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Approach 5 for using the film at AS/A2
One lesson
Subject ranking: English/Drama/Media
Focus
Making sense of Aston's monologue.
Aim of the lesson
To explore how to make a monologue work dramatically, how to understand Aston's character and how stage and film acting differ.
Learning areas
- Aston's character
- Acting a monologue
- Differences between film and stage treatments.
What you need
- Copies of Aston's monologue (pp 54-57, Eyre Methuen edition);
- A video or DVD of the film set at Aston's monologue at the end of Act II;
- A TV and video/DVD player.
Lesson
- Explain that the focus of the lesson is looking at monologue (Drama students), exploring Aston's monologue (English students), comparing film and stage acting or the director's role in creating meaning (Media students).
- Read the monologue through with the class.
- Discuss:
- Why is the monologue in the play?
- What does it tell the audience?
- It is sad, but the short sentences and pauses suggest no emotion. Why?
- Is he 'pouring his heart out'? Who to? Why? He says 'I don't talk to people now', but he is here, why?
- What is his relationship with his mother?
- What does this suggest about his relationship with his brother?
- During the hospital description he stops and stutters less, why?
- What other factor would need to be considered in performance - Davies' actions?
- How would the students perform the scene to make it work?
- On stage?
- On screen?
- Watch the sequence in the film and then discuss:
- Why is the sequence so effective? How do the eyes of the two actors create intensity in the scene?
- How does Robert Shaw (Aston) use pause to effect?
- How does he use stage business?
- How effective is the camera's medium-close-up shot, and the facial expression it shows us?
- What would need to be different in a stage version of the scene?
- Why did Pinter cut the speech for the film?
- How might the proxemics be different on stage and what effect would this have?
- What did Pinter hope to communicate through this monologue?
