Breathing new life into CASABLANCA

A table read? What’s in it for me, you may ask?

Fact: reading scripts is best way to learn how to write scripts.  So, apart from being a brilliant night out, a table read is a fantastic learning tool to help you improve your screenwriting skills. 

Remove the visuals and the words on the page are reinforced, you can hear the rhythms and savour the dialogue. 

Not quite a rehearsal, the table read is a key point in the production of any film.  It's the first time that everyone gets together, sits down and reads through the script from start to finish.

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In Islington's historic Old Red Lion Theatre, the actors sat in a row facing the audience. 

Hearing them read the script aloud, stripped down to just the words, without the distraction of special effects, beautiful costumes or stunning sets was extraordinary; new life was breathed into the script, it was if the table read sharpened the jokes, enriched the nuances and revealed more about the characters.

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After the performance we decanted to the bar downstairs and hung-out way past our bed time, relishing the written words we’d just heard so beautifully read by the actors while mulling over the Writer’s Lot.

Anyone who puts any value on the screenplay won’t fail to find these read-throughs of iconic scripts at The Old Red Lion Theatre a fascinating insight into how a brilliant movie's made from a brilliant script. 

(Euroscript board member Ian Long sketched the cast during the evening.)

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Euroscript's table read of Casablanca in April was the first in what will be an on-going series of ‘for one night only’ table reads. 

It was enjoyed enormously by the audience and actors alike, so much so that all the available cast signed up immediately for our next production, All About Eve.

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So don't miss our next production All About Eve at The Old Red Lion Theatre on Bank holiday Monday 26 May.  

We have an incredible cast, meet them here.

When you book a ticket, £5, you'll be sent a copy of the screenplay.  Book here.

We are open to suggestions for future shows. Which screenplay would you like to hear at our next Table Read? Let us know in COMMENTS directly below.

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