Finborough Theatre – Page 2

Interview: Carmen Nasr, Georgie Staight and Caley Powell, Dubailand

Published on February 1, 2017July 22, 2018 by LizLeave a comment

Carmen Nasr’s Dubailand won her a 2017 Channel 4 Playwrights’ Scheme Playwright in Residence Bursary at the Finborough Theatre, supported by The Peggy Ramsay Foundation. Opening on 5th February, this urgent new play explores the plights of Dubai’s migrant labour force as the life of an Indian migrant labourer becomes fatefully intertwined with that of a British expat with his eye on the big time.

“I grew up in Lebanon, where there’s a similar issue with the violation of human rights of migrant workers explored in Dubailand,” explains Carmen. “In Lebanon, this is especially prominent with Ethiopian, Sri Lankan and Filipino women who come over to work as housemaids in the homes of middle class families. Many of these women have their passports held by their employers, as a way to ensure they complete their employment contracts, as the family will have paid a large fee to a recruitment agency to process their visa and pay for flights. So they are essentially trapped, and have no legal rights. They are also paid a pittance, and many work seven days a week, and don’t ever get a proper break during the day, or annual leave. While my family never hired a maid, many of my school friends’ families did, and I witnessed this mistreatment on many occasions, so it’s something I’ve been aware of, on a very personal level, for years and have felt very strongly about.

“The difference in Dubai and the UAE in general, is that the same thing is happening, but on a massive scale, with many British and American companies turning a blind eye. This legal system of ‘sponsorship’ or Kafala as it’s called in Arabic, is what allows all this to happen. Workers are forced to complete their contracts, sometimes up to four years long, no matter what working conditions they are met with on arrival. Also, because they are in financial debt to their companies, who will have covered the cost of their flights and visa paperwork, their passports are confiscated until they have paid off their debts, which takes them much longer than planned or expected as they are usually paid much less than they were originally promised. They’re essentially trapped. This is a system used widely across the Middle East, and this is the same system used across the UAE to manage thousands and thousands of workers who come over from mainly India and Pakistan, to escape the poverty of their home countries.

“One day, I got an image in my head of a construction worker from India, standing alone on the top of a huge skyscraper in Dubai, still under construction, at night, surrounded by a sky full of stars, and the bright lights of the Dubai skyline in the background, and I wondered what he would have to say. That was the catalyst for the actual writing of the play. It’s a story that says something about the globalised world we live in today, about the world order that is being established and that we are actively taking part in, and forces us to take a step away from our own individual perspectives and examine it.”

The production is being brought to the Finborough by a team including director Georgie Staight and producer Caley Powell. “Dubailand attacks an important ethical issue which doesn’t seem to be being addressed in the way it should be. The reaction we’ve had from so many people of ‘I had no idea this exploitation was happening’ is incredibly telling in itself,” says Georgie, who’s co-artistic director of Flux Theatre, a company dedicated to bringing socially engaging theatre to new audiences. “The success of the script lies in the way Carmen tackles an important ethical issue with humanity, truth and humour. Our loyalties to certain characters constantly shift, leaving the audience to make certain choices.

“I hope audiences will take away an awareness of an issue they may not have tapped into. A reflection on their own lives in turn. And hopefully an enjoyable 90 minutes of new writing and a new writer to keep their eye on.”

Caley adds, “I was instantly intrigued by this play. Reading the script I learnt so much about a side of Dubai I didn’t really know that much about, the migrant labour force and the treatment of the construction workers. What Carmen does so well is juxtapose the lives of these Indian construction workers with a team of British expats, particularly Jamie, who’s new to the country and is enjoying being introduced to the glamorous life of Dubai. The play shows that Dubai is sold as a better life to everyone, whether it’s an Indian construction worker given the opportunity to make money to send to their families back home, or British expats that move to Dubai to live in lavish apartments, earn lots of money and enjoy the glamorous lifestyle – but this play exposes the darker side of the country and is a shocking, heart breaking piece of theatre that will hopefully move you.”

Since its first staged reading in 2015, the play’s had quite a thorough re-write, and been through several drafts. Carmen explains, “While the form and shape of the play has remained essentially quite stable throughout the re-writing process, the voice and journey of Amar, a construction worker from India, has become more nuanced and layered with each draft. Having been unable to access and speak to construction workers on my research trip to Dubai, Amar’s voice took a lot of sensitivity and exploration to fictionalise and construct.”

