Combustion- Rehearsal Blog- Week 2

SHAZ: "I like her a lot. She's perfect...you know."

Love is in the combustible air....or is it?? 

The start of this week has continued with working through the script, going over what we've already done, and begin to refine and polish the piece.

We've had Asif Khan (the writer) in the room with us, so that's helped with any questions people have had. It's his piece, so it's got to be done justice.

One of the great things about Combustion, is that it can be related to by anyone. The idea of keeping family safe; trying to make a success of yourself; understanding others; falling in love; faith, friendship- are all very universal themes. It makes the play all that more human, whilst highlighting very present & relevant Muslim issues. 

But- it hasn't all been script this week. Oh most definitely not.  Fight call; boxing; scene changes; show trailer; photography & costume fittings have all been squeezed into this penultimate week of rehearsal.

We had Renny Krupinski (fight director) come in for an afternoon to help plot a fight. It's a tense moment, but the outcome of it leads to a core element of the story. Giving nothing away but it's short, sharp and, well, packs a punch (so to speak) 

In addition to the fight, he also helped to choreograph a boxing training session. Both Shaz (Beruce Khan) & Faisal (myself) get to do some boxing. Obviously I was giving Anthony Joshua a run for his money (this is a lie)

We had a day on plotting scene changes. There are a few locations on stage (garage, cafe, hospital, bedroom etc) and Mila Sanders' design has given us something very versatile to play with. Added to this, the director Nona Shepphard's ideas soon sees cast members lyrically transitioning from one scene to the next. Moving furniture in a fluid way. (that's the aim- at the moment it's more staccato than harmonic- but in our defence, we've only had 1 go!)

Filming & photography flashing has been constant this week. A short trailer about the play, and rehearsal photos (showing us in the best light) will soon be released - keep them eyes peeled.

And there have been rather joyous costume fittings. Safe to say we all look da bom. Here's a sneak peek of my rather bling trainers for Faisal. 

So coming to the end of week 2 we have a very strong skeleton of a show from start to finish. Structured, workable and looks good. Next week we add them layers and detail. 

Combustion runs at:
Tara Arts from 17th- 27th May
https://www.tara-arts.com/whats-on/combustion
Arcola Theatre from 30th May- 24th June
https://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/combustion/
Then a short UK Tour


Until next week
Mitesh Soni
www.twitter.com/miteshsoni_1