Philippa Kaur

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    Feature: A look at five of London’s top theatres

    Whether you see a slightly smaller production in locations like Chiswick or you’re opting for a larger show at one of London’s major theatres, the capital of England is home to an array of top theatre shows in a number of respected venues.

    For some, the opportunity to see a West End musical has to be taken. For others, though, a dramatic play or amazing opera performance is their preference. Ultimately, whatever tickles your fancy, London most definitely has you covered. So, instead of staying indoors and staring at your mobile phone’s screen, be it your Twitter timeline or a game of Kingdoms Rise slots, book yourself a ticket to one of London’s finest productions. You won’t be short on options given the extensive selection of productions in this creative and hugely talented city either. You’ll have a truly memorable evening, too.

    From long-running classics to new and exciting smaller productions, let’s take a look at some of the top theatres in the city to consider. After all, these types of theatres tend to house the very best shows.

    National Theatre

    While going on a tour of the National Theatre is an interesting experience in itself, the comprehensive selection of different shows being hosted there is what separates it out from many other London venues. Located on South Bank, the National Theatre building has three auditoriums – the Olivier Theatre, Lyttleton Theatre and Dorfman Theatre – and champions a varied programme throughout the year. Some of London’s top productions are on offer there, alongside some newer shows with emerging talents. Given that it’s such an iconic venue, it’s well worth visiting.

    Shakespeare’s Globe

    A beautiful reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, this is the perfect location to experience UK traditional theatre in all its glory. Some of Shakespeare’s best work is on show here, alongside a diverse range of other offerings. Overall, this replica of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre is the perfect place to see a show.

    Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

    Only open in the summer months given the grim winter weather that can dampen London’s spirits, the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is a glorious spot to soak up an array of different productions. From comical offerings to drama-themed productions, this particular option offers up a season of Shakespeare and has managed to win over thousands of theatre-goers over the years. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare’s work and want to experience its beauty while immersing yourself in Regent’s Park’s greenery, then Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is a truly fantastic option.

    Young Vic

    An iconic London venue, the Young Vic is an extremely influential London theatre that has become famous globally for hosting innovative and thought-provoking work over the years. Serving up a mixture of world-famous stars and rising talents, the diverse nature of productions at the Young Vic makes it an instant favourite with many theatre-goers. Offering excellent shows on the whole and cheaper tickets compared to many other theatres in the city, the Young Vic is a great theatre destination to consider.

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    Adelphi Theatre

    A go-to favourite for many theatre-goers who visit the famous West End, the Adelphi is located slap-bang in the middle of the Strand and has hosted a number of iconic shows in its time. A lovely venue offering an excellent atmosphere and good views wherever you manage to find a seat, it tends to feature comedy and musical theatre productions, although other types of shows have also been popular there. Hit productions in recent times include Evita, Chicago, and Kinky Boots. More

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    Interview: Chanel Waddock on playing Desdemona in Frantic Assembly’s Othello

    This autumn, Frantic Assembly Theatre Company set off on a ten date tour with their version of Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Othello. This production began its life back in 2008, was revised for 2014 and has now been updated once more for 2022. We had a chat with Chanel Waddock, who is playing Desdemona, to find out a bit about how a 400 year-old text fits in to our 21st century world.

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    Hi Chanel. I think the last time I saw your work was on a TV screen in This Is Going to Hurt with the fabulous Ben Whishaw. It must be such a completely different challenge working with Frantic Assembly, who are renowned for their amazing physical theatre and precision choreography. How are you finding it?

    Hey! This is my first time working with Frantic Assembly and it has been magic! I first encountered Frantic’s work when one of my secondary school drama teachers showed me some YouTube videos of chair duets (Big up Sandhurst Secondary school and the gem that is Jason Hanlan) I then saw Lovesong, at the Lyric Hammersmith on a school trip, and still to this day it’s one of my favourite pieces of storytelling!  From then on I’ve followed all their work, and to now be in a production of theirs is very special, from being the wide-eyed teenager sat in the stalls of the Lyric Hammersmith.

    Yes, I guess TV and theatre demand different things and the process is very different. I love how Frantic concentrates on the physical just as much as the vocal. I think the stat is 70-93% of communication is non verbal. Focusing on the physical to enhance, to match and to do justice to the written word of the work has been super exciting. It has been such fun exploring how we conduct ourselves in this world of the pub.

    The legend that is Scott Graham [Artistic Director of Frantic Assembly] talks about the three universes of touch; before the touch, the touch and after the touch, an approach to character and storytelling I will definitely be nicking going forward – thanks boss man 😉 . The team really is filled with masters in movement.

    Othello is such a classic, respected play, but it has been around for ages – written in 1603! This being a Frantic Assembly production, I take it it’s not a dusty, fusty interpretation? Are you even using Shakespeare’s original text? Tell us a bit about how the production makes the story relevant in a contemporary context.

    Yes, we are speaking in Shakespeare’s original text, although I’m sure it may not feel like it to the ear and eye of the audiences sometimes.

