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Interview: Heather Fairbairn, The Mutant Man

Published on March 14, 2017March 14, 2017 by LizLeave a comment

How much have we really progressed over the last century in our understanding and treatment of gender? This is the question posed by Christopher Bryant’s The Mutant Man, which has its world premiere at The Space on 28th March.

“The Mutant Man is about challenging the stereotypes of gender,” says director Heather Fairbairn. “The play follows the true story of Harry Crawford, who lived in the early 20th century. In this psychological thriller, Harry grapples with his gender identity, faces an arranged marriage, attempts to disappear at sea, and, when charged with the alleged murder of his wife, is subjected to an unfair trial focussed more on questions of gender than on guilt or innocence.

“That said, the play is not naturalistic, let alone linear. If you could imagine the Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse adapting Netflix’s Making a Murderer for stage, you would be well on the way to forming a picture of The Mutant Man.”

Heather was drawn to the play, first and foremost, by the quality of the writing. “Christopher Bryant’s multi-award-nominated script is a testament to excellence in new playwriting. I was already a fan of Bryant’s work, and when he sent The Mutant Man to me, I could see it would be an excellent foundation to build a production from. When the writing is this good, one can take more risks with the staging.

“The Mutant Man was written around four years ago and has received numerous semi-staged readings since. We recently presented an excerpt at Theatre N16’s HerStory: Feminist Theatre Festival, and further afield in Melbourne, where Bryant is based, an excerpt of the play was included in Gasworks Arts Park’s Midsumma Festival as part of their ‘Playtime Staged Readings’ of new queer theatre. Even so, our production is the world premiere of the full work. To find such a strong, politically relevant, new play, that hasn’t been staged yet, is a rare and exciting treat for a director.”

Though the events described take place in the early 20th century, the story has just as much to say 100 years later. “Given the current political climate, arguably any story that aims to smash a societal framework of prejudice is an important one to hear,” says Heather. “The Mutant Man in particular exposes historical and continuing injustices facing members of the LGBTQIA community, yet ends with hope for the future.

“It explores the beginnings of Western society’s understanding of gender diversity; suggesting that, though the events in the play took place about a hundred years ago, our comprehension hasn’t grown much in the intervening years. Through the portrayal of historical events, the play highlights some unfortunate but necessary parallels between the intolerance of the early 1900s and the intolerance we’re consistently seeing now towards anyone, regardless of gender, who does not fit accepted stereotypes. The play is almost Brechtian in that regard: using a setting of another time and place to afford the audience with objectivity about what is happening here and now.

“I hope The Mutant Man contributes to the larger current discourse about the non-binary nature of gender and encourages audiences to disregard archaic gender stereotypes. At its heart, this inherently feminist play promotes the positive values of compassion, acceptance, and equality.”

The production is supported by the Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation, who champion LGBT positive arts projects inspired by history. “Their support has been invaluable to the development of The Mutant Man,” says Heather. “In 2015, Christopher Bryant was the first Australian to be shortlisted for the AABB Foundation’s playwriting award when The Mutant Man won an Honourable Mention in the competition. For the upcoming premiere season, I’m collaborating with a great team, including designer Charlotte Henery and lighting designer Sean Gleason. We’ve been fortunate to receive continued support from the Foundation in the form of a production grant, which will enable us to realise the design elements of the production.”

As a theatre and opera director, Heather’s worked all over the world, in a career that’s already full of highlights. “The one that jumped straight to mind was working as Assistant Director to Katie Mitchell on Ophelias Zimmer. I had worked with Katie Mitchell previously, but to do so at the Schaubühne – an institution I have long admired, with Simon McBurney creating Beware of Pity in the neighboring studio, and productions directed by Ostermeier and Castellucci showing at night, it was an exhilarating experience for me as an early career director.

“Another highlight has been collaborating with composer Ana Seara and librettist Sophie van der Stegen. We met in Munich last year whilst participating in a workshop about new music theatre for young audiences. During that weeklong workshop, we created a short opera, and we haven’t stopped creating work together since. We currently have an immersive adaptation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute in repertory at the Music Chapel in Belgium, and three other projects at various stages of development.”

The Mutant Man is Heather’s UK directorial debut: “So, this project marks a homecoming of sorts for me. I grew up in Nottinghamshire before moving to London by myself when I was 17 to attend The BRIT School. After The BRIT School, I continued my studies in Australia, but since graduating from NIDA in Sydney, most of my practice has been Europe-based. The Mutant Man, a project I am so passionate about, felt like the right work to return home with.”

The Mutant Man is at The Space from 28th March-8th April.

Review: Where the Hell is Bernard? at The Space

Published on October 28, 2016January 6, 2018 by Liz1 Comment

I love a good bit of dystopia. Hard to say why, although I think what I find most fascinating is the psychology of it all. What is it that’s led humanity to this point? What keeps them there? And what happens if someone suddenly sees another way to go?

Where the Hell is Bernard? from Haste Theatre addresses two of these three questions. We never find out what happened, but somehow we find ourselves in The Vine, a walled city from which it’s forbidden to leave. Tannoy announcements explain that productivity is the ultimate goal; that citizens will be executed on their 80th birthday (but hey, at least they get to choose how they die); that young women should keep having regular sex in order to keep the population stable. It’s a terrifying, stark environment governed by unseen leaders, in which every action is monitored, and any protest brings the death penalty.

