Peer assessment

Hector played Benedick in the first half of the play and I assessed his performance. It was very interesting to see how differently we both played the character and the variation in our interpretations of Benedick. There were many aspects of Hectors performance which I thought were very entertaining. Firstly, his characterisation was very clear and he made bold choices. He portrayed Benedick as being laid back and smug and had comedic facial expressions which very funny. Benedick's arrogance and carelessness really came across well. Hector seemed confident and relaxed on stage which helped the audience see Benedick's relationships with other characters and his smug attitude. The playful relationship came across well in his scenes with Claudio. The childish and comedic nature of the scenes were very entertaining and the relationship was believable and truthful. Also, his American accent was consistent and natural. This made his diction and articulation clear which meant it was easy to understand what he was saying. There were some aspects of his performance which could have improved. For example, I would have like to have seen him play the characters on more levels in order to see the journey of the character in more detail. Although his characterisation was strong, I would have liked to have seen bigger or clearer reactions to particular events happening on stage. For example, I would have liked to have seen a larger change in his mood after he found out that Beatrice was in love with him. Also, I would have liked the relationship between him and Beatrice to be more apparent. Their hate for each other was clear and it was clear that Benedick found it amusing and fun to insult her. However, there was little connection between them and I would have liked to see that secret desire he felt for her and the pleasure he took in talking to her. Overall, Hector gave a very good performance with bold characterisation and playful relationships.