    I personally enjoy work that reflects the world today socially, politically and undeniably emotionally. As much as Othello was written hundreds of years ago, the story transcends time and Frantic’s version of Othello, set in this claustrophobic pub riddled with hierarchy and the value of reputation, seems to have no expiry date. So many current issues and events feel present in the text and in this production. Thinking about Desdemona – especially in Frantic’s setting, this world of machismo and toxicmasculinity – it got me thinking about the spike in domestic abuse cases being reported during the pandemic; cases of sexual assault and violence against women; records within our monarchy of sexual misconduct and the rank abuse of power within Westminster; the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V Wade and the ramifications that has on women’s bodily autonomy today. I think a play that tackles universal and immortal topics will always have as much life as it once did when it was originally written.

    You’re playing Desdemona, one of Shakespeare’s most loved tragic heroines. Is it a big responsibility playing her? And how does it feel to be the woman at the centre of this very masculine story?

    I love watching the endurance of people – people coping, people being wobbly, people being misunderstood and how that all manifests. That’s exactly what Frantic’s Othello is, especially for Desdemona – a woman in a man’s world filled with misinformation. I knew I wanted my Desdemona to be bold, bright, brave and ballsy. She is an active fighter and I wanted her fight to be felt.

    Of course I needed to honour what the story demanded and required (even though, at moments Chanel the actor didn’t want certain destinies for Desdemona). I think when playing a well known character of Shakespeare’s you have the weight and ghost of people’s ‘interpretations’ that have been done before. I wanted to purge myself of that and put my print and stamp on Desdemona that is bubbling with my authenticity as an artist. The responsibility I felt the most was to represent a strong, multifaceted woman, which felt current and truthful for audiences and specifically young woman watching.

    I believe there’s exciting music in the show too; can you tell us a bit about that?

    Frantic are a big fan of the musicians Hybrid. Frantic worked with them when they originally did the production in 2008 and the music stayed for the production in 2014 and our current show in 2022. 

    And you’re going to be touring until February; is this a production that will travel well around different parts of the country?

    Yes, we kick started the tour in Leicester, we have now done Liverpool and I’m currently talking to you from Plymouth. We go all over, up and down.

    Many thanks to Chanel for taking the time to tell us about this exciting new production, and we wish her and the company well!

    Othello is now touring until February 2023. Full toud dates can be found here.

    It completes its run at the Lyric Hammersmith from Thursday 19 January – Saturday 11 February. Bookings and further information for Lyric dates can be found here. More

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    Feature: Curtain’s Up on Theatre Café Diner

    When we got an invite to check out the new Theatre Café Diner, an invite that included some free food, we knew just the musical fanatic member of our team who would relish the chance. And so we sent Sidonie along to sample the food, sip a little drink or two and marvel at the musical themed decor before reporting back about this new venture that is already looking like the place to go for any diehard musical fan.

    Tucked away on Shaftesbury Avenue between Cambridge Circus and the Shaftesbury Theatre is a hidden gem of wonders perfect for any musical theatre fan. Daytime passers-by could be forgiven for not noticing what’s inside 154 Shaftesbury Avenue, with its musical theatre poster windows hiding the magic that only becomes fully visible as the sun sets, and the lights inside the Diner brighten the street, drawing in passers-by to find out what excitement lies within.

    The concept is simple; great food, musical theatre themed décor, and waiting staff who regularly grab a microphone and belt out a number or two. Cheesy? Potentially. But it works. The vibe is great. The staff clearly love a musical just as much as the customers, and it shows as they dance around, singing along to whatever’s playing on the jukebox while serving and chatting away with customers.

    The menu is a nice mix of diner food, with some fantastic names to boot – whoever came up with them is a genius – I can highly recommend the La Vegan Boheme (Burger) and Bruce Bogtrotter’s Chocolate Cake. The cake tastes just as I always imagined it would. There is also as a great selection of drinks, both alcoholic and non, to suit everyone’s taste. My dining companion was a big fan of the Long Island Iced Tea-nage Dream.

    A lot of thought has clearly gone into the Diner’s design. The décor is a lovely mix of iconic pieces from a both current and older musicals, including some costume pieces that fans will love getting so close to. I personally loved the Kinky Boots red boot stall seats. There are three bookable booths, which are surely going to prove extremely popular. Two are dedicated to specific shows – Six and Heathers (although both are downstairs with no lift access which is a shame) and the ‘Royal Box’ which overlooks the ground floor, although this also requires navigating a few steps to enter.

    Saluting older shows there are table areas dedicated to Cats and Joseph, both with a little extra pizazz to them, while every tabletop has a production photo from a different show. You never know whose face you will be dining off! And let’s not forget the loos, they are just as much a work of art, and whoever’s idea the back of cubicle doors was, I salute you! #IfYouKnowYouKnow and if you don’t, you must go and find out!

    If you are looking for a meal pre- or post-show, or just a good place for a cocktail or two before a night out and you love musical theatre then this IS the place for you. You can’t help but leave with a smile on your face. I’d also go as far as saying it’d make a great venue for Hen, Stag, Birthday and Christmas parties – but make sure you enquire early. I suspect the Theatre Cafe Diner is going to find itself a very busy place once word spreads.

