plays.

</v> They're written with two types of writing: upright writing and slanty writing.

In other words, what is said and stage directions.

Stage directions are usually written in italics and what is said are not written in italics.

This might seem a pedantic thing to talk about, but historically it hasn't always been that way.

Shakespeare didn't have any stage directions at all.

Other writers like George Bernard Shaw, half the play stage directions.

And really stage directions are there for the writer to express what they're seeing, what they're imagining, and also to protect them against misinterpretation.

Sometimes if you don't have stage directions, you don't quite know what the writer's trying to do.

But if you've got the writer in the room, there's no question about what the writer's trying to do because they'll tell you.

And so stage directions become, for me, as a fairly interventionist director, become an area of discussion.

What the actors say is not really an area of discussion.

That's the writer's choice.

And if that's what's happening, if that's what they they've written, that's what the actors will do.

And I'm a real stickler for actors saying exactly what the writer wrote.

No ums, uhs, you knows, right, all that stuff.

That actors, you know, can sometimes put around the edges, particularly if they're not exactly sure on the lines.

But the stage directions are a different issue, because then it becomes a question of what, again, what you're doing in the room, what works, what doesn't work? At the end of Act 2, the end of the play, Helen had come up with the idea of a basket.

Obviously there's lots of references for that in, you know, biblical references and also doubling down on the reference of the waves.

The waves that lap around the shore of both of these small islands.

And you know, the waves that the wind rush sailed through to get to the UK.

You know, you could throw a bottle in the water in the UK and if this currents took it the right way, it'd wash up in Kingston.

What we found was, in the end, the stage directions that Helen had written before Queenie's last lines, which are all of the family turn up on stage, worked incredibly well.

And you'll see in the video of the production that, because we had a big company of people, you've got 30 or 40 people swirling around that stage, and the whole world of the story is ahead of you with Queenie at the center of it with this dilemma about what to do with her child.

And once that has gone and they've all settled to the back of the stage, we've got this very simple, very moving exchange between our three protagonists.

It just felt entirely appropriate to leave it there, leave it with them, to have Michael coming back into it.

Michael, you'll notice when everyone's swirling around, is the one person who's going in the other direction.

He does have a, we do place him there because he's an important part, it's his child.

But in the end, this is his story of those three people and the child that they're charged to look after.

So it just felt better having done the big gesture to not then add an extra little ending and another extra little metaphor and just stick with what we've got.

But again, it's trial and error.

You try it, if it doesn't work, try something else.

And what we discovered was what we put on stage.

<v ->Welcome back.

</v> And now I would like you please, thinking about what you have just listened to and what you heard, I would like you to identify two reasons why they changed the ending of the play according to Rufus Norris.

You'll need to pause the video to get that done now.

So hopefully you all have your two reasons identified there.

Let's have a look at how Sam answered.

So Sam said that the reasons identified were, "You were left with," Rufus Norris says, "you are left with three protagonists on the stage and their moving exchange." So Rufus Norris is really referring to that emotional exchange at the end.

"Norris felt it was better to end simply with the three main characters and the child without adding an extra little ending or metaphor." So I like how Sam has used quotations from the video there.

So I'd now like you to consider your own answers and your own thoughts and discuss please.

Can you add anything to Sam's answer? If you are working alone, you may wish to jot some ideas down or just think quietly to yourself.

But you'll need to pause the video now.

Okay, so we have a question now.

So you'll need to decide whether the correct answer is A, B, C, or D.

So here is your question: According to Rufus Norris, how does stage directions influence a director's approach to a play? So you'll need to think back to what you watched.

Let's repeat the question again.

According to Rufus Norris, how does stage directions influence a director's approach to a play? Okay, so you'll need to pause the video to select the correct answer.

Pause video, off you go.

So hopefully you have all selected an answer.

So shall we reveal the correct one? Okay, so the correct one is C.

They provide a starting point of discussion and help the director decide what works on stage.

So Rufus Norris very much talks about things not being set in stone by the script, that it's a starting point for discussions and collaboration, which I think is really interesting to hear about that process.

So in this next video, you will watch Helen Edmundson also talk about the ending of "Small Island".

When you have finished watching the video, you will then need to list two ways Edmundson says the play's ending is realistic and list two ways that Edmundson says the play's ending is hopeful.

So as you are watching and listening carefully, have those tasks in the back of your head so we can complete them when we have finished watching.

Okay? Right.

Hopefully everyone is ready 'cause I'm going to press play on the video now.

<v ->I think the ending of the play is,</v> (children hollering) I think it's important that it's a realistic ending in terms of Queenie's realization that she personally doesn't feel that she is able to raise her own child, her and Michael's child, because of the climate in which she's living, because of the, the hostility that she knows she would face, because of the lack of knowingness which she knows she has.

She feels completely unequipped.

And love, I think, you know, I think it's wonderful that she iterates her love for, she undoubtedly loves this baby.

She loved Michael and now she loves this baby passionately.

