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    Interview: Going Underground with Richard II

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    Quandary Collective on Bringing Shakespeare’s Richard II to The Vaults

    We never grow tired of seeing new companies find new unique ways to present Shakespeare to us. For plays that are centuries old, it’s amazing how easily they seem to still hold relevance for us today.

    Quandary Collective are the next to bring something new to the table with their Vault-bound Richard II. Taking Shakespeare’s words, they promise a fushion of muscular movement, bloody violence and electronic beats, to bring you a gut-wrenching rendition of Shakespeare’s classic that’s somewhere between Mad Max: Fury Road, an episode of Game of Thrones and what it might have been like to stand in the pit at The Globe in 1595. This young company’s fearless adaptation looks at what it means to lead a country, the insidious effects of toxic masculinity, and why gender continually seems to matter in positions of power.

    With such ambitious sounding plans, it seemed a good time to sit down to ask them more, especially whether we were going to see Mad Max style vehicles screeching through the Vault’s dark damp tunnels.

    What do you bring that’s new to this version of Richard II?

    A thorough investigation of the text, shining a light on current politics and a possible outcome of the direction our world is heading in right now. Throw in a good dollop of muscular movement, and a sprinkling of electronic beats and you have our adaptation of Richard II.

    The Vaults have hosted some great promenade shows, is this another that is going to walk you through the tunnels with the action?

    No, the play is staged end on in the Vault’s main theatre space. Though the lines between the real and imagined blur, we in no way intend to convince anyone that this isn’t a play. 

    You’re taking the show to The Vaults, are those damp tunnels a perfect location for such treacherous tales?

    Oh, they so are. The atmosphere neatly settles the audience in to the near future were we are setting the play, with the trains at Waterloo running over us and becoming part of the world. Think Mad-Max meets the 13th century in a strange combination of renaissance, chivalry and religious fanaticism clashing with raw brutality and cave-man violence.

    And how do you keep Shakespeare relevant and fresh for new audiences?

    For one, by not using what we like to call the “Shakespeare-voice“. Of course verse isn’t the way we speak to each other day to day, but we still look to talk to each other as human beings. Plus we love regional accents, which often brings such beautiful roundedness to Shakespeare’s poetic language. We also use other devices like the movement and music to really bring the world to life and hopefully excite and delight audiences.

    The play is considered very political, can we draw any parallels to modern day then?

    It’s all about politics, and the parallels are baffling. How did Shakespeare know?! Couldn’t be more relevant. First, the clash of old and young, different generations, and their miscommunications are one major theme of the play. Also, the current situation in Europe means the importance of peace which lives very deeply in some of the characters is something Europe is just relearning. 

    You’ve changed Richard to be “a woman presented as a man”; how does change the play then?

    In the bones of it, it doesn’t change anything. The original version talks about the historical Richard being seen as a bad king for not being enough of a warrior, as his father and grandfather were, for which there is historical evidence such as a letter preserved from his uncle Gloucester essentially slagging him off for the very reasonable political decisions Richard made, as they were seen as weak and soft. Effectively calling him a wet bag! So the idea of a woman playing the part presenting as a man feels like it just highlights those elements. Though there may be a surprise or two in store for the audience still.

    There is mention of Mad Max in the show blurb – you aren’t going to drive futuristic cars around the tunnels are you? Or is the reference more to do with overall style?

    It’s about the style for sure, and a useful shared cultural reference to get an idea of the kind of world we are setting the play in. Although if we had the budget for futuristic cars, this might be a different answer…

    And you’re promising electronic beats, which suggests it’s going to be loud? Should we bring ear plugs?

    Ear plugs won’t be needed, but there is pumping beats and a lot of high-energy movement. We hope you’ll be feeling the beats with us rather than wanting to stop your ears up.

    The play clocks in at a daunting 2 hours 45 minutes (including interval), how do you keep an audience’s attention for such a long show, especially given what we know of the Vault’s seating! Were you not tempted to start making a few cuts here and there?