    These, plus Kinky Boots seating photos by Sidonie Ferguson. All other images by Theatre Cafe Diner

    Location: 154 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8HL

    Opening Hours: Mon & Tues: 3:30pm to 11:30pm, Wed – Sat: 12pm – 11:30pm, Sun: 12pm – 10:30pm

    Website: https://thetheatrecafediner.co.uk/

    Pre-booking is advised, walk-up spaces are not guarenteed. More

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    Interview: Fury By Name, Not By Nature

    Fury Entertainment’s Rachel Harley and Gabrielle Silvestre on new play, Des Fleurs

    The Space 25 – 29 October.

    We’ve said it plenty of times before, but it’s worth repeating. We absolutely love The Space. It is what fringe theatre should all be about, taking risks, offering support to new and emerging artists and putting on shows that can at times be wonderfully different and exciting. So it’s easy to see why Fury Entertainment were invited along with their show Des Fleurs.

    Fury Entertainment is made up of Rachel Harley and Gabrielle Silvestre, and cite their roots as feminism, queer culture, devising and fringe theatre. It sounds a perfect fit for The Space. And more than enough to make us what to find out more.

    Let’s dive straight to Des Fleurs, what can you tell us about it then?

    Des Fleurs is a new play about choice, queerness and identity. It follows Judith, an old woman facing early onset Alzheimer’s and the death of her husband John. As she argues with her children about whether or not she should move to a care home, memories from where she was a young wife and mother replay in front of her eyes. Those two time lines collide with each other and create a fuller picture of Judith, revealing what Judith was like as a young woman, the history of her relationship to her husband and to her long lost friend Georgia, and the roots of her attachment to her house.

    The play looks at the effects of early-onset Alzheimer’s, what made you want to tell a story about this subject?

    Well, long story short but I (Gabrielle) trained as a doctor before going into theatre, and when I was at Uni I studied Medical Ethics for quite a while, which remains a life-long interest for me.

    One of the four pillars of medical ethics is the respect of a person’s choice over their body, their life and their treatment; and choice is one of the big themes I wanted to explore with the play. However, when a person develops a pathology such as Alzheimer’s, sometimes their ability to make informed decision is called into question. Thing is, there will be a grey area when a person can still make informed decisions but their carers will also start making decision for them. I don’t remember seeing a play about this particular period of time so I was keen to write about it and explore the implications of it.

    And it became quite clear very early on that Alzheimer’s or dementia is an issue that affects, directly or indirectly, so many people, yet you don’t see it that often represented on stage. That was quite a big motivation as well.

    Did you have to do lots of research into the subject to ensure you portrayed it accurately?

    I referred back to my old lectures to make sure to get the medical aspect of it as close to reality as possible. We also made the choice to place ourselves relatively early in the Alzheimer’s, when symptoms are not too severe yet, so we could focus on Judith as a person and her relationship with her family. It was also a case of discussing with people around us who had been in a similar situation and getting their feedback on the successive drafts of the play.

    The play also looks at identity and queerness, how do these tie in with the central Alzheimer’s theme then?

    Actually, the queer theme came first! I identify as a queer woman, and when I started to write Des Fleurs it started with the story of a queer woman like myself. Then the story became one of a queer woman looking back on her life and this is where this Alzheimer’s theme came in.

    The queer theme is very close to my heart, and this feeds in the theme of identity a lot as well, as Judith’s queerness is a big part of who she is. And once again having as a main character a queer woman in her sixties gives me the opportunity to experiment with things I don’t often see on stage, like someone coming out to their grown-up children. I’m really passionate about queer theatre and I think one of the most important thing about it is that it’s a way for the queer community to share and pass down our stories. It seemed very appropriate to have a character literally reliving her life and passing this history to her family.

    We see you’ve got a cast of seven for this play, which is quite a number for fringe shows, how easy is it to create a show with such numbers and stick to your principle of “equal pay for equal work” – something that really should surely be the aim for all theatre companies though?

    It is quite a big cast yeah! For obvious reasons it takes more organisational efforts the bigger your cast is. Des Fleurs is built around two colliding time lines, so although they overlap not all characters interact with one another, which in turns means that we can rehearse both timelines separately. It’s a balancing act really. It’s about being able to rehearse things individually whilst also allowing the two halves of our cast to feed from what the other is doing.

    Funding has proven very difficult for everyone lately and unfortunately we didn’t get funding for this play this time around. So we’re doing everything on the basis of a profit share. It’s going to seem a bit cliché, but you’ve got to be the change you want to be in the industry. So it was a question of being absolutely transparent and straightforward with our cast, to let them know exactly what was happening and to always keep the conversation open. Everyone will be paid equally for this project, and it’s always been the case from the very start.

    To be honest we’ve also hit the lottery with our cast. The guys are really extraordinary. They’re all incredible actors and very dedicated making the play the best it can be. And very supportive as well! They’ve been a dream to work with really.