But in a way I think she sees giving the baby up as an act of love for this child.

She wants what is best for the child.

I think Gilbert and Hortense's, the beautiful act of them taking Michael into their, the baby into their family, even though life isn't gonna be easy for them, I think is moving and exemplary really.

I think Bernard's sudden feeling that he would want to be a part of, that he would rise to the challenge in supporting Queenie in raising this child is also a very hopeful and rather beautiful thing in the moment that he has that impulse.

Obviously for Bernard, any kind of change or any just sticking his head above the parapet just a little bit costs him dearly.

And you know, we can judge him for that in whatever way we want to, but the fact that he has that impulse, which is born of love for Queenie, is a kind of, in the moment that it happens, is a hopeful and rather moving thing.

But then of course, that then, we're brought back down to reality by the way that he responds to Gilbert's, to Gilbert's absolutely key speech about the difference, you know, being white, what does that mean actually when really there are much more important things which we all have in common? So yeah, I think we all know that, I think I wanted to make it really clear that it's not necessarily a happy ending.

We don't know, they say they articulate the fact they don't know what's gonna happen to this baby, they don't know what his life is gonna be like.

They don't know what challenges he's gonna face.

But what they do know is that he will be loved.

And I suppose that is, yeah, I think getting that balance was what I was striving for.

<v ->Okay, so lots to think about there</v> with Helen Edmundson's comments.

Kind of maybe start thinking about my own thoughts and my own opinions towards the ending.

I wonder if it did you as well.

So now take some time to list two ways Edmundson says the play's ending is realistic and lists two ways Edmundson says the play's ending is hopeful.

So you know what to do now.

You need to pause a video to give yourself time to complete the task.

Off you go.

Okay, so let's feedback some answers.

Hopefully you have got your two ways for each of those.

So let's see how Jacob answered that first task.

List two ways Edmundson says the play's ending is realistic.

So Jacob picked out one way is that Queenie understanding that she can't raise the baby because of the hostility and hard life ahead, very realistic, and the recognition that they don't know what challenges the baby will face or what will happen next.

So Jacob has identified those two ways that Edmundson says the play is realistic.

But what did you get? Can you add anything to Jacob's answer? Pause the video to discuss that now.

Off you go.

Okay, and now let's see what Andeep has come up with for the two ways Edmundson says the play's ending is hopeful.

So Andeep said that actually Gilbert and Hortense taking the baby into their family is a loving and brave act.

And Bernard has a hopeful moment where he wants to support Queenie, showing change is possible.

And it's interesting, isn't it, what Helen Edmundson's saying here is that the play, the ending of the play is kind of two things at the same time.

It is both hopeful, but it is also realistic, which I think's really interesting.

But now I want you to think about your own ideas and answers and discuss.

Can you add anything to Andeep's answers? Pause the video and off you go.

Okay, so over to you for a question now.

So I'm gonna give you a question, and then you need to decide whether the answer is A, B, C, or D.

So let's read the question together.

Which idea about the play's ending does Helen Edmundson emphasize? What idea about the play's ending does Helen Edmundson emphasize? So you'll need to think back to what you watched and what you listened to with Helen Edmundson talking.

So pause the video to come up with your answer now please.

Is everyone feeling confident and everyone has an answer? Okay, fantastic.

So the answer is C.

Helen Edmundson emphasizes that the ending balances hope and uncertainty about the future.

So again, it's those kind of ideas working together at the end of the play.

So task A, I will be asking you to discuss the following questions.

If you are working alone, you may want to write your answers down or think quietly to yourself.

So discuss the following questions.

The first question is, "Norris talks about balancing serious and funny parts in the play.

Why might it be important to include humor in serious stories?" So I want to hear your thoughts.

And "Edmundson says even though the future is uncertain, the characters know there will be love.

Why might hope and love be important to show in a story like this?" Okay, so lots to think about, and I really want to hear your own personal responses to these questions as well as thinking about what we have heard in those videos from Rufus Norris and Helen Edmundson.

Okay, so when you are ready, pause the video and discuss and complete those questions.

Wow, thank you.

It's really lovely to hear so many different answers to those questions.

So that's really fantastic.

So let's see how some of our Oak pupils answered so we can think about our own responses to these.

So that first question is about Norris, Rufus Norris, and how he talks about balancing serious and funny parts in the play.

And why might it be important to include humor in serious stories.

So Aisha has answered like this: I think the humor in "Small Island" highlights the human moments, showing characters as real people with emotions beyond sadness.

This helps the audience relate and feel the story is more truthful and balanced.

That's lovely.

"It also reflects the chaos of the birth scene perfectly." I love Aisha's last sentence there where she just talks about the humor in the birth scene.

Okay, I'd like you to discuss please.

To what extent do you agree with Aisha's response and why? Pause a video and off you go.

Okay, so let's see how Lucas answered the second question.

So Edmundson says even though the future is uncertain, the characters know there will be love.

Why might hope and love be important to show in a story like this? Here is how Lucas answered.

