Act 2: An Act of Twisting Reaches The Bierkeller

Last time I handed my blog over to the lovely Natalie Remington, but now, as we perform in Bristol, it's back to me.

It's only been a couple of weeks since I saw the team, but I have missed them, as they have kept me laughing on and off stage for the last couple of months. 'An Act of Twisting' is a dark comedy about torture and it's been great to perform with three ladies who genuinely make me laugh.

Kate with The Captive Combatant Image Copyright Hannah Drake 2013

A humourous play about such a serious subject might sound incongruous but it's not flippant, it's deeply satirical. When Hannah (Drake, our Director) first discussed the play with me, she explained that Ian's initial inspiration came from a question: 'What would happen if you put the WI (Women's Institute) in charge of torture?'. It's an interesting, absurd premise and although the play has moved on from that idea, 'An Act of Twisting' introduces a group of women set the unenviable task of improving the National standards of torture and the man on whom they will be 'practising' their new techniques.

What I particularly like about the play is, although it sets up the premise that it will be a story about being a woman and how torture affects women, you realise that it's about being human and how torture forces us to question our human identity.

'The cruelest technique of all...' Image Copyright Hannah Drake 2013

As part of the rehearsal process we researched methods discussed in the play, such as Waterboarding and references to the effects of torture, such as The Stockdale Paradox, but ultimately we found ourselves exploring questions around being human and what drives people to torture others as well as the justifications for torture, all of which influence how our characters see their world. So I thought I'd include a couple of links to some of the topics we found ourselves discussing. Some are directly related to the play and some indirectly, but equally interesting:

Journalist Christopher Hitchens being Waterboarded (YouTube Video)
Jim Collins.com Audio file about The Stockdale Paradox
Wikipedia Entry: The Milgram Experiment
Information is Beautiful diagram: Left vs Right (US)
TED talk from Dr James Fallon

It's in the dark side of the research that you find the light. They often say that truth is stranger than fiction and sometimes the gags write themselves, never more so than in the reference to Michael Bolton's music in the show: it's true. I'm not going to give it away here, you'll have to see the show to understand what I am talking about, but, according to Ian's research, it's true.

Penelope gives a little demonstration. Image Copyright Hannah Drake 2013

The Bierkeller is a completely different space when compared to the Rondo, but it creates a more intimate experience and keeps it fresh for us as we find new things and new ways of approaching moments in the play. Which can be challenging, but also a lot of fun!

All in all, it's a great show, and we've had a brilliant response from our audiences. We finish at the Bierkeller on Thursday, 4th April so, at the time of posting, you only have to two more chances to catch the show in Bristol. It starts at 8pm and it would be great to see you there!

PS - I'd just like to say a huge thank you to our formerly 'undisclosed captives', Phil Coote, Calum Anderson and Ben Crispin, who spend the entire show gaffered to the chair (not all at the same time)!

Links

Tickets for 'An Act of Twisting'
The Bierkeller Theatre Website
Hannah Drake's Interview with 17percent

Why Blue? Natalie Remington on ‘An Act of Twisting’

‘An Act of Twisting’ starts at The Rondo, in Bath, this Wednesday (6th March 2013). It’s directed by Hannah Drake, written by Ian McGlynn and features myself (Annette Chown), Lizzy Dive, Kirsty Cox, Laura Fautley and undisclosed males in the cast.

Today I am handing my blog over to Natalie Remington our fantastic Designer. She has a few surprises in store that will transform The Rondo and mean you will see it as never before, so although she won’t be giving away her secrets here, you can find out about how she got involved and her inspiration when designing a dark comedy about torture.

Before I hand over, there’s another member of the team I need to mention: our brilliant lighting designer, Luke Emmett. That’s enough from me for the minute, now it’s over to Natalie:

Eflyer for 'An Act of Twisting'

“Hannah Drake and I worked together twice last year, on June's 'Fertility Objects', and 'Product Displacement' in November. It was soon after the latter that she mentioned she would be directing Ian McGlynn's play ‘An Act of Twisting’, and that she would very much like me to design it, which was nice. I had not seen or read the play previously, although I had seen one of McGlynn's previous works at The Rondo some time before. I find his plays extremely witty and darkly entertaining.  With his company Provocation he approaches difficult subjects with both humour and pathos. This particular piece held me from the start. I won't say too much as I'll spoil it, but let's just say it keeps you guessing until the end.

Lizzy and I in rehearsal, Photograph Copyright Hannah Drake 2013

One of the things I liked about it is that the script is a blank canvas. There are minimal stage directions, and literally nothing is said about staging, setting or context. Hannah and I were very clear that we wanted to work this out for ourselves from the offset - that it was essential for us to have a sense of place and time, even if it is not important for the audience. This helps us to explore the play as we can start to visualise a context.