    How did you get involved with The Space then to bring this play to their stage?

    We first started to work on the production side of this play about a year ago maybe? We did an R&D on the memory scenes, then a few months later we did a development tableread of the entire play curated by FlairboxUK. Then we applied to be part of the Autumn season at the Space theatre and we got accepted! It’s really great to have the opportunity to work with them. As you’ve said, they’re a champion of new writing and they’re incredibly supportive of young companies. Plus you get to meet and link up with all the other companies of the season. It’s really a great environment to make theatre.

    Is this Fury Entertainment’s first play then?

    It is yeah! Though it’s been a long time in the making. It feels really great to finally get to share it with an audience.

    You’re putting on some workshops entitled “I can’t think straight”, what are they all about then?

    They are queer theatre workshops, free and accessible to all, and created so that queer theatre makers and allies can experiment specifically with queer characters and narratives.

    The idea came from my own experience of being in drama school. Because I identified as queer yet always got cast in straight part. I think I got to play a Lesbian for like five minutes in two years, and that’s not exaggerating, it was a five minute scene. And I had a problem connecting with my characters sometimes and just thought it was about me. Then when I started to work professionally and got to work with queer characters for the first time I noticed a massive difference because they instantly made so much sense to me. It was a Eureka moment. And that’s probably what happens all the time to straight actors playing straight characters, but for us the opportunity to play someone like us isn’t necessarily something that comes very often. So we really wanted to create a space where we could do that and play queer people.

    We’ve got three workshops lined up with the Space, on the 26, 27 and 28 October. All three of them are free and open to all. On the 27 October we’re doing a workshop on making queer theatre and putting on a queer play, coming from our experience with this show. We also want this one to be an opportunity for queer theatre makers to be able to network. On the 26 and 28 we’ll be doing queer play studies: the first one on ‘The Normal Heart’ by Larry Kramer and the second on ‘Neaptide’ by Sarah Daniels. They’re both incredible plays and they both have very strong links to queer history, so they should be very cool to play with.

    And what would you say is going to be Fury’s focus in the future then, is it just theatre you’re going to focus on, or have you got eyes on other mediums as well?

    We both trained in theatre and that’s where our first love is, but we definitely want to play with other mediums as well, and that’s always been one of our goals for Fury. Not to say too much, but we already have a short film project in the pipeline.

    As you’ve said, this play was written by one of you, is Fury’s focus going to be on your own writing, or do you envisage making works by other writers as well?

    Probably both to be honest! For our first project it definitely made sense for us to work on a play that one of us had written, and we’re both writers and we’ve got no intention to stop writing. So we’ll very likely keep making our own work over the years. But supporting emerging artists is something we’re also committed to as a company, whether they are actors, theatre makers, directors or writers. Hopefully we’ll be able to work with someone else’s words before long.

    The show plays between 25 to 29 October, are you already looking at where it goes after this run then? What are you ambitions for the play?

    Definitely! We’d love to transfer the play to another venue for a longer run, and maybe tour it later down the line. This is not the last you’re going to hear from Des Fleurs, or from Fury Entertainment for that matter!

    Our thanks to Rachel and Gabrielle of Fury Entertainment for finding time out of rehearsals to chat with us.

    Des Fleurs plays at The Space between 25 and 29 October at 7.30, plus a 2.30 matinee on the Saturday. The show will also be livestreamed on 27 October, and then be available on-demand for two weeks. Further information and bookings can be found here. More

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    Interview: When Willows Turn to Wilton’s

    Piers Torday on adadpting Wind In The Willows

    This winter the wonderful Wilton’s Music Hall is hosting a family production of The Wind in the Willows – wait! No, it’s actually The Wind in the Willows WILTON’S! So maybe a slightly different revival of Kenneth Grahame’s classic novel? We thought we’d better have a chat with award-winning writer Piers Torday to find out what we might expect from his adaptation.

    Piers, you’ve got a bit of a history with Wilton’s: The Box of Delights was a big hit recently, and now you’re back with another classic story. What is it about the place that appeals to you?

     It’s the oldest working music hall in Britain, and you can tell the moment you step through the door. Theatre history is literally coming out of the walls, and the place casts this incredible spell over audiences. The distressed walls and stone floors make them feel like they are watching a show in the past – even if it’s super contemporary, which is a gift for staging classic and period pieces like Box or Willows.

    The hall is always a character in your show, whether you like it or not. It’s a challenge, but give me that any time over a black box…

    Many adults know The Wind in the Willows from their childhood, but is it a story that is still fun for today’s young audiences?

    I think so. The heart of the story is about friendship, with this quartet of buddies who are the archetypes of so many friendship groups – Mole, the fussy introvert, Rat, the outgoing new friend who is also eager for change, grumpy Badger and of course, the irrepressible, self-obsessed Toad whom they love, despite his faults.

    But at the same time, we have brought the story up to date. We’ve relocated it to modern London, mixed up the genders a bit, and dropped all the jolly good Edwardian chaps in waistcoats stuff. (I loved that as a kid, but it was a long time ago, and it’s been adapted in that way so many times.)

