Projet vidéo : "Ratched", une transposition de Shakespeare D’après Richard III, de William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Les 1eES spécialité Anglais 2005-2006 ont d’abord travaillé sur des scènes de "Looking for Richard", le film d’Al Pacino. Dans ce documentaire original, l’acteur passe derrière la caméra et explore la pièce historique de William Shakespeare et les moyens de faire passer la puissance d’une pièce comme Richard III à un public d’aujourd’hui. De manière très pédagogique, Al Pacino discute avec des acteurs, des passants anonymes, des spécialistes de Shakespeare, sur le sens de tel ou tel élément et sur le meilleur moyen de l’interpréter sur scène. Les scènes clé de la pièce sont interprétées par Al Pacino et sa troupe, et nous ont servi de référence pour adapter la pièce en un scénario original : la transposition de l’intrigue dans le cadre d’un lycée comme le nôtre.

Cette année, le défi de notre projet était non seulement de tout tourner en Anglais dans le cadre des cours de spécialité de janvier-mars 2006, mais aussi d’intégrer dans notre texte des citations de Richard III et des adaptations de répliques de la pièce pour familiariser les élèves à la poésie de la langue du grand "Barde", même si elle est généralement encore un peu difficile pour eux.

Le résultat a été diffusé le 1er juin 2006, en salle polyvalente, lors de la journée d’activités culturelles au lycée.

 Le scénario en Anglais :

SCENARIO

Introduction about the historical background

Scene 1 - In the English class.

– Students have voted for their new class president. Edward York has won, and calls for unity. But Ratched Gloucester secretly feels bad about the post-election atmosphere of peace and unity : she has nothing to gain from it, and she’s jealous about Edward’s new popularity with girls. She decides to talk to Lady Anne, the English teacher, as the others go to recess...

Scene 2 - In the school yard.

– While Edward and Clarence go to the principal’s office to be introduced to Enzo Mayor as the new president and vice-president of the class, Elizabeth expresses her concerns about Ratched. Buckingham supports Ratched. Stanley has heard Edward’s call for unity. Henry doesn’t appreciate Ratched but agrees on the need to move on.
– Ratched joins them and accuses them of plotting against her. They quarrel.
– Edward is back ; he’s concerned : Clarence has been accused of cheating in the elections to become vice-president...

Scene 3 - In the office of the Principal.

– Kathleen Clarence is in the office of Enzo Mayor, the Principal ; Clayton Brackenbury is assisting him. They’re interrogating Kathleen. She pleads not guilty, but they press her to admit to cheating... Brackenbury plays the bad cop. Mayor is sensitive to her words, but Brackenbury doesn’t let her convince him... She’ll be judged by the disciplinary committee, and she’ll probably be expelled. Kathleen is very upset.

Scene 4 - In the English class.

– Lady Anne informs the students that Kathleen Clarence is accused of cheating in the elections and there will be another vote. Clarence has been suspended. Since there’s consequently one extra spot in the class now, they’ve accepted a new student, Amy Richmond. They welcome her.
– Edward is upset. Elizabeth and Henry are not happy with the situation either. Edward is a bit aggressive with Lady Anne, who doesn’t like that. Their dispute escalates. “Edward, you’re out !” He leaves, very angry.

Scene 5 - In the school yard.

Henry and Elizabeth talk about Edward’s attitude and the whole situation. They suspect Ratched may be involved in the mess.

Scene 6 - In the school yard.

Sophia Stanley talks to Amy Richmond. She tells her about the situation and she warns her against Ratched....

Scene 7 - In the office of the Principal.

– Ratched and Dana Buckingham knock at the door... Enzo Mayor is busy. They can wait a little. He and Brackenbury are talking with Edward : he shouldn’t have spoken to Lady Anne as he did ; now, he can’t be president again. Edward tries to explain why he thinks it’s unfair, but Mayor claims he’s in charge of this school and he can’t let students misbehave without taking measures. At any rate, Edward can’t be president any more.
– Ratched knocks at the door again. Mayor says they can come in. Edward leaves. Ratched points out that she gave Clarence away for the electoral fraud, so she should be rewarded. She persuades Mayor to let her be the new class president till they have another vote. He hesitates, but eventually accepts : they urgently need a president for the disciplinary committee, so Mayor agrees...

Scene 8 - In the school yard.

– Before going to the committee as a witness, Ratched is talking with Dana Buckingham. She suggests they should NOT get another vote so she can stay class president for the whole year. Dana Buckingham is slightly embarrassed (how can they dodge voting again ?)... Ratched is upset because Dana hasn’t agreed with her right away... Their good relationship is over ! Buckingham is shocked and full of resentment.

Scene 9 - The disciplinary committee.

– Mayor, Brackenbury, Lady Anne, and several students. Kathleen Clarence is accused of cheating in the class elections. She didn’t come to the committee - she thought it was pointless... Mayor announces that Ratched will now be class president until a new vote occurs. Lady Anne testifies against Kathleen. She reveals that Ratched told her about Clarence’s cheating. Ratched confirms.

The other students don’t believe her. Amy Richmond starts questioning Ratched’s testimony but she doesn’t prevail. The principal and his team decide to expel Kathleen. Ratched adds that Dana Buckingham told her she helped Clarence... Mayor asks Brackenbury to deal with Dana. Mayor also says that Lady Anne should have watched the vote more carefully. The students are shocked.

Scene 10 - In the English class.

– The students arrive in the classroom. They try to talk with Lady Anne about the vote, but she’s very upset after the principal criticized her. English test !
– Ratched hasn’t learnt her English lesson... She cheats during the test. The others see her and make sure she gets caught. Lady Anne catches Ratched red-handed ; she reads a line from the class notes that Ratched was using to cheat : “A horse ! A horse ! My kingdom for a horse” - it was one of the answers to the test. How shocking ! Ratched looks seductively at Lady Anne, but this time it doesn’t work. Ratched replies :
“CONSCIENCE IS BUT A WORD THAT COWARDS USE, DEVISED AT FIRST TO KEEP THE STRONG IN AWE”.
– Ratched claims they’ve never loved her because she’s not like them. Sophia doesn’t agree : they’re all different in the class but they live and work together - Ratched should only blame herself. Amy says that the problem is that Ratched doesn’t love herself in the first place ! Ratched glares at them, obviously stunned... She can’t bear it any more. She leaves.
– Lady Anne apologizes : she shouldn’t have trusted Ratched. She offers them to have a new vote right away. She sends someone to tell the principal about the new situation. Edward is still sulking ; he doesn’t want to be the class president again. Sophia thinks Amy should be the new president : they all agree.

Amy accepts the responsibility. Elizabeth will be her vice-president.

THE END

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 List of characters :

Ratched Gloucester — Helena

Dana Buckingham, supporter of Ratched — Danmaryse

Edward York, class president — Sofyan

Kathleen Clarence, class vice-president — Jessica

Henry Lancaster, Edward’s rival in the election — Romain

Elizabeth Lancaster, Henry’s sister — Mehtap

Sophia Stanley — Sadiha

Lady Anne, the English teacher — Sahra

Enzo Mayor, the principal — Mayuaran

Clayton Brackenbury, the chief supervisor — Younes

Amy Richmond, the new kid on the block (future class president) — Aminata