Caley’s particularly excited about working with a female-led team. “As a producer I’m always actively seeking female led projects. I’m part of the organisation The League Of Professional Theatre Women that seeks to promote women in the arts; although progress has been happening with women in theatre I want in any way that I can to help women bring their projects to the stage and help them get their stories and ideas heard. I enjoy working with a group of women to create projects, for example on Dubailand we have a female director, writer, producer, stage manager, designer and our cast is a 50/50 split between male and female roles – but plays like this are still unfortunately a rarity in the industry.

“We want everyone to feel as though they have contributed to creating this project. We have an amazing team and it’s been a pleasure watching them all work and create the piece together. I hope people will come to see the play and it will lead to more work for everyone on board!”

Carmen agrees: “As a writer, collaborating with a group of theatre practitioners on a play, is all about achieving a production in which a little bit of everyone’s experience and perspective and personality is gently woven into the final production, which is what makes it feel alive. The goal I guess is to produce something that is a result of a huge group conversation, rather than purely the vision of one member of the team. This is what Georgie, as the director, is crafting so beautifully.

“I hope that the audience will go away from the theatre, and think about the play again the next day, or week, or month. Even if it’s just on one occasion.”

Tickets are selling fast – book now for the world premiere of Dubailand at the Finborough Theatre on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, from 5th to 21st February.

Review: The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus at the Finborough Theatre

Published on January 8, 2017July 22, 2018 by LizLeave a comment

Proud Haddock’s production of The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus opens in Egypt in 1907, where two archaeologists and a team of local men are sifting through scraps of ancient papyrus. It’s an appropriate introduction to Tony Harrison’s 1988 play, which has itself been unearthed and given new life nearly 30 years after its last London performance.

Grenfell and Hunt (Tom Purbeck and Richard Glaves) are academics searching for a lost satyr play by Sophocles. Dismayed at their lack of success – all they seem to find is endless petitions for help from the dispossessed – Grenfell grows increasingly obsessive, and Hunt starts to worry about him… with good reason, as it turns out. Before we quite know what’s happening, Grenfell’s been possessed by the god Apollo, while Hunt’s transformed into Silenus, and (with a bit of audience participation) dramatically released his band of dancing satyrs.

From here, the story takes us to ancient Greece and into the lost play, Ichneutae, where Apollo charges the satyrs with tracking down his lost cattle, only for them to discover instead something far more valuable to him. And finally, we’re whisked off to London’s South Bank in 2016, where the effects of that discovery are still being felt – but not necessarily in a good way.

Believe it or not, all of this happens in 75 minutes. The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus is a whirlwind of a production that’s barely contained by the Finborough’s tiny stage, and allows very little time to process what’s going on – yet still somehow manages to remain accessible to those of us without a degree in ancient Greek literature. Don’t get me wrong, the story is completely bonkers, and there are certainly a good few moments where we’re left wondering what on earth just happened (the sudden appearance of Hermes the man-baby would be a good example). But it all comes together in the end, with a powerful message not only about the dichotomy between high and low art, but more broadly about the divide between rich and poor, and a direct appeal to the audience which challenges us to examine our own attitudes. (That said, the perfectionist in me would have welcomed a chance to circle back to the beginning of the story, if only to find out what happened to Grenfell and Hunt.)

Tom Purbeck and Richard Glaves lead the cast with strong performances, handling with ease Harrison’s rhyming verse. Purbeck particularly excels during a wild-eyed transformation from Grenfell to Apollo, his head snapping back and forth as the two personas war against each other. Glaves’ key moment comes late in the play, but is worth waiting for; as Silenus, he recounts movingly the flaying of his brother satyr Marsyas, who was punished by Apollo for having the temerity to become an accomplished flute player. But perhaps most memorable – for reasons that become obvious (costume designer Vari Gardner, take a bow) – are the satyrs, played by Dylan Mason, James Rigby, Nik Drake, Sacha Mandel, Dannie Pye and Adam Small. Energetic and irreverent, they stomp, dance and joke their way through the middle section of the play… yet this story is not destined to end happily, and their 21st century incarnations channel their energy in much darker ways.

The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus is a decidedly odd play, entertaining and tragic in equal measure. Jimmy Walters’ production could at times move a little more slowly, and could certainly benefit from a slightly bigger stage – but given the nature of the play and its message, a small theatre, in which audience and artists are within touching distance, feels like an appropriate setting for the rediscovery of this little-known work.

