Practise reading body language
Watch this short clip, answer the question then check your response against the sample answers.
Question
This clip shows a scene from the play Julius Caesar from the BBC2 series, Shakespeare Unlocked. Cassius, one of the conspirators, tries to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar. Explain how the actors’ position and proximityThe distance between characters, objects, set. Proximity may show aspects of character and relationships on stage. vary throughout the scene and why.
At the beginning of the scene, Cassius is trying to get close to Brutus in order to persuade him. But Brutus is obviously trying to get away and is walking very quickly ahead of Cassius. Finally, Brutus does stop to speak to Cassius and the distance between them changes as they become closer to each other which could suggest conspiracy or plotting.
The distance changes as Brutus rebuffs Cassius and continues walking. This happens several times in the conversation – it’s almost like a dance. Midway through the conversation, the levels change with Cassius sitting down on a window ledge. This could be a deliberate ploy on the part of this character. Using a lower level would make Brutus think that he’s the more dominant one. It could very well be a ploy by Cassius to bring Brutus around to his way of thinking by adopting a more subservientA character may be or feel they are of lower status than another character. This is typically shown through distance, levels, lack of eye contact, hesitant speech etc. level. The levels change again later with Brutus sitting down and Cassius standing making him the more dominant one. This also reflects the progression of their conversation at this point.
During the first half of the conversation, both characters are standing opposite each other but by the end they are side by side which suggests they are no longer in conflict. The levels change again with Brutus sitting down and Cassius standing with a more determined stance making him the dominant one. The scene ends with both characters standing, but Brutus now in control with a stronger stance. He also invades Cassius’s personal space to make it clear that he won’t collude with Brutus at the end of the scene. This works well, bringing the ‘dance’ between the characters to a firm conclusion.
There are several body language techniques in play here which not only signal to the audience the subtext of the scene but also the shifts in power between both characters. Levels, distance and position are used. As the scene is quite long and wordy, varying body language is also important to keep the audience interested as the scene would be static and dull if the actors didn’t vary their body language throughout.