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Dateline: 14th February, 2005 The RSC and the Science of Love Scientific experiments have found that it only takes people between 90 seconds and 4 minutes to decide whether they ‘fancy’ someone, and that during the first stages of a relationship, a ‘love drug’ (Beta Phenylethylamine – similar to the chemical found in chocolate) is released into the brain helping give that feeling of ‘a high’ which can also cause the irrational behaviour associated with being ‘madly in love’. This chemical reaction also blocks any negative thoughts or judgements about the object of our affections hence the expression ‘love is blind’ being quite an accurate scientific fact!
As part of the new rehearsal regime instigated by RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd, actors in the RSC ensemble have been given a talk by a Psychotherapist on the scientific nature of falling in love.
Liz Dawson, who is also co-founder of the London Neuro Psychotherapy Group - a group which integrates psychotherapy with neuroscience in order to better understand human behaviour - showed actors who would be performing roles in Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, how their brains dictate their feelings when falling for someone.
The actors also took part in exercises based on other scientific experiments done on the brain to explore what happens when we fall in love and have relationships. They will then bring these newly acquired insights to their roles in the two Shakespeare Comedies which involve many different takes on all manner of love matches.
Michael Boyd said, “Our Artist Development programme, where actors can learn and develop within the extended rehearsal period, is a great opportunity for us to deepen our understanding of human relationships. Searching for the truth about the way we respond to each other and giving it vivid articulation is our job.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream opens in the RST in Stratford-upon-Avon on 14 April. Twelfth Night opens in the RST on 28 April. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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