    Oh, we have cut the play! We have cut about 35 pages and reduced the character number from around 36 characters to 11. Still though, we are not worried about keeping the audiences’ attention. Firstly, the play is really funny – which isn’t always obvious in such a dark story, but it truly is. Secondly, the music, movement, violence and feel of the word brings the language and world alive. So really time will fly!

    You are on for a month at The Vaults, will you see daylight at all in April then?

    Hahahahaha, luckily we are only on in the evenings so we won’t turn into strange underground tunnel creatures ourselves, just our characters…

    Thanks to Quandary Collective for heading above ground to chat with us.

    Richard II plays at The Vaults 6 April to 8 May. Further information and bookings can be found here. More

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      Interview: Mimi Monteith’s Last Call for Closure, a show about saying goodbye and hostage taking

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      The play works to match the internal tension between the characters with the external panic and terror going on so nearby

      Mimi Monteith’s Last Call for Closure is heading to The Vaults next month. It’s a tale of saying goodbye to an ex, against the backdrop of a hostage situation just a few doors down. And whilst we’ve never been held hostage, we can probably all relate to saying goodbye. We caught up with Mimi to find out more about the play and how it’s been shaped by lockdown?
      So Mimi, first things first, what’s the play all about then?
      Have you ever been in the situation where you’ve been invited to a friend’s birthday at the pub, and your ex is also there? You don’t talk to them all night but then you find an excuse to be the last ones to leave so that you can have a catch-up? That’s what the play is about, but instead of it ending there, due to a pub down the road being held hostage, they get stuck in their pub for 6 hours, until it is safe to leave. The play works to match the internal tension between the characters with the external panic and terror going on so nearby.
      We love the idea that the pair are locked in due to a hostage situation nearby, we assume the inspiration isn’t from first-hand experience of ever being held hostage. So, what then was the initial spark for this story
      In lockdown I kept coming back to the idea of being trapped somewhere because of an invisible enemy. A lot of my friends’ relationships have broken down because of lockdown and this ‘invisible enemy’ and I wanted to create something similar to that, but give the enemy a face. It has of course developed a long way from there, but in classic pandemic style, the spark was from COVID-19.
      We’ve surely all had that “difficult” conversation when we’ve broken up with a partner, are there elements from your own life present? Any ex’s likely to spot something they might recognise? 
      Haha! I think with all writing there is an element of auto-biography to it, even if it is hidden deep in subtext, I’m sure there are lines that an ex or two out there can relate to. That being said, I think if you were to look for similarities to my love life and this show, you’d come up short. 
      Interestingly, the more that the play has been rehearsed, I am realising that without noticing, I’ve written about what I call ‘the decision to be an adult’. There are certainly elements from my ‘decision’ to grow up that are littered throughout the script; it is almost as if the pair breaking up are my current self with my younger self – Does that makes sense?
      The show’s a two-hander, how involved were you in deciding on Eleanor de Rohan and Daniel Lockett as your breaking-up couple?
      I was absolutely involved! I have worked with both actors on previous shows that I’ve had and when it came to casting they were definitely top choices – I only had to see whether their chemistry worked. I was in floods of tears in their audition together, they’re FANTASTIC.
      The press release reads between both serious drama and comedic, is that a fair take of what to expect in the play’s style?
      Yes, 100%. I’ve always found that ‘pressure cookers’ in theatre are created through finding that moment where something that is so awful it is somehow funny. Remaining on that ledge is something I’ve always loved exploring and it has the opportunity to be solved by simply laughing, or explode; it’s extremely exciting.
      And just before we say goodbye for now, if you did happen to get caught up in a hostage situation whilst the show is on next month, anyone you’d like to be locked in with at the time?
      I’m pretty sure El de Rohan and Dan Lockett have now nailed exactly how to handle the situation, I’d stick my their sides any day. 
      =====================================
      Thanks to Mimi for her time in chatting to us about her new play. You can catch Last Call for Closure at The Vaults between 9 and 13 November, tickets can be purchased direct from the venue website below. More

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      Interview – Writer Esohe Uwadiae on She Is A Place Called Home

