Preview: Contractions

I first read Contractions at drama school in 2015 when I played The Manager. What struck me is how brutally dark this play really is (even though it’s still a comedy). I don’t think I’d ever read such a dark comedy before, but since it’s one of my favourite genres and is so cleverly written, I thought it would be a good opportunity to direct it. As a first time director at SLT (I’ve directed elsewhere before), I thought this two-hander would make an excellent SLT debut – and it’s a short one!

Set in an office, you’ll meet two characters – Emma (an employee, played by Marissa Ferrara) and her boss (known as The Manager, played by Cal Beckett). The play starts off pretty much business as usual (BAU) when Emma is called into the Manager’s office. However, as things progress over a series of short scenes, it soon becomes very apparent that all is not well, and the boundaries between work and play start to become very blurred….

One of the main challenges was making a decision on how to stage the play, as there were a few possible options. I knew that I wanted the stage to be very small, and that I wanted the audience to be very close to the stage in order to intensify the feeling of intimacy and claustrophobia. With the help of my set designer I’m confident that we came up with the best solution, so I hope the audience will get that sense of having nowhere to hide.

I think the audience will be surprised by how dark this play is (as I was when I first read it!). Thankfully, there are some very funny moments too, though they’re perhaps not always comfortable laughs. The situation Emma finds herself in can almost be described as absurd. However, I’m pretty sure that some elements of her experience will be relatable to anyone who has ever worked in an office – though perhaps not quite so extreme.

Short, sharp, shocking