    These are real animals who live today, with human characteristics and back stories that I think a contemporary, young, diverse London audience will recognise and enjoy watching.

    Your novel The Last Wild was published in 14 different countries, so obviously offered a globally resonant story. Are there themes in The Wind in the Willows Wilton’s that will similarly interest a wide family audience?

    We can’t escape it. The tragedy is that the animals in Wind in the Willows are under threat, from water voles (Ratty) to various breeds of toads which are going extinct. Not to mention the horrific pollution in our rivers we have seen this year. This is a Christmas show, and we want to entertain people and take them out of their lives, so there will be no doom and gloom but – it’s not a spoiler to say that UK wildlife, countryside and waterways are under threat in our story just as much as they are in reality.

    I’m most proud of the fact though that the actual production will be following the Theatre Green Book and will be super sustainable. We are trying to recycle and reuse and use as little new stuff as we possibly can.

    There’s an exciting team of cast and creatives on board for this show (I’m looking forward to seeing Corey Montague-Sholay as Mole!), including some actors who’ve done Shakespearean work in the past – no dumbing down for the younger attendees then?

    It’s a completely phenomenal cast and creative team, with some very impressive credits. I feel like Christmas has come early!

    Making good work for young people, and Christmas shows that whole families – from little children to their grandparents, can all enjoy together, is a serious business in my opinion. I would never condescend to or patronise young audiences, we want to serve them the very best theatre we can make, that is as ambitious and entertaining for all as it is accessible, inclusive and age-appropriate.

    And I’m very impressed to see the amazing Samuel Wyer has designed the puppets! I take it these puppets are quite different from those he created for The Ocean at the End of the Lane?

    We are so lucky to have Sam! He’s a genius and created amazing puppets for our production of Box of Delights, so I’m really glad he’s come back for this. I think it’s safe to say that these puppets might be a tad less scary than the monsters he made for Ocean, but they are no less spectacular or ingenious. Come and see!

    Can you tell us a bit about the music and songs in the show? Have you turned your dexterous hand to songwriting too?

    I have, and it’s been a joyful new challenge. Luckily, I’ve had the privilege of working with composer Chris Warner who is so generous and has held my hand on this one… we’re really excited about what we’ve come up with.

    It’s not a full-blown musical, but more a play with songs – the original book is actually studded with songs throughout and we wanted to honour that creative choice of the author, Kenneth Grahame. He may even have written a few of the lyrics we’re using himself too…

    Thanks very much to Piers for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat with us.

    The Wind in the Willows Wilton’s is playing at Wilton’s Music Hall from Thursday 24 November until Saturday 31 December. If you want to get yourself down to the riverbank you can find out more details and how to book here. More

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    Interview: We Want To Know Much More

    Voloz Collective’s Olivia Zerphy on The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much

    Earlier this year, Voloz Collective brought The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much to Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre. We called it ‘a brilliant whirlwind of story and movement‘, giving it a full 5 stars. After a successful run at Edinburgh Fringe, Voloz are coming back to London for a short run as part of Pleasance’s Best of Edinburgh season. It seemed like a good time to catch up with Co-Artistic Director and Performer Olivia Zerphy to find out a bit more.

    Photo credit Jake Wadley

    Congratulations on the success of The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much at Ed Fringe. You’re coming back to London as part of the Pleasance Best of Ed Fringe. Tell us about the show and what audiences can expect?

    Thank you! The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much is a fast-paced, comedic, cinematic, acrobatic whodunnit. It follows the story of Roger Clement, a copywriter in 1960’s New York. One day, following a series of seemingly unrelated minor delays, Roger is just a few minutes late to work, arriving just in time to witness the explosion that kills his friends and colleagues. This event draws him into a web involving cold war conspiracy theories, false identities, hilarious mis-steps, and an ever present mysterious figure in a red hat. Audiences should expect plot twists, live music, back flips, and lots of laughs in this high-octane, roller coaster of a show.

    Voloz Collective is an international company, where are you talking to us from today? While many more people have been working remotely since the beginning of the pandemic, we can only imagine how creating physical theatre from different locations presents its own set of challenges?

    I (Olivia) am currently in Vermont, USA. Paul is just outside of Paris, and Emily and Sam are both in London. You are absolutely right – creating physical theatre from different locations presents its own set of challenges. In this case, unequivocally insurmountable ones. After a few hilarious and entirely unsuccessful attempts at zoom rehearsals, we discovered that since our style is so dependent on the relationship between our four bodies in space, there is absolutely no way to create without having, well, our four bodies in one space.

    There are certain things we can accomplish remotely, and we do our best to frontload production, marketing and administrative work so that when we are together in the same country we can focus on creating our shows.

    Photo credit Jake Wadley
    In Voloz Collective, very differently from traditional theatre companies, you share all of the roles directing, acting, producing etc. How do you make this work?