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      Following its development on the VAULT Festival New Writers’ Programme 2019, a sold-out showcase at VAULT Festival 2019, and being shortlisted for the Untapped Award, She Is A Place Called Home is heading back to VAULT Festival 2020, 3– 8 March, for a seven-show run. Before it does, writer Esohe Uwadiae talked to Everything Theatre about the show’s development and its partnership with Solace Women’s Aid.
      So, tell us a little about the play.
      The show follows two British Nigerian sisters dealing with the fall out within their family as a result of their Dad’s decision to get another wife (as in, in addition to their mum). It portrays how they navigate the impact of this on things like their Christian faith, how they see their parents and their ability to plan for their future. One of the themes running throughout the show is how the existence of multiple cultural lenses contributes to different explanations being assigned to the same action. For instance, what might be adultery or bigamy to one person, is a legitimate right to another. But it raises the question of how we navigate the cultural clashes this inevitably leads to and whether there can be reconciliation.
      The show also explores the experience of mental illness by black women, particularly those who have had to take on the role of the ‘strong black woman’, and how a familial crisis can take them to breaking point, jeopardising things like eating disorder recovery and their sense of self.
      You are a graduate of the VAULT Festival New Writers’ Programme, how has that helped in developing this play?
      I seriously doubt that this play would exist but for the programme. I don’t think I would have had the confidence or knowledge to be able to write it. Over the course of the programme we got to meet with some amazing writers working in the industry like Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emilia, The Wasp) and Henry Shields (Groan Ups, The Play That Went Wrong). We also got to watch a huge number of shows at the VAULT Festival (I saw about 60), which allowed me to really expand my knowledge of theatre, figure out what I liked, what I didn’t like, and the different ways a story can be told.
      The programme was led and developed by Camilla Whitehill (Freeman, Where Do Little Birds Go?) who really dared us to be fearless in our writing. For that I am incredibly grateful as it allowed me to write without being self-conscious. It also gave me the confidence to begin pursuing other opportunities. For instance, I recently finished the Royal Court Theatre’s Introductory Writers’ Group and I’m almost done writing my second play as part of it.
      2020 marks the third year of the programme and I would so recommend it to anyone interested in playwriting. I knew basically nothing when I applied and that’s the point! It exists to support new writers, so come exactly as you are with all of your amazing ideas.
      You are partnering with Solace Women’s Aid, has that helped in devising the story?
      Throughout the play we touch on different kinds of non-physical methods of abuse which Solace provides support for. As the story is told from the perspective of the two sisters, there is a particular focus on the impact on those whose lives are secondarily affected by violence.
      Key values inherent in Solace’s work is that of empathy and non-judgement of people who find themselves in a situation of domestic violence. This overlaps with one of the big questions this play tries to address, specifically why women might remain in less than ideal situations like this. For me, it was really important to explore this in a way that embodies those values, while being true to the experience of the sisters whose lives are also affected. Through the play, I hope to highlight some of the structures that contribute to this, including the practice of paying bride price (also known as dowry), family pressure and gender expectations.
      At the end of each show, we will be running a collection to support Solace’s work. This includes monetary donations, but also donations of toiletries like body wash, toothbrushes and sanitary products.
      You can find out more about their work here: https://www.solacewomensaid.org/.
      What do you hope people will walk away from the play thinking about?
      Sisterhood is at the very heart of this play. I’ve tried to portray a relationship that is raw and honest, one that shows the lengths we go to for the ones we love, but also the cruelty that is sometimes there. Writing this play made me reflect a lot on my relationship with my sisters and it left me incredibly thankful for their existence. I hope people walk away feeling the same renewed sense of gratefulness.
      More generally though, I hope people enjoy the brief glimpse this show provides into the many wonderful things about Nigeria and its culture, like the music and the dancing and the clothes. 
      Given home is clearly a theme, where do you call home right now?
      Geographically speaking, Essex. On a more sentimental note, my home will always be where my family is.
      —————————————————
      She Is A Place Called Home is on at VAULT Festival from 3 – 8 March. Tickets available here More