Dramaturgy of the Gent: Gina Schien @ Edfringe 2017

Morgan Stern – a new Australian play by Gina Schien

Salvation, Schizophrenia and The Gent

Part ghost, part protector “The Gent” is 221 years old and has been assigned to the other side of the planet to minister to Morgan, a young modern Sydneysider living with Schizophrenia.

Shifting between families, centuries and hemispheres, Morgan Stern is an enthralling and ultimately uplifting one-man play exploring relationships, mental ill health and the search for internal peace.

Its setting is a barely understood realm – the human mind. It is deeply informed by the experience of AWGIE (Australian Writers’ Guild) award-winning playwright Gina Schien’s own brother.

A moving monologue, directed by Goldele Rayment, Morgan Stern was described by critic Lisa Thatcher as: “A troubling, beautiful, uplifting ninety minutes that will leave you breathless". Veteran actor Graeme Rhodes has been praised by The Sydney Morning Herald for his “exceptional performance” as The Gent.

• Theatre (new writing, true-life)

• Venue: C primo (Venue 41)

• Dates: 6-28 August (not 14)

• Time: 18:45

• Duration: 75 minutes

• Age Guidance: 12+

• Tickets: Full price £9.50-£11.50, Concessions £7.50- £9.50. Two for one 7-8 Aug.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

My brother, who had schizophrenia, was the inspiration behind the script of Morgan Stern. He dealt with the frenzy in his brain by writing reams of poems and not very good Gothic-flavoured stories.

Apart from sharing bits of his work and life, I wanted to write the most compassionate and honest and dramatic piece about schizophrenia that I could.

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

I think people still get stirred up by performance. We’re sitting there being completely subjected to whatever’s thrown at us. We can’t escape so we have to feel the indignation or the delight or the anger in the room, and in us. And maybe because we’re sitting next to someone else who’s feeling raw and emotional, a conversation is born!  Often the discussion lasts for years.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I met two playwrights when I was at an artist colony in America.  I was there trying to write a second novel. The novel died a death after 30 pages but I started to write a play soon after I came home.  

I'm still not sure if it was generated by bonding with the playwrights or if dialogue suddenly looked a lot easier than hundreds of pages of prose.

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

Quite seriously, my biggest concern was to cast the best possible person to play the character. This is a one man show and if our actor had failed, the show would have failed, regardless of my beautiful script!

Luckily the director found the right man. And his instinct and approach was to immerse himself in the character he plays. Well, in all the characters he plays…

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

The Company of Rogues director Goldele Rayment says her company is all about giving audiences ‘a visceral and poetic experience of the human condition’. Morgan Stern fits that bill. It gives the audience the human condition on a cliff edge with a story in its hand.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

Confusion at first, then fear and anger, then heartbreak. And ultimately a new way of looking at people on the street who talk to themselves.

The production commands the audience’s attention throughout as the English Georgian gentleman slowly recovers heartbreaking memories of his daughter, whom he committed to the infamous Bethlem insane asylum. With these come a growing realisation that he must make amends and try to save Morgan from the same fate as his daughter.

Rayment says: “This is a powerful piece of storytelling about two families in different centuries, cultures and countries who share the same search for release from the turmoil of life. It’s a play with a sense of Gothic tragedy but which is filled with compassion in its approach to Schizophrenia – an illness that remains feared and misunderstood.”

Places, people and stories crystallise and dissolve throughout the performance, and the image of a one-eyed ornamental goldfish will come back to haunt you.

Morgan Stern has particular power and resonance because many of the team from Company of Rogues have an interest in mental ill health through their personal or professional lives.

Lying Dramaturgy: Beyond Borders @ Edfringe 2016

Lies. All Lies.

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50 (Venue 151)

Aug 4-19 11.00pm (Free for all)

A piece of quirky workshopped theatre. Through a mish-mash of styles, from a series of monologues to slam poetry and physical theatre, each moment weaves together a powerful performance that certainly packs a punch… and a good few laughs. As separate journeys unfold, raw, real human traits become exposed. A divorcee ramps up his online dating profile. A life-guru leads seminar attendees into sincerity. A liar confronts his truthful character on stage. A rapper in a world torn apart by institutionalised lies. A daughter in denial confesses to her shrink. And more.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

As part of our programme at East 15 Acting School we each developed and performed a self-penned monologue based on an existing character and text and exploring a theme we are enthusiastic about. We combined four of those monologues and realised we have a very strong connecting theme between them - lies.

Is theatre still a good space for the public discussion of ideas?

Very much so! Unfortunately it loses its status primarily to social media. Theatre is mostly expensive and seem archaic for the young generation. We believe theatre allows for a way of discussion not possible on any other platform, including the new ones preventing the crowd from going to the venues. Theatre allows for a live platform, a very direct and real connection that stands in opposition to the virtual connection proposed by films, social media, new media, etc.

How did you become interested in making performance?

One of our cast-members saw Phantom of the Opera in a personally low stage in her life and was so amazed by the world that was on stage, she immediately realised that was a world she wanted be a part of, and that was what she wanted to do in life.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

As we wrote earlier, the show came out of four pieces that we had already, and so it was actually a very unique and backwards-way of a process, as we had most of the show without having a show. Once we found a strong connection between the pieces we worked on consolidating it all into a show (adding introductory pieces and writing additional material to make it a complete show and to tie everything together).