    While the four of us have different backgrounds, and certain categorizations of actor / director, social media marketer etc… that we might fall into outside of our work with Voloz. Within the company, we strive to resist the hyper-specialisation that is increasingly expected in many professions. That doesn’t mean we sit down and collaboratively compose every email or discuss until we come to a consensus on every line of a budget spreadsheet, (we divy tasks up in weekly zoom production meetings) – but it does mean that each of us has a finger on the pulse of the company, and each of us feel ownership of and responsibility to what we’re creating.

    People often think that we must be extremely aligned in terms of taste and vision in order to create shows in this way, but that’s actually not the case. While we all have a shared language from our Lecoq training, we have very different theatrical universes, and there is a constant push and pull between the four of us. We always have different perspectives of what the work is or could be. While certainly not as efficient as having one director in charge of final creative decisions, we think this internal friction is productive – that it makes the work more alive, nuanced, and surprising.

    Your Ed Fringe run saw a sold out run and some really great reviews, you must be pretty pleased with how it went?

    This was our first time at the Fringe, and there were a lot of uncertainties regarding audience behaviour due to covid concerns. Bringing our show to the Fringe was a risk, and we are incredibly pleased with the payoffs. The main thing we took away from the past month was a deep respect and admiration for the sheer talent and resiliency of the global artistic community.

    Photo credit Sammy Mori

    Photo credit Jake Wadley

    Prior to Ed Fringe, you ran a successful crowdfunding campaign, where you even shared some figures with the worst case suggesting a loss of up to £14,000. We know that so many performers faced such financial challenges at Ed Fringe, how did it all go for you?

    Thank you for asking this. We are really passionate about being transparent regarding the financial realities of producing as a young theatre company. We were extremely fortunate in many ways. We were able to raise £4,156 in our crowdfunding campaign, received £1,000 from the Carol Tambour Incentive Award, £1,000 from the LET/Greenwich Partnership Award, and received £400 from the Pleasance Debut Fund. In addition to this unbelievable support, we sold out every performance in our 75 seat venue. Our time at the Fringe was as successful as it possibly could have been. Even so, we will barely break even.

    Many companies – through absolutely no fault of their own – did not have access to this kind of financial support, and didn’t see ticket sales reflect the immense quality of their work. They will be operating at an enormous loss post-Fringe. Even more unsettling is the fact that the massive financial risk coupled with the need for sizable upfront funds made bringing work to the Fringe simply not possible for many companies. Voloz was very fortunate to be in a position that allowed us to take a financial risk. We were able to dedicate a huge amount of time and energy to raising funds in the lead-up to the Fringe- this is not the case for many, many companies, which is in no way reflective of the quality of their work, and entirely reflective of the far reaching influence of luck, privilege and circumstance.

    Like all inequities, this disproportionately affects artists of colour, artists that identify as D/deaf or disabled, artists who identify as working class, and artists identifying as a member of any group historically underrepresented in the theatre industry.

    This year, there were some fantastic initiatives working to address this problem, but there needs to be more. While the Fringe is just one aspect of a larger industry, it is a place that unites artists, audiences, critics, programmers, and producers from around the world. Being shut out of the opportunity to have work seen by these industry professionals has consequences that reach far beyond the month of August.

    What did you see at EdFringe yourselves?

    We saw so many stunning shows. A few of our favourites were See You from Hung Dance, Famous Puppet Death Scenes from Old Trout Puppet Workshop, Project Dictator from Rhum and Clay and Hungry from Paines Plough.

    What’s next for Voloz Collective? Is there more life for The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much or do you have any new projects in the pipeline?

    After our run at the Pleasance this October, we will begin creation of our next piece, which will premiere in April of 2023. In May of 2023, we have a month-long run of The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much in Paris, where we will perform it in French! Because of interest generated during our time at the fringe, we are also in the process of scheduling another mini-tour of The Man Who for next spring.

    You describe the Man Who as ‘Wes Anderson meets Hitchcock meets Spaghetti Western’ – as a final fun bonus question and without giving it too much thought, give us your top five movies

    Sorry To Bother You, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Parasite, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Baby Driver

    Photo credit Ruth Sinead O’Brien

    Huge thanks to Olivia for taking time to talk with us. The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much plays at The Pleasance from 4 to 7 October. Further information and bookings click here More

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    Interview: Singing All The Way To The Apocalypse

    Writer/ director Dave Bain on new musical Last Sales Conference of the Apocalypse

    We’re always on the lookout for something different, and the one thing you can almost guarantee with fringe theatre is that something different is always one email away! Last Sales Conference of the Apocalypse caught our eye just from the title along. But then we read the blurb of how Sam has “initiated a nuclear missile countdown with his bottom” and well, you can imagine from that line alone we seriously needed to find out more.

    So, we sat down with the writer and director Dave Bain to find out how a IT startup company could cause such mayhem!

    What on earth inspired you to write a musical where the start premise is imminent global destruction?

    We like to have an immersive element to our productions.  I thought it would be fun to set up a scenario where audience members are treated like sales delegates arriving at a defence conference, and the actors would be the IT staff for that event. 

