Property Plot
ACT I
Dreamscape –smoke (p1)
Inside shepherd’s hut (p1)
Throws water (p1)
Milk buckets (p3)
Farm house (p4)
Lamb (p4)
Looking out of the window (p4)
Scene transforms to the outside of a cottage (p6)
Letter (p8)
Shepherds (p10)
Carters (p10)
Wagoners (p10)
Instruments (p10)
Crook and smock (p12)
Fire (p13)
A ladder (p14)
Bucket (p14)
Water to put out fire (p14)
Veil (p14)
Hat (p14)
God-forgive-me jug (p17)
Bathsheba’s house (p21)
Outside an Inn on the roadside (p21)
Hall (p26)
Table (p26)
Piles of money (p26)
Shilling (p28)
Snowing (p30)
Climbs a wall (p30)
Window (p30)
Bustling market hall (p32)
Men Milling Around (p32)
Corn (p34)
Key (p36)
Bible (p36)
Pile of letters and cards (p37)
Pen to write a poem (p38)
Mantlepiece (p39)
Potatoes (p40)
Pen and paper (p42)
Lamb (p45)
Shears (p50)
Grindstone (p50)
Church (p53)
Vicar (p53)
Bathsheba’s kitchen (p55)
Dead lamb (p56)
Note (p57)
Gabriel’s cottage (p55)
Balloon sheep (p58)
Trocar (p58)
Party decorations (p59)
Shearing supper (p61)
Flute (p62)
Lantern (p64)
Troy in red uniform (p65)
Haymaking in field (p68)
Cap (p71)
Top hat (72)
Swarm of bees (p73)
Hat (p73)
Veil (p73)
ACT II
Sword (p75)
In the Parlour (p81)
Making bread (p81)
Letter (p81)
Harvesting oats (p86)
Slicing of scythes (p86)
Carpet bag (89)
Lantern (p91)
Folded newspaper (p93)
Pails (p94)
Coin (p94)
Wedding Celebrations (p95)
A ladder (p97)
Second ladder (p97)
Carriage (p101)
Grating soap in the kitchen (p104)
Pouch (p105)
Money (p105)
Lock of black hair (p105)
Drink to pour (p108)
Coffin (p110)
Flowers (p110)
Crucifix (p110)
Screwdriver (p111)
Dead baby (p112)
Churchyard (p115)
On the coast (p115)
Jacket (p115)
Trousers (p115)
Headstone (p116)
Lamb is born (p117)
Lambing (p118)
Mistletoe (p125)
Ivy (p125)
Holly (p125)
Cravat (p125)
Ring box (p125)
Mince pie (p126)
Cap (p129)
Gun (p130)
Prison (p131)
Airing sheets (p132)
Gabriel’s cottage (p139)
Blossom (p143)
Sounds Effects Plot
ACT I
Ethereal music (p1)
Sudden noise and panic (p1)
Chatter of a knot of sparrows (p4)
Knock at the door (p4)
Sound of dogs and sheep (p9)
Musicians underscore the action of a fire (p13)
Musicians continue playing (P14)
Sound of horses (p23)
Door opens (p23)
Musical accompaniment (p32)
Music (p39)
Knock at the door (p39)
Music stops (p39)
Music (p53)
Church bells chime (p53)
Another church bong (p53)
Crickets crying (p65)
Music (p73)
Noise of swarm swells (p74)
ACT II
Music (p75)
Morning birdsong (p94)
Barn dance music (p95)
Crack of thunder (p96)
Another crack of thunder (p96)
Storm begins (p97)
Wind, rain (p97)
Storm blasts (p97)
Burst of lightning, thunder (p98)
Door slams (p106)
Rousing hymn (p115)
Waves crashing (p115)
Music (p125)
Music (p128)
Music (p134)
Knock at the door (p138)
Birdsong (p142)
Knock at the door (p142)
Sound inside of someone approaching (p142)
Trumpets (p143)
Drum (p143)
The Watermill Theatre
Thursday 16 April to Saturday 23 May 2015
Thomas Hardy’s
Far From The Madding Crowd
adapted and directed by Jessica Swale
Performed with the following cast:
Gina Beck
Bathsheba Everdene
Alice Blundell
Liddy
Simon Bubb
Gabriel Oak
Matthew Douglas
Boldwood
Ian Harris
Jan
Emma Jerrold
Mary Ann
Lisa Kerr
Fanny / Cainy
Sam Swainsbury
Sergeant Troy
Ed Thorpe
Joseph
Designer |
Philip Engleheart |
Original Music and Arrangements by |
Catherine Jayes |
Lighting Designer |
James Whiteside |
Sound Designer |
Neil Starke |
Fight Director |
Paul Benzing |
Dialect Coach |
Catherine Weate |
|
|
Production Manager |
Lawrence T Doyle |
Company Stage Manager |
Sara Shardlow |
Assistant Production Manager |
Nelly Chauvet |
Theatre Technician |
Josh Robinson |
Deputy Stage Managers |
Ceire Hoey, Alice Barber |
Assistant Stage Managers |
Ruth Hills, Izzy Taylor |
Wardrobe Supervisor |
Amanda Dooley |
Wardrobe Assistant |
Eloise Short |
Set Construction |
Belgrade Production Services |
Production Photographer |
Michael Wharley |
National Press and Publicity |
Clair Horwood |
For Mum, with whom I have muddied many boots, ambling along country paths and wrestling with the quandaries of the heart.
