In the Company of Actors

Australia 2007 / 75min.
Director Ian Darling / Producer Ian Darling

From a rehearsal room in Sydney through to opening night in New York, a company of actors reveals the magic and struggle of creating theatre.

In 2004, after an extended Hollywood-induced absence, Aussie thespian Cate Blanchett made a much-heralded return to the boards of the Sydney Theatre Company. Spearheading her return was her hubby and frequent collaborator Andrew Upton, who adapted Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” for the Sydney Theatre. Eighteen months on, the troupe, including Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Aden Young and Justine Clarke, were invited to reunite and re-stage the play at New York’s Harvey Theater for the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The New York season was sold out before opening night and the weight of expectation is bearing down on everyone’s shoulders.

Normally, the rehearsal room is a sacred and private domain for taking risks, exposing vulnerabilities and, at its best, creating magic. Director Ian Darling obtains unprecedented access to the demanding five-week rehearsal process, observing the highly collaborative nature of theatre as a production takes shape.

In the Company of Actors follows the process from the first readings where every word is analysed and questioned, to the rehearsals where movements and gestures are recalled or re-determined, right to the performance itself. Along the way, we are privileged to view stage director Robyn Nevin’s creative process in shaping a production with actors and the stage crew’s magic. We also come to understand that behind every seemingly effortless performance is a complex, detailed, technical and exhausting process.

Find similar films by topic: Arts, Social/Human Interest