    Once I arrived at that premise, the idea of the technical team accidently triggering the launch sequence for a missile launch seemed an exciting way to launch the story (excusing the pun).

    The story then moves into Sam’s head as he imagines it is all a TV series and he is the showrunner – does this allow you to really play about with the characters in very different ways than if it was all grounded in reality?

    Definitely. We can be more playful with the scenario, in a way that you couldn’t if the action played out in the “real world”.  Sam (the lead) forces the other characters to play out “roles” he has created for them in his mind. But these roles reflect his view of their personalities. As we get deeper into the story (and thereby his subconscious), his colleagues start to push back on him – their real personalities (and issues) emerge.

    It’s a musical, is this your forte? Do you write the music as well as the script?

    I’ve written songs and performed in bands since my teens.  I’ve always loved musicals, but when I was younger I felt too scared to write one.  GAME OVER (2017), was the first show where I brought my music to the creative table. I was a bit taken back by the reactions to that show; people really connected with the material, but also loved the music. This gave me the confidence to push forward with my song writing in Dissociated (2019), and now this show.  I’m very proud of the songs in “Apocalypse”, they feel fully formed and integrated into the narrative.

    And how much more difficult is it to write a script that also has to have some rhyming couplets included?

    There is a song that closes the first act called “Join Us Instead”.  It’s is heavily narrative based, and each verse has two sections. Unfortunately, this meant the song took forever to write. There was a three week period when I wanted to metaphorically throw this song into a deep gorge and never see it again.  However, I got there in the end!

    A lot of contemporary musical songs are written with melodic wiggle room, but I’m very precise with the timing on my lyrics: they need to sit exactly on the melody. It one of the benefits of writing both the words and the music. 

    Support me from the coundtrack of Last Sales Conference of the Apocalypse

    The full soundtrack for the show is available via Soundcloud here

    When we interviewed the cast and choreographer (check out the podcast here), they talked about each character having their own musical style, can you expand on this?

    Sam, the show’s lead, imagines himself as a bit of creative.  He loves old school musicals, so that’s his style. Stats, the tech lead, is into electronic music. Aesha, the sales & marketing person, likes things a bit funky. Finally, T-Base, the DPD delivery man, likes to bring the drama – so his music is overly melodramatic and dark.

    Rehearsals started early September, does the script go through many changes during the rehearsal process or are you quite strict and stick to the final draft you’ve brought to the rehearsal room?

    One of the strengths of being the writer/director is that I can change the script during rehearsal.  When you get into the room with a bunch of people, you can quickly tell if what’s on the page is working or not.  As a director I serve the story, so if I need to cut or re-write my own lines I will.

    The downside of this approach is that it can be stressful for actors.  With GAME OVER we changed about 15% of the script during rehearsal. Dissociated (2019) was on another level – there were four rewrites of the script during the first week of the run, with about 30% changes. 

    I didn’t want anyone to have to go through that again, including me! With Apocalypse, I ran a development workshop in January to iron out any big problems. That said, I’ve done a 15% rewrite from where we were at the start of September.

    The one thing that never changes during rehearsal are the songs. Because I can record them myself, I can manage their maturation cleanly.

    As silly as the play sounds, it does also explore some serious topics of domestic violence and conversion therapy. Are these subjects you’re worked on before, and how do you balance the serious with the silly.

    I don’t think you can unpack this kind of material without creating a narrative environment that the audience has bought into. With all our shows, we ease people into the character’s world first. One of the best ways to create audience engagement is to use humour. Some comics use humour to attack others, but it can also be used to laugh at ourselves, and acknowledge our vulnerabilities.

    The cast are LGBTQ, was this important to have given you touch upon conversion therapy?

    The short answer is absolutely.  I also believe in the importance of being an Ally. Straight women have a much better track record on this than men.

    On a deeper level, I came into writing this show after doing a research MA on masculinity. It left me feeling that traditional “straight” masculinity is limited and highly restrictive in terms of finding our own expression of self.

    The musical is having a four week run, which is a long run for fringe, how nervous are you about selling those tickets? And is the fact Waterloo East Theatre have given you a four-week run a good endorsement of their trust in you and your work?

    I’ve taken nervous to a whole new level with this run, but I’m eternally grateful to Waterloo East Theatre, and its amazing director, Gerald Armin for giving us this opportunity.

    And finally, why should we all be making our way to this lovely railway arch venue in October to catch Last Sales Conference of the Apocalypse?

    If you’ve got to end of this interview and you still don’t have enough reasons.  Here’s three more in shorthand:

    i) Fifteen original – catchy – songsii) Lots of jokes, followed by some exciting drama and suspenseiii) Audio and live appearances by living legend, Marcus Bentley, playing the Voice of God from Big Brother.

    Our thanks to Dave for taking time out for rehearsals to chat to us. Last Sales of the Apocalypse plays at Waterloo East Theatre from 4 to 30 October. Further information and bookings here. More

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    Interview: What Should We Wear for The King of Nothing?