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

We aim to make the audience question the necessity of lying. It sounds odd, as most of us think instinctively that lying is unnecessary and damaging but we bring pieces that challenge both ends of the spectre and hopefully make the audience question rather than getting an obvious answer to the nature of lying and its place in our world.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

We start the show by a stylistic piece pointing the audience towards several facts, statistics and physiological symptoms regarding lying to focus the audience's attention to our theme. We have several long pieces each raises a different facet of lying in our society. Most of the big pieces come right after an accompanying prelude that acts both as an introduction and as a stimulator for a moral struggle for the audience.

Additionally, to get the crowd thinking even before coming into our venue, we will be performing 20-minute pieces on the street-stages.

Performed by graduates of East 15 Acting School’s MA/MFA programme, the actors bring a mix of nationalities and global flavour to the stage, scrutinising a universal theme while navigating their way through an individual struggle with their inner selves.

Bare Dramaturgy: Jonathan Woodhouse , Rachael Owens and Liam Fleming @ Seven Dials Club

The time has come! London's best reviewed new writing night makes its West End debut...with a 'best of' edition!

A critically acclaimed series of events staging new plays by established and emerging theatremakers from all around the world, BARE ESSENTIALS has transferred into the heart of theatreland at the Seven Dials Club, Covent Garden. Enjoy an evening of stunning theatre at its most elemental - all for just a tenner!

Expect thrilling drama, hilarious comedies and more, fresh from the pens of award-winning playwrights and the hottest up-and-coming talent. Join Encompass Productions for ‘an outstanding international new writing night’ (London Pub Theatres) and experience stripped back, bare bones theatre at its best!


The interview is with Jonathan Woodhouse (director), Rachael Owens (associate artistic director) and Liam Fleming (creative producer).

What was the inspiration for this performance?

The initial concept for Bare Essentials was very simple - to bring new writing to the stage. Producing short plays was a way to keep us creatively engaged between our more complex and demanding main house shows (which can take several months to produce) whilst keeping up our profile as a company and continuing to bring something fresh to London theatregoers. A few years ago we had noticed the demand for 'new writing nights' and 'scratch nights' was increasing and in turn, so was the competition. 

We felt very strongly about differentiating ourselves from the crowd. To do this we had researched extensively on what was on offer not just in the UK but around the world. What we found is that we had to decide what kind of show we wanted to put on: either artist-led or audience-led. Artist-led shows tended to be presented in a 'scratch' format, where scripts are worked and reworked through feedback processes and script-in-hand performances. As a company we weren't entirely comfortable with delivering a show in this format. Not only would it likely be logistically too complex for an independent company like us to produce, but we have found from attending a number of these that the end product can sometimes be hit or miss. We also thought that for an independent company such as ours to produce a scratch night we'd be putting ourselves on a bit of a pedestal - 'your script is great, we think it needs a bit of work here' etc. - for short plays (our submissions can be anything from 5 minute delights to 30 minute mini-masterpieces) we didn't want to have a process that could potentially water down the work. 

Not to say that we don't appreciate the brilliance of scratch nights such as those at the BAC or Brockley Jack - those certainly are important. But we have worked with a number of writers who have submitted to other new writing or scratch nights who have felt disenchanted by the whole process. We felt that the simple act of submitting your script somewhere means that you as a writer has enough faith that it can somehow be produced as it is. And with the right combination of actors, writers, directors and producers it can be something great. So with the focus on creating an entertaining night of theatre we took the audience-led approach and created Bare Essentials - it's now one of the longest running independent new writing nights in London, and currently the best reviewed(!).

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

The company's core team are two artistic directors (Jonathan Woodhouse and Rachael Owens) and creative producer Liam Fleming. We three produce and direct our main house productions, whilst Liam's main focus outside of those shows is producing (and hosting!) Bare Essentials. Because it is always the same team and we all treat each Bare Essentials as a proper production (albeit a minimal one with no budget!) it allows for a level of consistency and quality control that we feel the work deserves. 

Having produced theatre as a company since 2010 we're fortunate enough to have a large collective of talented and enthusiastic directors and actors - no Bare Essentials cast or crew is ever exactly the same which keeps things fresh and exciting. Even if you spot an actor you saw last time, the chances are that they were in a different genre of play. For the creatives involved in the show we liken it to going to the gym - you get to challenge and push yourselves each show you're a part of, in new and different ways.

How did you become interested in making performance?

Like many companies the foundations of Encompass started at university. Our focus was on producing new work inherently cinematic in style and initially we started out with large-scale, surrealist dramas. Adapting to the artistic climate we decide to scale down, expand to other genres (including comedy) and get to the real essence of what theatre can be; our plays now are minimally produced and have a rawness to them that we think there is a real market for. That doesn't stop our ambition - our last main production Stasis was an epic drama set in space - but it does challenge us to innovate and entertain in ways that don't necessarily require a big budget. 

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

The name 'Encompass' stands for ambition, inclusion and accomplishment. And in that sense even though Bare Essentials is minimal in style, it still retains that mission. How far can we stretch the audiences' imagination on no budget? That's the ambition. How can we make sure that each play is a culmination of a collaborative process? That's the inclusion. How can we provide audiences with a fantastic theatrical journey that will stay with them long after they leave the theatre? That's the accomplishment. In essence, it's not treating the plays any different to how we'd produce a full-scale show. 