"I think that showing hope and love invites the audience to believe in the character's strength despite uncertainty.

It suggests that even in difficult times, human connection and care can guide people forward." A really lovely response there from Lucas, and something I definitely felt myself when I was reading and watching the play.

So over to you now and what do you think? Do you agree with Lucas and why? So pause the video to discuss to what extent do you agree and why? Off you go.

Okay, so we have reached the second part of our lesson, and this is where you are going to watch those final scenes of "Small Island", so Scenes 7 to 11.

As I said at the start of the video, you will need access to the National Theatre recording of the production.

So make sure you have that ready.

You will now watch Act 2, Scenes 7 to 11.

Scene 7 begins with Bernard on stage, and the production ends, you'll notice when it ends.

And as you watch, I would just like you to think about the specific things that Rufus Norris and Helen Edmundson said to look out for.

So look at the birth scene, okay? And look at how it is staged and the use of humor, Gilbert's powerful speech and the impact that this has, and the infect of the final image of the three protagonists.

Okay, so we're really focusing on those three things as we watched.

So do make sure you have the production ready to roll and ready to play because you'll need to pause me in a moment to watch that.

So make sure you are ready, and when you are, pause the video and enjoy the final scenes of "Small Island".

Off you go.

Welcome back.

Wow.

I would just like us to a few moments to reflect on what you have watched.

And when you have done that, I would like you to discuss the following questions: What feelings did you experience during the final scenes and what made you feel that way? Did you connect with any of the characters in the ending? Is there a moment or image from the ending that will stay with you? So before you discuss the questions, you may just wish to take a few quiet moments to think to yourself or even jot down some ideas, okay? But pause a video to get these questions done.

Thank you, everyone.

I find the ending so incredibly moving and powerful.

And I hope you too had a positive experience from watching that ending.

I think it's such a fantastic play and really thought provoking too.

It stayed with me long after I had read it or watched it.

So yeah, lots to think about.

But we have a question here, which answer best explains Queenie's decision to give up her baby? Okay, which answer best explains Queenie's decision to give up her baby? So you may want to think back to the videos we watched at the start of the lesson.

And you will need to pick which answer you think is correct, A, B, C, or D.

Okay, pause the video to give yourself time to come up with the right answer.

Off you go.

Okay, so hopefully we all have an answer.

And a very well done if you picked C, that she understands the challenges of raising the baby and believes giving him up is an act of love.

Okay, so this is our final task of the lesson, and I want you to think about your whole experience of "Small Island", okay? Watching it, reading it, your whole experience of the production.

And then I'd like you to use the following questions to write a personal reflection.

So the first question is, which moments or scenes stood out to you and why? Did the production change how you think about the history or issues it explores? Which part of the play or its message do you think will stay with you? And finally, how might the message be relevant to today's world or to your own experience? So I really want to hear about what stood out for you and your experiences of the play.

So do spend some time thinking about those personal reflections as you answer these questions.

Okay, so you know the drill by now.

Gather what you need to complete this task and then you'll need to pause the video.

So do that now please.

Great, thank you so much.

And I think it's really lovely to hear all the different responses to that play, because there is no correct answer to those questions.

It's all about your own experiences of the text and of the production.

Laura has kindly shared one of her reflections, so let's look at what she says.

She said, "Watching 'Small Island' made me realize that history isn't just about dates and events, but about people facing difficult choices and challenges.

The post office scene was really hard to watch 'cause I understand it's important because it shows the truth of what people experienced." Thank you, Laura.

And I'd like you to spend a few moments just thinking about Laura's reflection and discussing.

To what extent do you agree with her and why? Pause the video to get that task done.

Off you go.

Okay, now let's look at what Jun has said, so one of his reflections.

So he says, "What will stay with me is the idea that even when the world feels unfair or divided, people still find ways to care for each other and keep going.

This feels important today because many people still face barriers and misunderstandings.

The play encourages us to think about how we treat others and how history shapes us all." It's a really lovely thoughtful response there from Jun.

And I think something that's really interesting there is the hope at the end of the play and also the realism.

And I think that's something that Jun has really picked up on here.

But now I want to know what you think.

So to what extent do you agree with Jun and why? Pause the video to discuss that now.

Off you go.

Well, we have made it to the end of the lesson and the end of the production.

Thank you so much for being so honest and open with your answers.

Let's just remind ourselves of everything we have looked at.

So we know that Norris explains the challenge of staging Queenie's birth and the multiple technical and emotional factors.

Norris says that he found Queenie asking Hortense and Gilbert to take her baby, the most emotionally difficult scene.

Norris chose the final image of those three protagonists for its powerful and lasting impact.

Edmund says Queenie's decision to give up her baby is a loving act shaped by harsh realities.

Lovely statement there.

Edmundson thinks the ending shows an uncertain future coupled with love and fragile hope.

Thank you so much for your hard work today.

And I hope to see you all again in a lesson soon.

So I'll say goodbye and I'll see you then.