Inside a towering office block, four identical blonde women from the lost property department go about their daily work, reuniting items with their owners through a bizarre combination of physical sense and mental deduction. They know what needs to be done, and it never occurs to them not to do it; productivity is, after all, the ultimate goal. When the returned belongings of a man called Bernard bounce back, the women are given 24 hours to head out into the city and find him – but it soon becomes clear Bernard doesn’t want to be found…

The show combines physical theatre, puppetry, song and dance to bring to life the grim world of The Vine and the contrasting beauty that still exists outside its walls. We see each new location through the eyes of the four performers, whose initial confidence ebbs away to be replaced by discomfort, fear and wonder as they venture further and further from what they know. Elly Beaman Brinklow, Valeria Compagnoni, Jesse Dupré and Sophie Taylor work well as a unit, powerfully conveying their emotions through facial expressions and movement; in one particularly effective sequence we feel their panic as they search for Bernard with increasing desperation, while in another we sense their peaceful resolution. Lighting and sound effects from Katrin Padel and Paul Freeman also play a big part in establishing each setting, and especially in highlighting the different environments on either side of the wall.

Where the Hell is Bernard? offers us an extreme example of a society so influenced by its leaders that it’s lost all identity. It’s a glimpse into a disturbing future, but there are also echoes of an equally terrifying past (and a more than slightly worrying present). In this scenario, Bernard’s quiet rebellion and the women’s enlightenment offer a faint glimmer of hope that all is not completely lost.

The only problem is that said enlightenment and peaceful resolution seem to come a little too easily. The implication is that the women have been governed by The Vine for at least as long as they can remember, if not their whole lives, and it didn’t sit right with me that such deep-rooted obedience could be overturned so quickly. The show’s certainly enjoyable enough to be longer than its current 50 minutes, so it would be fascinating to explore more deeply the conflict between the characters’ new-found knowledge and everything they’ve ever been told.

All that said, Where the Hell is Bernard? is still a work in progress, and will I’m sure only get better over time. The show’s already both entertaining and thought-provoking in its content and performance, and it has the potential to develop even further into something really special.

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: Haste Theatre, Where The Hell is Bernard?

Published on October 9, 2016 by Liz1 Comment

“Our aim is to devise innovative work that tells stories which provoke question, thought, laughter and enjoyment. We want to excite and stimulate our audiences, making them experience the world in a slightly different way,” explains Jesse Dupre, one of the five founders of Haste Theatre. Since meeting while doing a Masters in Physical Theatre together in 2012, the all-female group has been working continuously, making a total of three shows. Where the Hell is Bernard? will be their fourth.

“Where the Hell is Bernard? is a futuristic dark comedy about daring to be individual when everything is forcing you to blend in,” summarises Jesse. “We started talking about the book that inspired the show just before Christmas last year, thought about it over the holidays, then did a very initial couple of R&D days in January. In April we read books, watched films and studied historical events that we individually thought could work with the story to inspire new ideas. As we were still touring our other shows from May, we came back to the devising process again in August before the intensive rehearsals began in September and October.”

So where did the idea come from? “The idea of four women looking for a man named Bernard came up over a cup of tea with one of our brothers in a garden in Canterbury when we were on tour last June. It wasn’t a fully formed narrative at that time, but just before Christmas we found a book called The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasalina, about a photo journalist who runs away from his normal life to follow a hare through the wilderness of Finland for a year, after nearly killing it with his car. The idea of a man deserting life in a city and going completely off the grid really stuck with us, so we started thinking about city workers, interviewing some about their daily routines and what it means to disappear so suddenly and entirely. As we spoke about this, the idea of the four women searching for Bernard came back to us!

“We brought in a wide range of other influences including 1984, Logan’s Run, Black Mirror and the art movement ‘Vortism’. We also researched life in cults and life under totalitarian governments, to shape a new narrative that reflects a lot on modern society, retaining the essence of but not entirely mirroring The Year of the Hare. We hope that audiences will be immersed in our highly intense world, while we tackle potentially dark and troubling subjects through a light-hearted and playful approach, and that they’ll be surprised and entertained by our creative use of set and other design elements.”

The show features a mix of puppetry, clown, music and song. “It’s got something for everyone,” says Jesse. “The fact that we’re an all-female group, with different talents and skills including various languages – Italian, French, Russian – musical abilities – clarinet, saxophone, ukulele, guitar – and dance and physical training – tap, ballet, contemporary, gymnastics – helps us to bring unique touches to all of our shows.

“Our specialities are in dark comedy and clown-like characters, which has shaped the material a great deal. We knew that we wanted some ‘set pieces’ which would be choreographed movement sections, a song, multi-use of set and props etc, which act as anchors that drive the story and characters forward. These are then linked together with slightly more realistic scenes.”

Haste Theatre have performed their shows – and won awards – all over the world. “I would say that one of the best places we’ve performed is San Diego,” says Jesse. “We were there in 2013 for their inaugural fringe festival, and were the only international artists that year. We were performing on a great outdoor stage, and the audiences were so enthusiastic and supportive. Touring internationally was an amazing opportunity for us as a young company, as it was a totally new experience and helped us to develop as artists.”

The world premiere of Where the Hell is Bernard? is supported by the Arts Council, which has proved invaluable: “It’s meant so much to us, to be able to practically make the show we want. Often we work with very small budgets that do spark creativity, as we have to come up with new ways of making things, but it can also bring about challenges for us. With the Arts Council funding, it has been amazing to be able to employ professional designers and choreographers to help us fully realise the world we imagined. They bring so much more to the show, and we are very appreciative.”

Where the Hell is Bernard? is at The Space from 25th-29th October.