Matthew Davies (writer) and Simon Gleisner (director) tell us about our much-anticipated Christmas show. Matthew – what was your inspiration for the show? In March of this year, I was backstage for His Dark Materials (the youth show that re-opened our theatre), chatting about ideas for the Christmas show. I was dressed as an Arctic Shaman, it was freezing inside the theatre, it was snowing outside and I was standing next to three children pretending to be a polar bear. […]
Director Dave Hollander talks to us about BU21, our next production and the second play by Stuart Slade this current SLT season. What drew you to directing this play? When I saw the original production at Theatre503, I was struck by the way Stuart Slade uses humour to discuss traumatising subject matter. While some of the characters remain haunted by flashbacks, others pepper their accounts with black humour. I remember coming out of the theatre thinking: “I can’t believe I’ve […]
Director Mark Ireson talks to us about Nell Gwynn, our lively production hitting the stage next week: What can you tell us about the historical context of the play? It’s the 1660s, a time of huge social upheaval only a few years since Charles II was restored to the throne after eleven years of Cromwell’s reign. The Puritan period is over – the theatres have reopened – but that doesn’t mean everything is calm. There’s a great deal of uncertainty […]
An inspiring space for young theatremakers to flourish With nearly 100 members aged from 7 to 18, SLT Youth Theatre has long been a vibrant part of the South London Theatre community, running continuously in West Norwood (at nearby St Luke’s) while the Old Fire Station was being renovated. Training director Dave Hollander explains how the group operates now and reveals its ambitious plans for the future. Our Saturday sessions run during term time and cover a wide range of […]
Director Joanna Ostrowska talks to us about her directorial debut Aspidistra Resistance, our production next week: This is a piece of new writing – what attracted you to directing it? Fundamentally, I really enjoyed reading the script. As I read it I could visualise it on stage straight away. I loved the characters and the fact that the play was set in the 1940s, ’70s and the 2000s. I knew that I wanted to be a part of bringing […]
Tom Melly tells us about his directorial debut Toad of Toad Hall, our next production at SLT Why did you choose this play? Toad forms my first memory of seeing ‘proper’ theatre. It still brings back memories of the smell and feel of red plush seats, the sound of the orchestra warming up, and the elaborate proscenium sets. It was a children’s play, but a very different experience from the pantomimes I’d seen up until then, and I fell in […]
Naomi Liddle tells us about her show The Misanthrope, our next production at SLT This is your second Molière play for SLT – what’s the attraction for you? I originally came across The Hypochondriac rather by accident and fell in love with the way that Roger McGough transposed the original text into shamelessly modern speech while keeping the rhyming structure. I had been thinking of doing another of McGough’s translations but then came across Martin Crimp’s version of The Misanthrope and was hooked. Molière […]
Guy Jones tells us about No Exit, his directorial debut and our next show at SLT You’ve been drawn to this play for a long time – what is it that fascinates you? I saw it on TV when I was a teenager, with Omar Sharif and Cherie Lunghi, and was engaged by the subversion of the notion of the afterlife. As I matured and revisited it though, the themes of identity and power dynamics within personal interactions became more […]
Lisa Thomas gives us the inside story on directing this popular play, our next show at SLT What do you think is the enduring appeal of Alan Ayckbourn, and especially this play? Alan Ayckbourn is an explorer of seemingly ordinary people and the strangeness and eccentricity that lurks beneath everyday lives. I was looking for a play about theatre and performance to do in the new theatre space. Originally I thought of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, with its intricate onstage […]
We interview Anna Rubincam about Miss Julie, her directorial debut at SLT. This play caused a furore when it premiered. Can you give us some context? Written in 1888, and censored even in its native Sweden, Miss Julie wasn’t allowed to be performed in England for another 50 years. The forbidden relationship between an aristocrat and her servant was considered too undermining to the natural order for English audiences, who called it “disgusting”, “vulgar” and “a heap of ordure”. Despite […]