The Factory’s 50/50 project with Hampstead Theatre
Some thoughts from a grumpy Writer.
When I heard of this project, my instinct was to carry on being grumpy and find reasons not to give it a go. “Too busy” “Too tired” or “I’ll be damned if I miss any Arsenal games” are my usual excuses, but this time I thought I’d go along and at least see what it was all about. On my way to Hampstead my mind thought positive thoughts, such as “These people will annoy me” “They will definitely irritate me” and when I heard they had a manifesto I was tempted to make a quick escape, with images of the 1970’s, placards, and a hell of a lot of shouting coming to the fore of my imagination. Seen it all, done it all, can’t remember most of it.
At the introductory session, there was free wine, a sure fire hit with grumpies such as I, numerous actors mingled with a plethora of writers, all a bit unsure of what was in store for them. We were told to gather in a circle and again, my mind started a grumpy wandering. “If they think I’m going to hold hands and sing songs around the campfire….comrade…well, this lot has another thing coming!” Thus armed with a rather cynical attitude I listened to what Artistic Directors Tim Evans, Alex Hassell and Associate Federay Holmes had to say about their company, and then we watched some sample pieces of work performed. At the end of this introductory session they said something which made me pay attention, “We know our work is not for everyone, but we hope that some of you will come back next week and participate”. Factory members were charming, OK, I’d at least give it a go, still unsure of the work or process, I had a slight concern of course, after all hard work never killed anyone, but why chance it? Life’s too short and I want to die peacefully, in my sleep, like my father, not screaming, terrified, like his passengers.
The challenge for the writer, the parameters as I understand them, is to write a piece, not more than 10 minutes long, with not more than 3 characters, with no stage directions, and with the understanding that the roles might be played by any Factory actor, of any age, sex, race etc. Writers that are former professional actors, (like myself), may have an advantage in writing this way, as they should understand the processes actors go through in finding and creating characters. What’s clear to me in the process that the Factory adopts, is that what they wish to avoid at all costs, is what I’d call “creative calcification”, where an actor’s journey is not unique to that time, but a mechanical set of behaviours based on the recent past’s template.
As a writer that doesn’t use too many stage directions anyway I started to have a ball. Suddenly, I was being creative again, challenging myself, stretching my own ideas, being a big kid again, playing, in the true sense of “play”, and at each stage of this creative journey, the Factory were encouraging co-conspirators. I found the parameters a liberating experience, and each week the writers would be set a new challenge within those parameters. Could we write something that didn’t involve humans? Could we write something where two people are separated by a vast distance? A new layer, a new challenge. Cool!
At each session the writer is asked if they have brought in anything new, and how many actors will they need. Actors are then randomly selected to work on the piece. They sight read them, swapping roles. Sometimes, the Factory will challenge the writer’s precious duologue by saying “Let’s see what it sounds like as a monologue instead” and an actor is thrown in the deep end and told to do it. The Factory genuinely play with pieces, exploring just how far they can be pushed, and via that bravery of spirit, they encourage writers to push the envelope themselves. For example, we’re currently exploring a piece written in a particularly aggressive street vernacular, that has an intrinsic idiom and rhythm to it. Can such a piece be explored in new and creative ways? I believe the answer is Yes, but would never have believed it prior to working with this exciting company.
The 50/50 project has been one of the best artistic/creative choices I’ve made in recent years, I’ve loved every minute of the process, the challenge, the freezing cold Michael Frayn room, and I find it ironical that by giving writers rather confining parameters, the Factory has opened up a whole new exciting creative world!
