In early 2011, performer Tracie Sammut embarked on a 20-week mentorship program to develop skills as a theatre workshop facilitator and present workshops for young people in partnership with Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP).
Ever After Theatre Company spent a week at Sydney Theatre Company in April, undertaking intensive workshops as part of a mentorship presented by Back to Back Theatre from Geelong in Victoria and supported by Australia Council for the Arts and Accessible Arts.
A mentorship involving eight performers from the Ever After Theatre Company, working under the guidance of Back to Back Theatre will take place in April in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts and Accessible Arts at Sydney Theatre Company.News
Touring theatre production moves access to centre stage
A partnership between Accessible Arts and Critical Stages, to support the NSW tour of UK modern classic A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, is educating performing arts venues about access and disability awareness.
A Day In The Death of Joe Egg by Peter Nichols is a theatrical portrait of young couple, Brian (Bri) and Shelia, trying to sustain connection in the face of ordinary emotional adversity, who also happen to have a 10 year old daughter called Joe with a disability. Part vaudeville, part tragedy and part comedy, the play was first staged in 1967 in Glasgow, Scotland UK and has been co-produced by Critical Stages and White Box Theatre for the NSW tour.
Accessible Arts has compiled a Performing Arts Venues Access Pack to inform presenting venues about access and disability awareness to support and promote the play to audiences inclusive of people with disability.
In an interview with the creative team, Becky Chapman from Accessible Arts finds out more about this play from the rehearsal room, as the actors prepare to tour A Day in the Death of Joe Egg throughout NSW.
Becky Chapman: How relevant is A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg for today’s contemporary Australian audiences?
Kim Hardwick (Director): The themes of maternal guilt, grief, prejudice, intolerance, religious righteousness and lost youth are not limited to a particular time. The play is a classic not because of the time in which it was written, but rather because of the human face that Nichols gives to a timeless situation.
Jonathan Gavin (who plays Bri): Back when I was a teenager, just starting on the path of becoming an actor, my father gave me an old copy of the play, which I put on my bookshelf thinking ‘boooring’. I confess I didn’t read it. I held onto it though for almost 20 years before finally thinking ‘I suppose I ought to read that’. And I was astounded at how fresh the play still is - it felt like a new play, vivid, hilarious, poignant. I wish I’d read it sooner.
Becky Chapman: Was it easy to find the humour in the play?
Jonathan Gavin: The play is incredibly funny to start with and it’s very much like a Noel Coward play in its crisp one-liners and it’s exceptionally well-observed comedy. Nothing brings people together like laughter – and it’s when we’re laughing together that we are best prepared to look into the face of the sadder parts of life.
Katrina Retallick (who plays Pam): The character of Pam, for instance, is hilarious because she sees nothing wrong with her views, or with expressing those views. She is tactless and self-righteous and it's my job to play the role with as much credibility as possible without my judgment getting in the way.
Becky Chapman: Who do you think this play will appeal to?
Jonathan Gavin: Anyone who has children, anyone who has ever been married, anyone who has ever had a mother - the play crosses all borders. It’s a very famous play that is not performed very often. It’s the sort of show that reminds people of what is special about live theatre, so if you love theatre, don’t miss it. And if you think you don’t enjoy the theatre, come too, because this play will change your mind.
Katrina Retallick: It is a play for everyone, really. It is a modern classic for a reason. True, creative and inspiring writing that takes you into the hearts of these characters and this situation. I was not part of the original production in 2007 and I consider myself very lucky. It was a deeply effecting night in the theatre as an audience member and has stayed with me.
Becky Chapman: What do you want your audience to experience from watching this production of the play?
Jonathan Gavin: That’s a tricky one. We’re not salespeople, so we’re not trying to convince people of anything in particular. But this play is one of those deeply rewarding gems of the theatre. It leaves you that bit richer when you leave than when you arrived. The play is one of the masterpieces of the 20th century, and it’s not performed very often, and that alone surely justifies a trip to the theatre.
Kim Hardwick: I would like people to be prompted to self-reflection as in ‘How would I respond in that situation?’ and to a greater appreciation of others in the situation of Brian and Sheila. I think the production also encourages reflection on one’s personal response towards prejudice and tolerance.
Katrina Retallick: [I would like people to leave with] a new empathy perhaps, a good debate in the bar after the show, and of course, a few soggy tissues from the laughing and the crying.
Becky Chapman: What part does the musical score play in this production?
Phil Scott, Composer: A lot of what happens in the play is below the surface. The married couple joke and act out little scenes to help them cope with the tragedy and misery in their lives. In the musical score, I have tried to suggest the underlying emotion that they struggle to keep control of. I’ve also tried to suggest something of the inner life of Joe Egg, who is virtually unable to express herself. It is easy to assume that someone like Joe with a profound disability feels nothing just because she cannot articulate her feelings, but that is not true. So, at some important moments, the music assists to communicate her inner life.
The NSW regional tour of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg commences 23 July 2010.