The following short video shows the movement that we choreographed for the following sentence in the scene:
The next sentence is "like an earthquake was going on inside his nut". At this point, we all attempt to get up from the floor as though we are the ones that are being affected by the earthquake that is supposedly happening in the fortune teller's head. On the word "nut" we grabbed our head with our hands. This was done in a much more staccato manner than the earthquake part of this line. This allowed for clear definition between a section of movement and a section of acute stillness.
The next few lines that I say - "You see a son of mine..... Like a nasty accident perhaps" - are done as though I'm in the character of the mother. In this case, I would have to elongate my words in order to maintain the same tone of voice that I have for the mother in a later section - the Dinner scene as shown in a previous blog.
At the line "parted his lips enough to mouth the word death" we do a canon whispering of death where we stare at the audience when we say this. This allows for a variation in speech which means that the audience maintains an interest in the piece. The next line (which for me seems to be in the same small section as the previous line) of "he then stared hard at Dinah" is when everyone in the group stares at me as the Mum (we assume) is called Dinah. I haven't yet chosen what facial expression to make at this point.
There is some more movement where we all flee in different directions, "snatch the quid back from the table" and then return to fleeing before standing in a line behind Kathryn who squats down in front of us. The line about "sweet pics you get in Woolies" allowed us to create a nice image behind Kathryn. Myself and Maya smiled at one another whereas Marlon was picking his nose and Izzy was crying at him - this was done because these are stereotypical actions that children do. This image can, therefore, excuse the constant lines coming from Kathryn. The next speech from Dad I suggested be initially quite jovial but when he asks Eddy if Eddy would kill him, Dad should become serious as though he genuinely believes the prophecy - why else would he tell Eddy the prophecy if he didn't believe it would somewhat come true?
Clarifying Confusion
Initially, we thought that the fortune teller scene was described by Eddy's biological father describing what he had learnt, however, we soon understood that it is Eddy's adoptive family that go see the fortune teller. In the original myth, Oedipus' adoptive parents hear about the prophecy and so defer Oedipus to the oracle. This is why Eddy chooses to leave home. This would mean that the characterisation of Mum on my part would be slightly off especially in the following sequence, Mum wouldn't be as predatorial. The interpretation of her about cake and tea is still accurate because stereotypically mothers do like to look after their family. Berkoff's influence here is of his childhood where presumably it was very traditional London East End background. This is suggested in an interview with Berkoff where he said he saw burly men walking down the street pretending they were tougher than they actually are, something which is stereotypical of Cockney men in particular. This toughness can be seen in both Eddy and Dad.
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