Sneak peek of Natalie's costume design for the show. Image and design Copyright Natalie Remington 2013

The design for this version of An Act of Twisting is very different to how it was last staged at The Rondo in 2008. Key words are utilitarian, clinical, and stark. I looked at a lot of images of abandoned hospitals, as well as images of 1940s nurses and girl scouts. I was certain that I wanted the girls to have a uniform, but without giving the impression of military. I've been working with a brilliant seamstress called Nel Johnson, and I think they are going to look fantastic.

I've had a great time working on this production - and hope that you will enjoy seeing The Rondo as you've never seen it before.”

Natalie Remington
Designer - An Act of Twisting

‘An Act of Twisting’ runs at The Rondo 6th-9th March, but if you can’t catch us there, then we play at The Bierkeller in Bristol 31st March - 4th April 2013.

If you’d like to keep up to date with the production and see more behind-the-scenes photos, you can do so on the Downstage Write and Provocation Facebook pages or follow us on Twitter.

Links

Rondo Website
The Bierkeller Website
Downstage Write Facebook Page
Provocation Facebook Page
Rondo Facebook Page

The Team on Twitter

@DownstageWrite
@Natmakesdreams
@ProvocationTC
@rondotheatre
@HannahDrakeUK
@ianmcglynn
@lukejohnemmett
@Lizzybombizzy
@LauraJFautley

A blog post concerning an Actor trying to write about her involvement in a new play currently running at The New Diorama, or ‘I’m in Bunnies’ for short.

If you are reading this blog post before midnight on Sunday 28th October, you might still have time to take advantage of the ticket offer running via Time Out. You can see Bunnies for just £7 at The Diorama (on selected dates) if you book through Time Out, but the offer ends on Sunday 28th October. Here’s the link to the Time Out offer: http://uk-offers.timeout.com/deals/bunnies

Every time I’m in a play I have these grand plans to blog during the process and every time I realise that there’s no way that will happen until the show is up and running. So I’m typing this whilst sitting in my digs, listening to Radio 2, slurping a cup of tea and wondering if the condensation on the window is hiding the watermarks of rain on the other side, meaning this will be a waterproof-and-wellies day.

Don't trust the Bunnies...Photograph Copyright Annette Chown 2012

I am currently playing Eva in (to give it its full title), ‘A PLAY CONCERNING A FARMER’S RADICAL ATTEMPT TO RESTORE HIS LAND TO ITS SUPPOSED FORMER GLORY, AND THE DIFFERING REACTIONS OF HIS CHILDREN: OR BUNNIES (FOR SHORT)’, which is a dark satirical comedy, containing ‘swearing, violence and lots of taxidermy’. It’s definitely not one for the kids. Here’s some of the blurb from the flyer with more of what it’s about:

‘The once beautiful land is blighted by non-native species, including the grey squirrel, the Chinese mitten crab, the Siberian chipmunk, the Topmouth Gudgeon and, even, the European rabbit. They are wreaking havoc. Fortunately Stamper, a local farmer, has a solution.’

The play is written by Kieran Lynn (An Incident at The Border) and started life as a short play for The Bike Shed Theatre’s New Blood season in 2011. It went on to become a full-length play, won a Peter Brook Empty Space award and was performed at The Bike Shed Theatre in the Autumn. At the moment, if you search for the show on the web, you will probably find reviews relating to the first full-length production, but this is a different animal (see what I did there?), featuring a new cast (me, Jolyon Westhorpe and Richard Pulman) and a new director (David Lockwood). However, tonight is perhaps the scariest night of all: Press Night in London. So sooner or later there will be reviews floating around that relate to our production. Let’s hope they enjoy it...

Kieran watching from the sidelines, tweaking the script Photograph Copyright Annette Chown 2012

It is a comedy, but like all dark comedies it also makes us look at the world from a different angle. As the audience, we follow a ‘logical conclusion’ in Bunnies and for our director, it made him wonder how many steps it really is from, what he terms, ‘casual racism’ to extremism and ‘eradication’. Do ‘casual’ thoughts ultimately lead to extreme thoughts or does there have to be a catalyst that ignites extremism?
I don’t really want to give too much away, but hopefully, this has given you a flavour of what to expect and if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you can see more rehearsal photos and keep up to date with the show.

That's not a real frog, it is a real pencil. Photograph Copyright Annette Chown 2012

Before I finish this post I do just have to mention our programmes: I love them. They are published by Oberon Books and contain the script as well as biographies of those involved and only cost £3 if you buy them from theatres the play is visiting. If you want to buy the script at a later date, it will cost you more, so now’s the time to grab one. This will be the first time my biography appears in a published script, so for me, it’s extremely exciting!

Me excitedly holding a copy of the programme! Photograph Copyright Annette Chown 2012

Bunnies will be at The New Diorama until 3rd November, then we head to The Salberg Studio at The Salisbury Playhouse (6th - 10th November) and then we finish the tour in The Brewery at The Tobacco Factory in Bristol (13th - 24th November).

Useful Links

The New Diorama Bunnies Page
The Salisbury Playhouse Bunnies Page
The Tobacco Factory Theatre Bunnies Page
Oberon Books