Can’t see the map on iPhone? Try turning your phone to landscape and that should sort it. I don’t know why but I’m working on it… 😉

Interview: Jimmy Walters, The Trackers of Oxyrynchus

Published on December 16, 2016July 22, 2018 by LizLeave a comment

Following his acclaimed production of John Osborne’s A Subject of Scandal and Concern, director Jimmy Walters returns to the Finborough Theatre in January with Tony The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus by Tony Harrison. Tom Purbeck and Richard Glaves star in the play’s first London staging for nearly 30 years as Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt, two archaeologists sent to Egypt to dig up lost poetry and plays, who end up becoming part of a story they’ve discovered.

“It was a whole new challenge with this project,” explains Jimmy. “I thought, do I want to do the same thing again or do I want to make apples and oranges? I think if you constantly put yourself outside of your comfort zone then that’s a much more exciting place to be.”

Despite the weighty title, audiences won’t need an in-depth knowledge of Greek literature to appreciate the play: “It helps to know that the satyr play was staged deliberately after three tragedies in order to lighten the mood of the evening, and that satyrs are half man half goat creatures with large penises. Other than that you can just be entertained and learn a lot, which is great. I would say that this is not a dense academic play, despite the long title. It’s completely accessible with some laugh out loud moments put up against some real poignancy. This is our most entertaining play we’ve done yet but also the most powerful. Hands down.”

This is not the first play Jimmy’s directed that hasn’t been performed for many years; he co-founded his company, Proud Haddock, to celebrate unearthed stories from classical playwrights. What’s the appeal of unearthing these buried treasures? “I think it’s that great thing of taking a playwright who’s loved by many and unearthing a story of theirs people don’t know very well. If you just perform the classics then it becomes more about people wondering how you are going to approach each scene. ‘I wonder how they’ll do the balcony scene’, and everyone pre-empts ‘to be or not to be’. To tell a story people aren’t familiar with by someone they regard as a genius has a very strong effect.”

The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus was originally written for a one-off performance in the ancient stadium of Delphi, and was later seen at the National Theatre. Jimmy believes that the absence of any other recent adaptations makes his job as director easier: “It’s why if you talk to actors who play roles other actors have played before, they try and avoid watching their performances. It narrows your choices and you can run the risk of imitating. Also, if I had access to lots of adaptations I’d probably freak myself out and put so much pressure on myself. I think at the end of the day it must come from you. Those instincts you have from reading the script are yours and you should just go for it.”

Tony Harrison is an award-winning poet-playwright, who last year won the David Cohen Prize for Literature. What is it that makes his writing so special? “He loves contrast,” says Jimmy. “He’s a poet, so that gives the play a rhythm and the contrasts are everywhere. Contemporary v period, ancient Greek language against modern day slang, high art against low art, rich against poor etc. He doesn’t deal with any grey areas. He makes the familiar strange, and takes things you’re used to hearing in a certain way and turns them on their head. It’s punchy, unapologetic and deeply affecting. You have to be careful with this word because it gets thrown around too often – but he is a genius.”

Although The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus deals with ancient texts, and is set in the early 20th century, it still has plenty to say to modern audiences: “Oh, big time,” Jimmy confirms. “The last section of the play actually takes place in modern day London and with everything that’s happened recently with Brexit and the lack of unity in the country, this couldn’t be more relevant. It could have been written yesterday.”

The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus is at the Finborough Theatre from 3rd-28th January.

Review: A Subject of Scandal and Concern at Finborough Theatre

Published on June 5, 2016July 22, 2018 by LizLeave a comment

John Osborne’s A Subject of Scandal and Concern was written in 1960 as a TV drama starring Richard Burton. Now adapted by Jimmy Walters of Proud Haddock, the play gets its long-awaited London debut in the intimate setting of the Finborough Theatre.

Based on true events, A Subject of Scandal and Concern tells the story of George Jacob Holyoake, the last man to stand trial for blasphemy in England. On his way from Birmingham to Bristol in 1842, the young teacher stops in Cheltenham to give a lecture, where his determination to speak his mind will prove to be his downfall. Despite the efforts of a parade of lawyers, journalists and churchmen to break him, however, Holyoake maintains a steadfast resistance, even when it ends up costing him everything.

