Arthur’s Other Side

Arthur and Emma invent a scene about a missing scarf. Arthur plays someone who thinks a friend has taken it. Emma plays the friend. Ben will watch their first try and tell them what he understands from the action.

Arthur folds his arms and asks where the scarf has gone. Emma looks away. Ben immediately guesses that she is hiding something. Emma shakes her head when they finish. “My character has not taken it,” she says.

Arthur is surprised. He had imagined a simple scene with one person in the wrong. Emma explains that her character is worried about a sick pet at home. Looking away means something different to her. Their two versions do not yet fit together.

Mrs Dale asks them to pause the scene and let each character speak a private thought aloud for the audience. Arthur says, “I need my scarf before we go.” Emma says, “I wish I knew how my cat was feeling.” Ben listens again.

They repeat the scene, keeping those thoughts in mind but leaving them unspoken this time. Arthur notices Emma’s distraction and changes his next line. Instead of another accusation, he asks, “Are you all right?” Emma looks towards him.

The scarf is still missing. Ben suggests letting it lie partly beneath the bench, where the audience can see it before either character does. Arthur likes the idea. The audience will know something the characters have not noticed yet.

In the final rehearsal, Emma spots the blue corner just as Arthur offers to help her find a teacher. Both bend towards the scarf, then stop and smile. The scene has become about a misunderstanding rather than a theft.

Afterwards, Ben says he changed his mind about Emma’s character. Arthur did too. He had begun with a person to blame and ended with two people who needed different kinds of help. Next time, he wants to hear the other side first.