Following on from “The House That Jack Built” with the Nottingham Rebels in December 2023, we began 2024 with a new project that would see us through to the summer. Gavin and Peter had worked together on a script for a film, entitled “The Rebellion”, that took various speeches from different Shakespeare plays and gave them a modern twist, all written into an overarching narrative.
The story focused on a local boozer called The Rebellion, which was sold to franchisee Jeremy Caesar, much to the disappointment of the pub’s regulars. The regulars then decided to team up to try to take the pub back for themselves. We began by reading through the script in January, and then spending the next few weeks exploring the text and the characters through various workshops that were run by Gavin, Peter and Becky.
As we approached Easter, we learnt that we would no longer be able to use Take One Studios as a rehearsal space, and so rehearsals for the film were put on hold, whilst Gavin and Peter sorted out a filming location. It wasn’t long before this was arranged – the Afro Caribbean National Artistic Centre (ACNA) in St Ann’s, which had its own bar area that would be a suitable substitute for The Rebellion pub.
I was cast in the role of Hayden, a gullible pub regular who fell for the tall stories told by Evelyn, and who ended up leading the rebellion to take the pub back from Jeremy Caesar. This gave me the opportunity to perform a speech based on Henry V’s “St Crispin’s Day” monologue, rousing the troops and leading the march into the pub.
I found acting to camera very different to acting on stage, and in particular, performing a rousing monologue whilst wearing a mic proved to be quite tricky, as if I shouted too loudly, my voice ended up sounding distorted on the recording. It was difficult trying to find the right volume at which to play it. Filming has its advantages, as we were able to retake shots where lines were dropped or missed, but we also had to perform each scene multiple times, with shots from different angles and focusing on different characters, as we only had one camera. We also struggled with availability, but thankfully Gavin and Peter were able to rewrite parts of the script on the fly whenever actors were unavailable.
After filming was complete, Gavin spent the next few months editing the film together, and we enjoyed a screening in December. The finished product looked very professional, with a stylised cartoon intro, and comic-book transitions between scenes. Gavin even used an AI-voiceover to help tell the story. Scenes were cleverly cut together to make it look like all the punters were in the same room, despite bits being filmed at different times. The final credits even had outtakes included (of which I’m sure there were many!).
We all had great fun creating this film, and it was a nice way to continue The Nottingham Rebels, even though we lacked a regular rehearsal space. Peter has many plans for the group for 2025, including getting new members and setting up a new website (which will feature a cut of the film for everyone to see!). This was a fantastic way to learn about lots of different Shakespeare plays, as well as learn new skills about acting for screen.
Tom Morley, December 2024
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