The Lambs of Grasmere
The upland flocks grew starved and thinned:
Their shepherds scarce could feed the lambs
Whose milkless mothers butted them,
Or who were orphaned of their dams.
The lambs athirst for mother’s milk
Filled all the place with piteous sounds:
Their mothers’ bones made white for miles
The pastureless wet pasture grounds.
Day after day, night after night,
From lamb to lamb the shepherds went,
With teapots for the bleating mouths,
Instead of nature’s nourishment.
The little shivering gaping things
Soon knew the step that brought them aid,
And fondled the protecting hand,
And rubbed it with a woolly head.
Then, as the days waxed on to weeks,
It was a pretty sight to see
These lambs with frisky heads and tails
Skipping and leaping on the lea,
Bleating in tender trustful tones,
Resting on rocky crag or mound,
And following the beloved feet
That once had sought for them and found.
These very shepherds of their flocks,
These loving lambs so meek to please,
Are worthy of recording words
And honour in their due degrees:
So I might live a hundred years,
And roam from strand to foreign strand,
Yet not forget this flooded spring
And scarce-saved lambs of Westmoreland.
Christina Rossetti
Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.
John Muir
“The poetry of motion is a phrase much in use, and to enjoy the epic form of that gratification it is necessary to stand on a hill at a small hour of the night, and, having first expanded with a sense of difference from the mass of civilized mankind, who are dreamwrapt and disregardful of all such proceedings at this time, long and quietly watch your stately progress through the stars. After such a nocturnal reconnoitre it is hard to get back to earth, and to believe that the consciousness of such majestic speeding is derived from a tiny human frame.”
Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd
Far From The Madding Crowd
Copyright © 2015 by Jessica Swale
All Rights Reserved
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD is fully protected under the copyright laws of the British Commonwealth, including Canada, the United States of America, and all other countries of the Copyright Union. All rights, including professional and amateur stage productions, recitation, lecturing, public reading, motion picture, radio broadcasting, television and the rights of translation into foreign languages are strictly reserved.
ISBN 978-0-573-11163-1
www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk www.samuelfrench.com
Cover photograph © Michael Wharley
FOR AMATEUR PRODUCTION ENQUIRIES
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EXCLUDING NORTH AMERICA
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Each title is subject to availability from Samuel French, depending upon country of performance.
CAUTION: Professional and amateur producers are hereby warned that FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD is subject to a licensing fee. Publication of this play does not imply availability for performance. Both amateurs and professionals considering a production are strongly advised to apply to the appropriate agent before starting rehearsals, advertising, or booking a theatre. A licensing fee must be paid whether the title is presented for charity or gain and whether or not admission is charged.
The professional rights in this play are controlled by Macnaughton Lord, 44 South Molton Street, London W1K 5RT.
No one shall make any changes in this title for the purpose of production. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, now known or yet to be invented, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, videotaping, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. No one shall upload this title, or part of this title, to any social media websites.
The right of Jessica Swale to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This text went to press during the rehearsal period and may differ slightly from what is presented on stage.
(And suggested doubling plot for a cast of 9; 5 men, 4 women)
1 – BATHSHEBA
2 – GABRIEL
3 – SERGEANT TROY (and Matthew Moon / Sir & Farmer 2 (1:2))
4 – BOLDWOOD (and Laban Tall / Other Man (1:2) / Old Man (1:5))
5 – LIDDY (and Serving Girl (1:14) / Lady 2 (1:16))
6 – FANNY (and Cainy Ball)
7 – MARY-ANN (and Mrs Hurst (1:1) / Mrs Tall (1:9) / Mrs Twill (1:14) / Lady 1 (1:16) / Fiddler (2:12)/
8 – JOSEPH POORGRASS (and Labourer (1:2) / Inn Keeper (1:7) / Trader 1(1:11) / Tailor (1:15) / Vicar (1:16) /
9 – JAN COGGAN (and Farmer 1 (1:2) / / Trader 2 (1:11) and Gent (1:11)/ Birkin (1:13) / Lady 3 (1:16) / Porter (2:22) /