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

With Bare Essentials audiences can expect to see theatre at its most elemental, with established and emerging talent put on the same stage. We've produced plays from all around the world and are in the privileged position to have staged work not only by exciting new talent, but also by BAFTA winners, Netflix and Dreamworks producers and published playwrights. We hope that by presenting new writing in the way that we do that we'll not only attract repeat theatregoers, but also people that wouldn't normally go to see theatre - particularly with today's lower attention spans. Without giving too much away, we feel that fundamentally we are offering 'a great night out' - theatre can sometimes be so absorbed in itself that us theatremakers forget about our audience. Entertain them - make them laugh, make them cry - create something unforgettable that leaves them wanting more.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

By taking the audience-led approach, we created a new writing night that was true to our purpose as a company: to produce new theatre and deliver it to audiences in as complete and as polished a form as possible. We still work very closely with writers but are strict on how we work with them - our job is to deliver their work, not tell them how it should be done. This thus eliminates parts of the creative process that can slow things down - the emphasis is far more practical, on how we can make each play as entertaining and thought-provoking as possible for the audience. In between each play the job of Liam as a compere is to make sure the audience feel part of what they're seeing, to make them feel at ease - we know we have the audience on side with us when he gets a friendly heckle(!). Plays go through a proper creative and production process and whilst we do not want to give away what that is, we take pride in the fact that many writers seem to be satisfied with how their work is produced. And luckily audiences and critics so far seem to agree!

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
When deciding what type of new writing night we wanted to produce, we looked at micro-theatre produced in Europe and other parts of the world, as well as the emergence of pop-up and site-specific theatre. Our main-house productions are known for being bold, visual and cinematic whilst Bare Essentials allows us to go back-to-basics. Nevertheless our creative approach to full-scale shows informs how we approach these smaller scale plays. Bare Essentials is designed with the philosophy that all you need to make great theatre is a room and an audience - and so far, we'd like to think that that's what we've achieved.





THE BARE ESSENTIALS MISSION:
We put established and emerging talent on the same stage. We've previously staged work by exciting new writers, BAFTA winners, Netflix and Dreamworks producers and published playwrights. We're one of London's longest-running independent new writing nights, answering the demand for fresh new theatre right here in the theatre capital of the world.


Encompass Productions presents

BARE ESSENTIALS

THE 'BEST OF' EDITION

Fridays: 8, 15 + 22 July, 7.30pm

Seven Dials Club, Covent Garden
42 Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LA

Nearest Underground: Covent Garden (2min walk)

Dramaturgy In Utero: Judy Alfereti @ Edfringe 2016

Fonmanu Creative

In Utero

 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Surgeons Hall @theSpace, 5th August-27th August 2016

After receiving distressing news that their child will be born with an untreatable condition, Jenni and David descend into a pit of self-loathing, resent and guilt. 

Jumping between past and present, morals and motives are questioned as the pair desperately try to reclaim their happy ever after. Perfectly balancing comedy and tragedy, Fonmanu Creative presents an honest and frank look at love, loss and blame, in their debut Edinburgh Fringe show.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

In Utero is a development of a short play I wrote and produced last year, which was heavily based on my own experiences and decision to have an abortion. 

However, with In Utero, I didn’t want to focus on whether or not the couple will have a termination, but rather on how having some unexpected bad news can wreak havoc on your emotions, morals and rationality. I took the flurry of feelings- ranging from ecstasy to despair; hope to guilt- and applied it to a different (but similar-ish) situation. 

The characters are given the unfortunate news that their child will more than likely be born severely disabled, and I wanted to explore the affect this will have on a relationship, particularly when the couple have opposing views of what to do. Writing wise, I take a lot of inspiration from Dennis Kelly, Anthony Neilson and Zinnie Harris. I like how they can take a dark subject and make something beautiful and entertaining, whilst keeping it harrowing.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

Luckily, the script is a two-hander, so I only had to cast for the male lead. Amir Tabrizi was my first choice. Having worked with him on several projects before, I know we have a strong chemistry, and gel very well together so can create a believable and turbulent couple. The challenging part of this project was sourcing a director. I am clueless about directing and creating something visually appealing, and finding someone who could recreate my vision whilst bringing in strong ideas of their own was difficult. 

After meeting with several directors, Mitch Tyre stood out as the one with ideas most like my own and so he joined the team. I’m very lucky to have friends who can operate the tech side and work the PR, and am eternally grateful that Craig and Kat were able to join us too.

How did you become interested in making performance?

As a struggling actress, this started off as a way to showcase my acting skills and hopefully generate future work, but it has developed into so much more. I want to tell my story, and to address any stigma attached to a woman’s right to choose.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

When I get an idea in my head I tend to go full steam ahead with it, and that’s exactly what I did with this project. I had several sessions working on the script with my acting coach Mark Westbrook, who also gave me a lot of Fringe advice. I like to do things a certain way, I guess I’m a bit of a control freak, but if there’s anything I don’t know about then I outsource it or get advice from people who can do it. 