Jamie Muscato gives a riveting performance as the unfortunate Holyoake, an unassuming figure who overcomes a severe stammer to make his case with passion and conviction. It’s a testament to Muscato’s presence and performance that even during his lengthy courtroom speech, we still hang on his every word. He’s joined by a versatile cast of five, who take on a multitude of roles; Edmund Digby-Jones impresses with an astonishingly fast and fluent delivery of the indictment against Holyoake, while Doron Davidson plays no less than five characters, each with a different accent and personality.

In addition to playing multiple roles within the story, the cast also constantly rearrange the simple wooden frames that make up Philip Lindley’s set, to become a jail cell, a courtroom, a kitchen and, most memorably, the ever-changing road from Birmingham to Bristol. There’s something almost mesmerising about the graceful movement of the actors as they move the pieces around, and it gives the play a dynamic feel, as if it’s taking place on a much larger stage.

Much like its title, A Subject of Scandal and Concern is a very wordy play; it’s worth getting hold of a copy of the play text to read through afterwards if you can. But what could have been a pretty heavy hour is broken up by moments of humour, and a vein of quiet sarcasm runs throughout the play. The authority figures ranged against Holyoake are all faintly ridiculous, but there’s a note of censure against the protagonist too, particularly towards the end of the play. As explained by the narrator in his closing lines, the play doesn’t seek to provide answers; this is not a story with a moral, and we must draw our own conclusions. Nonetheless, this is a fascinating tale, which still resonates today in its references to freedom of speech and the influence of religion in everyday life. This buried treasure has finally seen the light of day, and it was well worth the wait.

Can’t see the map on iPhone? Try turning your phone to landscape and that should sort it. I don’t know why but I’m working on it… 😉

Review: Merit at Finborough Theatre

Published on March 18, 2016July 22, 2018 by LizLeave a comment

Merit, a two-hander by Alexandra Wood, begins with a bombshell. Against all the odds, recent graduate Sofia’s landed a job as PA to one of Spain’s richest bankers, but is appalled when her polite, middle-class mother, Patricia, questions what she had to give in order to get it.

And so begins the story of a complex mother-daughter relationship, against a backdrop of economic instability. It turns out the argument that opens the play is just one of many; these are two women with fundamentally different ideas on just about everything, not least money and social responsibility. Each scene moves us on a little in time and features a new disagreement, as Sofia’s fortunes improve, while those of her parents decline, and her mother’s driven to increasingly drastic action. Ultimately, the play ends on another bombshell, albeit one that’s somehow a bit predictable and yet still seems hard to believe.

Merit at the Finborough — Photo credit: Robert Workman

Merit tackles some interesting themes, though, and skilfully introduces a cast of unseen characters, each with their own attitudes towards the economic situation. Most prominent of all is Antonio, Sofia’s boss, who gives away much of what he earns but still manages to live comfortably, and in doing so gains Sofia’s unswerving devotion and Patricia’s equally resolute disdain. As the trigger for most of their arguments, Antonio becomes almost a third main character in the story, a representative of his class whose actions – for better or worse – have an impact on so many.

Karen Ascoe and Ellie Turner both give compelling performances as Patricia and Sofia; the tension between them is palpable throughout as the advantage swings one way and then the other. Neither is perfect, and yet both at different times earn the audience’s sympathy, though we naturally side with Sofia pretty much from the start. Some of the dialogue feels a little unnatural – I can’t imagine too many young women use the word ‘rapacious’ in everyday conversation – but flows well between the two.

Tom Littler’s direction sees each scene change punctuated by flashing lights and loud music, and the two women mirror each other’s movements as they dress – perhaps the one and only time they’re in sync with each other. It’s almost like this is their time to prepare for the next battle, but who will emerge the victor each time remains in doubt. Meanwhile Phil Lindley’s set features a door at either side – one for home, one for work – with an open space in between providing an arena for Sofia and Patricia’s clashes.

Merit is an intriguing play, drawing on themes we’re all familiar with, but setting the story in a country where the economic crisis was much deeper, which enables the plot to go to greater extremes; the only problem is it’s so extreme it becomes hard to believe or relate to. Perhaps with a little more personal background, we could better understand how the mild-mannered Patricia ends up taking the path she does. Nevertheless, this is a thought-provoking piece, skilfully staged and performed, with plenty to think about after you leave the theatre.

Can’t see the map on iPhone? Try turning your phone to landscape and that should sort it. I don’t know why but I’m working on it… 😉