    Ben Glasstone on Monstro Theatre’s The King of Nothing

    This autumn, Monstro Theatre present The King of Nothing at the Little Angel Theatre. Promising musical madness and puppets aplenty, this is a reimagined version of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes; a popular story, often staged – but perhaps not like this. We donned our finest outfit to chat with Artistic Director Ben Glasstone to find out why this production is somewhat different from all the rest.

    Ben, there have been a billion trillion versions of The Emperor’s New Clothes over the years, but I suspect that Monstro’s will be somewhat distinctive. It’s a puppet musical version of the classic story to start with, so not a stuffy morality tale as we might sometimes see it?

    It’s a long way from stuffy! Yes, it’s full of rollicking songs, clowning and lovably daft puppets, so that helps. But also, any ‘morality tale’ that’s survived as long as this one is bound to have a lot more to it than a simple lesson-to-be-preached. As I discovered years ago when adapting various Aesop’s fables to make Monstro’s first co-production The Mouse Queen, what might seem to be a story with a moral often turns out to be a lot more complex and ambiguous than that…

    Our version of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale explores the way the story seems to have two, quite opposed, protagonists: there is the King, who is vain and neglectful of his subjects and has a journey to go on, as he is literally exposed and must somehow brazen it out and (we hope) take his responsibilities more seriously; then there are the Swindlers, who, on the face of it are total scoundrels – but then don’t we all love a scoundrel…? We have made the whole show into a kind of game with the audience where the two Swindlers are constantly making us question what is true and who is in charge of telling the story.  There’s also an upstart puppet mouse who, to the surprise of the main characters, takes it upon herself to be the narrator of the story.  

    What kind of puppets do you use in the show?

    As the story moves rapidly between characters and is told by two performers, the puppets need to be simple enough to be operated by a single puppeteer. To keep a variety and playfulness within that constraint, we have given different puppets different qualities in terms of their movement and construction, depending on their different characters and roles. So, for example, there is a Courtier with the title of Keeper of the Royal Trousers, whose main feature is her legs – it’s a type of glove puppet where the fingers are placed in the legs, which can then cross and uncross and flick around expressively. Another character has a muppet-like lip-synching style with a hand in the mouth, and makes use of a performer’s real hand as its hand – creating a very pleasing illusion.

    The great thing about puppetry is that it is so far from the literal, that you can mix scales and styles at will, and no-one is going to say “you’re breaking the rules”. Or if they are: bring it on, I say.

    How about the music and songs? Have you devised them yourselves?

    Song-writing is my bread-and-butter. As well as the Puppet Musicals I’ve written with Monstro, Little Angel, Polka etc I write actual human-sized musicals and I also do a lot of song-writing teaching. So I wrote the songs, because no-one else was going to.

    Tell us a bit about the performers. What skills do they bring to the stage?

    Gilbert Taylor and Karina Garnett are highly skilled puppeteers but are both also wonderful improvisers and clowns, which is exactly what this particular show needed. And, of course, they can sing. And play the ukulele. It does take a very particular sort of multi-skilled performer to be able to deliver a show like this.

    We reviewed director Steve Tiplady (who’s practically puppetry royalty!) at Little Angel earlier this year in his hilarious version of Pinocchio: can we expect to enjoy some of his bonkers audience engagement?

    Absolutely! I’ve been working with Steve on shows for nearly 20 years now and have been very much influenced by his sense of humour, inventive approaches and total lack of shame!

    Steve was very much in mind when I first had the idea for this show: I remember telling him: “imagine a puppet version of The Emperor’s New Clothes, with NO puppets! Instead, the swindler-performers keep telling the audience there are puppets and the audience believes them!”  I knew he would share my enthusiasm for this preposterous idea and it’s been a delight to go on this journey with him.  (Spoiler alert: there ARE actual puppets in the show, but we have gone to town on playing with this idea of the Performers-as-Swindlers-Fooling-the Audience….as you will see when you come to the show!)

    The King of Nothing is targeted at ages 5-11, but you’re known for productions with very universal appeal, enjoyable both for children and their adults as well: is this going to be a fun day out for the whole family?

    Is the Pope a Catholic? Is there dog poo on the streets of London? Of course it’s going to be a fun day out for the whole family! Monstro Theatre’s whole philosophy is about making shows that appeal regardless of age. Making shows that work for children requires a discipline in story-telling that a lot of grown-up shows could do well to learn. And once you know how to tell a story with humour and energy and keep the kids engaged, the world is your oyster: you can pack in all the wit and sophistication and thoughtfulness you want.

    Some of it will go over the kids’ heads, but the great thing to me is: we can’t really know what they will understand or not understand or question or think about in the future. We have all forgotten what it is to be a child and what thrills me is to put a piece of work in front of a young audience and let their wild imaginations transform it in ways we can never fathom. Sure there’s a 5-11 tag on the show, but to me theatre is social and to be enjoyed in the most inter-generational and multi-layered spirit.

    Thanks so much to Ben Glasstone for taking the time to chat with us. You can enjoy The King of Nothing at the Little Angel Theatre from 24 September until 20 November 2022.

    Further information and tickets can be found here. More