For example, I’m fairly clueless about lighting and the technical side of production, so I had to get people who knew what they’re doing. I just tell them very briefly (and not very technically) what I want and leave them to it.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I want them to laugh, to cry, to get angry, to root for a character one scene then despise them the next. To feel hopeful that everything will work out ok in the end. I want them to constantly question the characters’ actions. I want the audience to realise that this is more common than they realise and to ask themselves honestly what they would do in this situation.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

The script jumps between before and after the couple receives the bad news, so in one scene they are all happy and excited and the next they are distant and struggling. By chopping and changing the time frame and the emotions, I’m hoping the audience will experience a whirlwind of confusion and will be constantly changing their minds on the characters. 

We’re hoping to integrate voice-overs featuring testimonies from people who have experienced this to demonstrate and really hit home just how common this situation is.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?

I’m not too sure to be honest. I would say it’s a traditional theatre piece, with the focus being on the story and the characters. It’s a realistic piece, just trying to tell a semi-true story.

Producer: Judy Alfereti

Director: Mitch Tyre

Writer: Judy Alfereti

Cast: Judy Alfereti, Amir Tabrizi

Revenge Dramaturgy: Charlotte Josephine @ Edfringe 2016

j

Blush

Underbelly Cowgate (Big Belly), 56 Cowgate, Edinburgh, EH1 1EG Thursday 4th – Sunday 28th August 2016 (not 16th), 18:00

She just needs to understand that it's not her fault, that she's not to blame, that she's not a slut.

BLUSH, written by Charlotte Josephine and presented by Snuff Box Theatre, the team behind the sell-out, multi-award winning Bitch Boxer, tells five candid stories about revenge porn and all its many victims. BLUSH is a slap in the face and a call to arms.

This angry, honest and heartfelt piece seeks to encourage and broaden examination of how the scarcity culture in modern society is fuelling our shame, encouraging the destructive belief systems that we are not enough.

BLUSH is a fast-paced two-hander that explores where our desire to shame others comes from, the unwritten laws of gender-related responsibility and how the shame we feel at not measuring up spills out sideways into acts of violence.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

I started writing it from a place of anger. More than anger, a place of rage, proper belly-deep-rage. Rage at the men who commit revenge porn. Rage at the term ‘revenge porn’ which in itself is hugely problematic, suggesting the victims have done something that deserves revenge. Rage at a legal system that is murderously slow at changing laws that might protect women. Rage at our pathetic excuse for sex education in school whilst ‘rape-porn’ becomes mainstream on our children’s phones. Rage at the embarrassment I feel at being ‘an angry woman’. 

Rage is really useful when it’s focused right and I’ve learnt a lot of things. I’ve learnt that shame grows in secrecy and in silence, and the best antidote for shame is with empathy. I’ve learnt that anger is an emotional response to a perceived threat. I’ve learnt that most monsters are in fact victims. I’ve learnt to look deeper, I’ve not always liked what I’ve seen, but time and time again I’ve been astonished by our capacity for empathy, for forgiveness, for love. 

I think gender imbalance is made far more complicated than it needs to be, I don’t know how to solve it, but I do know we have to do it together. So BLUSH is my attempt to begin that conversation, a call to arms to share the things we’re ashamed of, in the hope that by doing so we’ll re-learn we are enough.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?
I am one third of Snuff Box Theatre, Bryony Shanahan and Daniel Foxsmith are my favourite people to work with, so I had no doubt this needed to be a Snuff Box show. I wanted to be on stage with Dan, he really excites me as both a writer and performer. 

Dan’s latest play WEALD treads similar ground to BLUSH, they feel like they’re in the same battlefield, questioning gender roles. Bryony is too busy being brilliant to direct this, she’s on tour with Headlong and then directing a Debbie Tucker Green play at the Young Vic. So we’re working with a new to us director Ed Stamboullian, who I met through Clive Judd. I was convinced I wanted to work with a female director, but I was proved wrong by meeting Ed, who’s masculine yet feminist energy works perfectly on bringing BLUSH alive. 

Jake Orr has been working with us as producer this year, Chloe Nelkin as PR, and we’ve had creative support from Camden People’s Theatre and Sphinx Theatre. Sarah Dickenson, who helped me write Bitch Boxer, is back as dramaturg. It’s a fantastic creative team, I’m very lucky.

How did you become interested in making performance?
I’ve always been in love with theatre. I’ve wanted to be an actress forever I think, but I play saxophone and I thought I wanted to be a jazz musician too at one point. I’ve always written, without really knowing it was writing. So yeah, jack of all trades, master of none. 

The Contemporary Theatre course at East 15 Acting School taught me I can use all of those skills to make my own work. I write from a place of necessity, I’m either trying to understand something about life or I’m trying to write myself a good part to play. Or both. I have to make work in order to get work. I’d go mad sitting by the phone waiting.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

I’m still learning what my process is. This is only the third play I’ve ever written, so I’ve got a lot to learn. I always rush in, maybe because I’m dyslexic or maybe because I’m inexperienced or maybe I’m just excited, but I always rush straight into writing. I don’t do the clever things that are suggested, like planning and researching before I start. I just sort of vomit up the words on a napkin or on my phone, on the bus or wherever. And then I can’t sleep thinking about it, and I see stuff that reminds me of it everywhere. Then I have to go back and research and plan, and try to work out what the play is about. Like putting jigsaw puzzle pieces together. 

