As their showcase production of the Professional Pathways Programme at The Other Room, Yasmin and Samantha are presenting Crave by Sarah Kane, at The Other Room running between April 30th and May 11th 2019.
I met up with Director Samantha Jones, Producer Yasmin Williams and Assistant Director Nerida Bradley to chat about Crave, Sarah Kaneand the Professional Pathways Programme.
Why Crave? Why Sarah Kane? Why Now?
Being completely technical, for the Professional Pathways Programme I think this is exactly what we needed. There are no limitations, no rules, no guidance and that’s exactly what we needed from a script as a challenge and a gift.
When next are we going to get the opportunity to stage whatever we want with no limitations – Sarah Kane, obviously. It’s exactly the kind of work we’d like to see more of in Cardiff. The way it plays with form, but also what it says and what it means to people.
The Other Room opened with Sarah Kane and this play was an artistic turning point for her career. So, it just felt right, being the first Professional Pathways Programme at The Other Room and a turning point in our careers, to stage this play.
There are loads of reasons why this play is relevant now, but really what’s so great about Sarah Kane is that she’s so real she’ll always be relevant and so will Crave.
What does Sarah Kane mean to you as artists and people?
As an artist she’s bold and experimental. Her work is full of anger, but doesn’t fall into the trap of angst or the box people tried to put her in. She’s angry but it still feels feminine without the work needing to be about femininity. Just feminine through the way she uses language. Everything in the text is earned and the artists involved in her plays have to raise their game to her level.
As a person, she doesn’t make you feel judged, she just makes you feel and reflect. She can make you feel anything with her words. When I first read one of her plays, I had to read the others and read them all in one sitting. She’s just great.
What’s your aim with this piece?
Is it enough to say truth? Sarah Kane said, “I write the truth and it kills me,” so it’s important to stay true to that.
But also, Crave is written in a way that allows us to play and experiment. She was bold and experimental in writing this play, so we need to be the same in presenting it too.
It’s about what it means to be a human, the loneliness that comes with that, what love is, etc. We all have different perspectives and feelings in regard to this play, as I’m sure you will when you see it. Everyone will feel different things as the play is so true it relates to everyone individually. We want the audience to reflect and feel something about the themes, but more importantly about themselves.
Sam, considering how open the script is to a director’s interpretation, how are you approaching Crave as director?
Crave is a play that is always moving and changing as you work on it, so it’s more of a facilitation process, rather than direction and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s key working with Nerida, not only as one of the best assistants around, but as someone who loves Sarah Kane and understands the text in a way that is different, but just as brilliant, to me. The whole team, including Yasmin and the actors, the same. The moment someone puts their stamp on Sarah Kane is the moment the it dies. So, everyone in the room has a voice.
Yas, with the everchanging, undefined nature of the script and production process, how are you approaching Crave as producer?
One of the great things about the Professional Pathways Programme is that this is the first full-show I’ve produced on my own, and I’ve been trusted to do so. The experience has sort of confirmed my theory that nobody really knows what a producer is and it’s an everchanging role in theatre. But given me confidence in knowing that’s okay. There is no set of rules for a producer as the job changes so much from show-to-show.
Part of what makes producing Crave so great, is that I have to be involved in the creative discussion to do the job. It might be easier to produce if things were more set in stone, but as the piece is constantly moving forward and growing I need to stay on my toes and get involved in the room. It’s very hands on and it needs to be as I have to stay connected, artistically, to the production.
How have you found the past year at The Other Room as part of their Professional Pathways Programme?
The Professional Pathways Programme has been a great way to step into the world of professional theatre making. Building new relationships, especially with each other as this year has just made us want to work with each other more in the future. Opportunities to work with new writing with things like SEEN and Spring Fringe Script, working with Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama have also been super beneficial.
Learning how a theatre building works and runs, beyond the shows, has probably been the biggest thing to learn. And now getting to work on whatever play we want, being able to produce it and put it on for a full-run is the perfect way to end the year. Overall, it’s been an invaluable experience for both of us.
Nerida, as you’re on arts placement at The Other Room and assistant director on Crave, how have you seen Yas and Sam grow over the last year?
They were always capable of doing this. But they’ve just had the chance to prove it. They’ve not just done the job but really added to the discussion and put their ideas forward. In particular they’ve absolutely smashed the year in transforming SEEN and working on Spring Fringe Script amongst other things. It’s just so great that they’ve been given the opportunity and platform to show what they can do as well as learn and move forward.
Crave runs at The Other Room in Cardiff between April 30th and May 11th 2019. Presented in collaboration with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and The Other Room’s Professional Pathways Programme. You can read more about the production and the Professional Pathways Programme HERE.
Crave by Sarah Kane at The Other Room, Cardiff
30th April – 11th May 2019
Directed by Samantha Jones
Produced by Yasmin Williams
Starring:
C – Emily John
M – Johnna Watson
B – Benjamin McCann
A – Callum Howells
Assistant Directed by Nerida Bradley
Set Designed by Zoe Brennan and Mimi Donaldson
Sound Designed by Joshua Bowles
Lighting Designed by Ryan Joseph Stafford
Stage Managed by Millie McElhinney
Deputy Stage Managed by Emily Behague
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