BLUSH was written like that, messy, so yeah I suppose that’s typical of me. But this year I asked for help sooner. Brene Brown says this wonderful thing about her ideas needing a mid-wife. There’s a temptation to hide away and only show your work when you’re bullet proof and perfect. But actually creativity is hugely vulnerable, and messy, and flawed. I don’t think we were supposed to make stuff alone. So Snuff Box did an R&D week at Camden People’s Theatre, where Bryony and Dan lovingly pulled apart the script, questioning the whys and teasing out the possible hows. 

I got some funding from Peggy Ramsay, which meant I could quit my coffee shop job and write. We did another R&D, this time with Ed, experimenting with form and style. I stopped writing it recently, so I can focus on being an actor again. The script will change in the room, because Ed and Dan are brilliant. I trust the team I’m working with and I’m excited to make the show now.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?
I love theatre when it feels really live, happening right here in this room right now. I love theatre that acknowledges it is theatre, doesn’t hide anything, and in that openness somehow makes you feel something more honestly. So I hope the audience will experience that. 

I want them to feel like they’re involved in the conversation. I don’t want them to feel preached at. I don’t have the answers. I hope they’ll walk out with that buzzy feeling you have when you’ve just been to a gig. I hope it sparks some new thoughts, some new conversations.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
I try to write as honestly as I can. Sarah Dickenson tells me to “work very hard at telling the truth, to write from the belly”. And so I try my best to do that. Ed has some excellent questions and suggestions about how to give the audience the experience we’re hoping for, and I can’t wait to try those out in rehearsals. I think our golden rule might be that we can’t lie with this one. We can’t talk about shame without things getting ugly. And showing your ugly bits is scary but it’s the only way to grow.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?

I don’t know if I understand this question. It’s theatre. It’s live performance. It’s new writing. It’s all of that. BLUSH is a difficult show to pin down. There’s a lot I don’t know about it yet. It feels angry and sweet, it’s painfully honest and it’s lying through its teeth. It’s a whole load of contradictions, asking a whole load of difficult questions that no one seems to know the answers for, particularly me. This show is about misogyny, and shame, and violence. It’s also about empathy, and forgiveness, and kindness. It’s about humans. I hope it feels really human.

The catalyst for the piece was legislation passed in April 2015 to make revenge pornography a criminal act. The law now makes it illegal to disclose a ‘private sexual photograph or film’ without the consent of the person depicted. Many people consent to the creation of an image but having it made public is a very different matter.

While revenge pornography may have been the catalyst of Blush, the true focus of the work is shame. Just as politics needs fear to prosper, consumerism needs shame in order to successfully thrive. BLUSH explores why society has a desire to shame, what it’s the result of and how we allow this to happen. BLUSH shines a light on the secrets we attempt to keep in the dark, our fears of disconnection and our attempts to be part of the tribe.

Happy Dramaturgy: Oli Forsyth @ Edfringe 2016

Happy Dave

Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath), 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ Wednesday 3rd – Monday 29th August 2016 (not 16th), 16:15

Following on from Smoke & Oakum’s 2015 hit show Cornermen comes Happy Dave, also by Oli Forsyth – a show questioning what youth culture today really means and the ethos of Generation Y.

David Blessed spent the 90s DJ-ing in fields during the rave era, dropping beats for thousands of young revelers. But now, aged 45, he’s working a dead-end job in an advertising firm selling things he hates. 

However, old habits die hard and soon Dave leads a group of disenchanted young millennials back into the fray.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

I think one of the major issues Generation Y is facing is the lack of a clear identity, a youth culture that is specific to us and sets our generation apart from what came before. If you look at the post-1945 era, from the birth of modern jazz through to rock'n'roll, disco, punk and post-punk almost every generation has created a soundtrack to their coming of age that has both united and defined their generation, while at the same time scaring and alienating everyone else. 

My theory as to why we're lacking this, and the inspiration of the show, is that the destruction of rave culture in the mid to late 90s was the last incarnation of this kind of youth culture. Since then what have we had? Boy bands, britpop, cool brittania and eventually hip-hop. 

All these movements are important and individual in their own right but are not representative of a generation. In 1994, 50,000 people marched through London to hold an illegal rave outside Parliament in protest at the new Criminal Justice Act that was destroying rave culture. 

They lost and slowly the outdoor raves where replaced with Festivals charging £250 a ticket and the warehouse free-parties turned into expensive clubs. The voice of that youth culture died away and, in my opinion, Generation Y didn't take up the mantle. Happy Dave looks at what could happen if we did. 

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

I wrote the show in January this year and my first call was to Sam Carrack, the show's director. Sam had worked with me on my first show Tinderbox and done an incredible job; one of his many talents is working with new writing and so it seemed like a logical fit. Once Sam was on board we went about casting the show and put together a team of actors who are all unbelievably exciting.  

Each one of them brings such energy to the stage which I think is so important in a Fringe environment. However, with a show as musical as Happy Dave, casting actors was only half the work. 

Once casting was complete we began putting together our sound design team. Diarmaid Browne and Tom Clarke are now working together to create a soundscape that can take the audience from the early, riff-heavy sounds of the 90s through to the dirtier, more bass-filled music of today. In terms of musical content we've been consulting with musicians and DJs from both the 90s and modern day scenes, chief amongst them DJ Flashback of the Flashback Project and DJ Firefly. 

How did you become interested in making performance?

I initially trained as an actor at East 15, once graduating I spent a few weeks looking for work and then decided I should probably make my own. I was lucky enough to be given rights to do The Cow Play by Ed Harris and spent the next year desperately trying to put it on and making many errors along the way . The thrill of getting the play on gave me the producing bug and working so closely with Ed over that year got me interested in the idea of writing.  

A few months later I produced my first play Tinderbox, followed by Cornermen in 2015 and now Happy Dave. For me, the process of spending months alone with a script and then giving it to a room of people who take it to a level you hadn't even considered is such a massive rush.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

Happy Dave is a marked departure from the kind of work we've made before, the main difference being its scale. Smoke & Oakum has been producing work for 3 years now and each show, whilst always exceeding my expectations, has been placed in the confines of fringe theatre. Our budgets were small, as were the venues and, as a result, the staging and ambition of our work was limited. 

Happy Dave is a large show, spanning two different eras with a custom-made soundtrack in a 102 seat theatre, which makes it a different kettle of fish.  In terms of process, however, it is similar to all my work. Namely that I write the piece, refine it down with the help of the director and then, on the first day of the rehearsals, give it to the collective group to do with as we see fit. 

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I really hope that they will gain some sort of fondness or appreciation for the 1990s rave scene or at least see it in a new light. It's so often portrayed as a bunch of pill heads running around in tie-dye when in reality it was a large, national movement that was shut down by a very socially conservative government. 

Hopefully this, in turn, will lead to a bigger discussion about how this recent history has effected Generation Y. Why would a generation that has had more opportunity and potential than any in recent history be so thoroughly plagued with apathy, listlessness, anxiety and depression, to name but a few? 

On a more positive note, I sincerely hope that when the music flies and the lights start going that the audience experience something of what it's like to be surrounded by thousands of people all moving to the same beat in a field in the middle of nowhere. That'd be good.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

From a writer’s point of view, it's the structure of the play and the pace of the dialogue leading into key moments that shapes how an audience responds. My last play Cornermen was inspired by my experiences as a boxer and it was a great lesson in how to use these key 'set piece' scenes. If we'd had a fight every other minute, or attempted to stage every flick and jab we'd have been wasting our time and boring the audience - the same goes for these immense raves in Happy Dave. 

I find that the most effective theatrical moments are ones where the audience have to work a little. The joy of Happy Dave is that we're able to compliment these changes in the writing with an incredible soundtrack that will add immensely to the experience. 

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?

Not especially. I would say my work is naturalistic and very story driven, but then again that could be said of 90% of all theatre. I have a hunch that the most engaging stories come from being able to watch something you would normally find unpleasant or uncomfortable in the flesh, from the safety of your seat. 

I think this is why the menacing nature of Pinter or Philip Ridley, to name a couple, has such an enduring hold on audiences. Even in Shakespeare, we see characters like Macbeth, Iago, Richard III and Tamora enjoy a fascination from the audience; there's something thrilling about seeing these dangerous people prowl around the stage. My work to date has dealt with terrorism, boxing and now illegal raves. A long way from bloody revenge tragedies I'll admit, but what they all have in common is the depiction of a part of society that lives on the fringes, and that the vast majority of people would never willingly seek out. 

In 1992, nearly 50,000 people gathered for an illegal rave at Castlemorton that lasted a week. Two years later, the new Criminal Justice Act brought that entire movement, one that had marched on Parliament and occupied Hyde Park, to a close. 

Out of the ashes came the ‘millennials’ – a generation characterised by its uncertainty.

The rave scene has now changed – today youth culture is centred around expensive festivals, headlined by aging rockers with tickets costing hundreds of pounds. It seems the millennials are a generation that is constantly recycling things rather than forming their own identity. As David Blessed says in the play, It’s ’cos they’re lost. Whole lot of ’em. I see an entire nation, full of young people who have no idea what’s happening to them. They feel no sense of unity or belonging... They’re just lost.

Writer Oli Forsyth comments, Happy Dave came from the experiences I’ve had growing up into what would later be labelled ‘Generation Y’. It struck me that from the birth of modern jazz to rock’n’roll, punk and eventually rave there was a familiar pattern of each generation bringing to the fore its own genre of music and expression which was at once exciting for them, and unnerving to older generations. 

Generation Y are marked by uncertainty, by a materialistic drive and by a culture of overwork. I think we need a shake-up.


Notes Ages 14+
Writer Oli Forsyth Director Sam Carrack Producer Oli Forsyth
Dave Andy Mcleod Jess/ Molly Helen Coles Steph Lucy Hagan-Walker Alex Kiell Smith-Bynoe Danny/ Young Dave Oli Forsyth

Oli Forsyth
Oli trained at East 15 Acting School having graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in Political Science. Two weeks after graduating he set up Smoke & Oakum Theatre, a new writing company based in London. His first show, The Cow Play, by Ed Harris, ran at the 2013 Brighton and Edinburgh Festivals, as well as having a brief run at Theatre503. 

In 2014 Smoke & Oakum returned to Theatre503 and The Edinburgh Fringe with Oli’s first play Tinderbox. The show was well received, selling out many shows, being nominated for an Amnesty International Award before transferring back to London in the winter. In 2015 Oli’s second show Cornermen, based on his experiences as a boxer, opened at The Old Red Lion before heading up to the  Pleasance Courtyard. The show was an enormous success, receiving great critical acclaim across the board. 

Oli produces, writes and acts in nearly all Smoke & Oakum’s shows as well as overseeing the day to day running of the company.

Mule Dramaturgy: Kat Woods @ Edfringe

MULE

Inspired by the real life story of the Peru Two 

AN OMNIBUS PRODUCTION 

BY MULTI-AWARD WINNING AND FIVE STAR FRINGE SELL-OUT

OMNIBUS ASSOCIATE WRITER

KAT WOODS

Inspired by the topical and real events of the Peru Two, Mule explores the murky, hedonistic world of drug smuggling and its apparent female-isation.

How does the seemingly innocent adventure of a summer spent in the party capital of the world spiral out of control and end locked up in a notoriously hard-core South American prison?

Mule is writer and director Kat Woods’ third Edinburgh Fringe outing, critically-acclaimed for previous works, Belfast Boy and Wasted, she’s back for 2016 by special invitation with her newest show at the prestigious Gilded Balloon.

What was the inspiration for this performance?
The inspiration can be broken into two parts for me. I can remember hearing about Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid a few years back when they were first arrested. To be honest, I had read some rather nasty comments about the pair and it got me thinking. 

Where as a people has our humanity gone? Why are we so quick to judge others? I have a younger sister, she is twelve years my junior and I have always felt a fierce sense of protection for her. These girls are more or less the same age as her. My gut feeling has always been that they made a mistake, albeit a huge mistake and maybe one that you or I would not make; however, it is a mistake and one that they will pay for for the rest of their lives.  

The second half of my interest spiralled from the apparent lack of awareness for consequence on the girls behalf coupled with the looming 'femalisation' of the drug smuggling industry. Why these girls, what has happened to them how have they changed? 

How did you go about gathering the team for it?
I really want to write here that I did something really cool like the Anchorman scene where Ron Burgundy shouts "Team assemble" and they all come running. Alas, I would just be calling myself as  I write, direct and part produce!

I am an associate writer with Omnibus Theatre in London and have had my award winning play Belfast Boy on at their venue. I wanted somewhere to stage an early preview performance of 'Mule' so that I could get the script ship shape for the Ed Fringe. Basically, a show to see how bad it is, so that I can fix it in time for August! 

The team at Omnibus Theatre have been fantastic, headed by Marie McCarthy with Diana Whitehead and Felicity Paterson. They have now come on board as producers, which is amazing. With Omnibus on board I was able to utilise valuable rehearsal space and cast the play. Mule is a two hander which showcases the wonderful talents of Edith Poor and Aoife Lennon. Both actresses have developed their roles and worked tremendously hard on the piece. I am very proud that they are a part of this work. 

How did you become interested in making performance?

Sociology was actually my degree of choice when I finished my A Levels. Although, I have always been somewhat of a storyteller, it was never on the agenda at the all girls Roman Catholic Convent Grammar that I attended. Which is such a shame. It was an ex boyfriends mum who suggested that I study some type of Drama course. She scared me. So, I did a Drama degree. And that's how it all began! I initially trained as a Director but couldn't find anything that I wanted to direct so I decided to write for myself so that I could employee myself to direct! 

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

To put it simply, yes. For all my plays I like to write and re-write until I get it right! I guess because I try so hard to become a different person when directing its almost like I become the harshest critic. My own works worst enemy is actually me!  

What do you hope that the audience will experience?
Mule is inspired by the events of The Peru Two. With any of my work I want the subject matter of this play to stay with the audience I want to educate those in a way that feels less lecture orientated. I want the audience, especially in this particular case, to think about their actions. Could that be your Sister, Brother, Mother etc...

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
I don't really consider strategies to shaping the audience experience, for me, that would feel contrived. I think the job of the writer or theatre maker is to let the work be what it is and speak for itself.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
I just want other people to see my work and hope that it breaks the current trend towards the tradition of watching reality TV! 

I like to break down that forth wall, so maybe, not completely In Your Face but standing very close to ones face.  

The story of the Peru Two first caught Irish-born writer Woods attention in 2013 when the girls hit the headlines and were vilified in the press. Recent developments in their case have pulled this timely play into sharp focus. Woods’ vivid imagination skillfully weaves a cautionary tale of manipulation and betrayal - a must-see at Edinburgh Fringe 2016.
  
LISTINGS:
When: 3 – 29 Aug  (excl. 17)
Where: Gilded Balloon, The Balcony
Time: 1.30pm, running time 55 mins
Ticket price: Mon-Thu £10, Fri-Sun £11, £8 

About Omnibus
Omnibus is Clapham's premier multi-arts venue in London, housed in a converted Victorian Library, and offering a vibrant programme of theatre, music and visual arts. Inspired by the building’s literary heritage, the Omnibus programme focuses on retelling classic tales with a contemporary twist. As a multi-arts venue, Omnibus is committed to combining art forms to discover new artistic vocabularies and providing vital support for emerging artists to create new work within the building.

The Omnibus team is led by artistic director Marie McCarthy. Patrons include Sir Michael Gambon, Matthew Warchus and Richard Eyre.
omnibus-clapham.org

@omnibus_clapham

About Kat Woods
Kat Woods joined Omnibus’ stable of Associate Writers in 2015.

Growing up on a council estate in Enniskillen, County Fermanah, Northern Ireland, and having had her fair share of adversity along the way, Woods says her background has undeniably shaped and informed her writing. She is drawn to narratives that reflect real life struggles. 

Her authentic style has won her a string of awards and critical acclaim. Woods moved to London six years ago to study theatre directing, turning to writing when she couldn’t find directing work that she was passionate about.



2016: Mule; The Peggy Ramsey Award
2015: Wasted; The Peggy Ramsey Award; Selected for the Encore series Soho Playhouse New York (Best of Edinburgh)
2015: Belfast Boy; Longlisted Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award; Selected for the Tampere Fringe Finland (Best of Edinburgh); Winner: Stage Award for Acting Excellence
2014: Belfast Boy; Winner: Fringe Review Award for Outstanding Theatre

Tethering Dramaturgy: Isley Lynn @ Edfringe 2015

When Mark doesn't qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games, he becomes a guide for blind marathon runner Becky. But it's not easy being someone else's eyes, or giving up your dreams for theirs... A powerful story of ambition, trust, friendship and the fight to the finish line from Royal Court Young Writers' Programme graduate Isley Lynn. This striking new play asks challenging questions: What do you do when your dreams don't come true? How long should you hold out hope? Can you truly be happy helping others to succeed? And what if giving in doesn't mean giving up?
Tether
Lost Sock Company
Underbelly Cowgate



What inspired this production: did you begin with an idea or a script or an object?

Isley Lynn: At the same time that I was glued to the TV watching the 2012 Paralympics, I was dealing with a personal question of my own: "What if I'm not good enough?". My dad blogs about Embracing Failure and watching the coverage I couldn't help but think two things: How do the people I'm watching get to where they are? And what happens to those that don't make it? That was the start of Tether, which looks at the unique relationship between a blind runner and her guide.

Why bring your work to Edinburgh?
With the Rio Paralympics/Olympics on the horizon and the influx of artists and audiences from all across the world coming to the Fringe, it just seemed like the perfect fit. We wanted to put the work in front of people who have seen a lot of theatre but want something new, as well as new audiences drawn to the theatre by the subject matter and electrifying pace of our show (pun intended, sorry...)

What can the audience expect to see and feel - or even think - of your production?
Sweat, mostly. But also the thrill of competition, the private challenges of altruism, the buzz of marathon crowds and the intensity of training alone. It's fun and funny and hard to swallow, and will leave you not only with new insight into the world of these athletes, but perhaps into your own hopes and dreams as well. We've also worked very hard to ensure the show is fully accessible for visually impaired audiences without the use of audio description et c, so that - as much as possible - they'll experience the show in exactly the same detail as everyone else.

The Dramaturgy Questions

How would you explain the relevance - or otherwise - of dramaturgy within your work?
In my experience people have mixed views on Dramaturgy, but they're always very strong views. I think partly that's because it's a weird, scary, German word, and no one really know what to do with it. I personally consider myself to be constantly working with many Dramaturgs throughout the process of writing and staging a play - all of whom are people I trust creatively, even though they might not officially carry the title Dramaturg. But that's what it is at its best, for me: someone you trust chipping in with the play's best interests at heart.

What particular traditions and influences would you acknowledge on your work -  have any particular artists, or genres inspired you and do you see yourself within their tradition?
I haven't thought about this before, but in trying to answer this question, I realise that the artists I most admire don't bear too much resemblance to my own work. Perhaps that's because I appreciate their work as the perfect expression of something specific, so to try and emulate them would be pointless. Or maybe I particularly appreciate their work because it's not something I feel like I could or would want to achieve myself. 

When writing I draw on many influences, all in relation to what would serve the piece I'm working on, so my references for my first play Lean are totally different to the ones for Tether, even though I consider them both to have something of my personal "voice" at their core. What I can say, however, is that working as a life model and performing spoken word have broadened my appreciation of the many ways to communicate with a "viewer". My conversations with painters in particular have heavily influenced my writing practice, if not necessarily the writing itself.

Do you have a particular process of making that you could describe - where it begins, how you develop it, and whether there is any collaboration in the process?
I usually start with a dilemma, often an abstract one. For Tether, it was "what do you do when your dreams don't come true?". Then from that central question or problem, characters which inhabit different attempts at an answer emerge. I prefer drama without any clear Goodies and Baddies (because I don't really believe they exist in real life) so if things start becoming too clear cut I try to muddy things up a bit. 

All of this takes place on scraps of paper, phone notes, backs of envelopes, napkins et c, which I collate in a folder dedicated to the project. When the folder starts bulging I know I have the start of a play, so I open it up and start reading back on my notes, putting events in order, creating the skeleton of it. From then on it's a case of connecting the dots... I tend to leave a long time before bringing in collaborators; I want to be clear about what I'm trying to achieve and how, before reaching out to people who want to achieve the same thing.

What do you feel the role of the audience is, in terms of making the meaning of your work? 
I try to be as specific as possible in terms of everything on-stage, because it all informs an understanding you're trying to instil in the audience. However, I fully recognise that the audience will bring a totally different set of experiences, references, tastes, et c to their viewing of your work, so ultimately it's out of your hands. Their interpretation of the characters will be unavoidably connected to their own opinions and background. 

That said, I also believe that theatre is an empathy machine, and has the power - by simply giving space and time for people to share oxygen with characters they wouldn't otherwise encounter - to change hearts and minds. All of these contradictions exist on top of one another in the theatre, which is what makes it so exciting for me.