Opening Night: The Myth of Escape

Opening night review of The Myth of Escape by guest blogger Laura Maley who joined us on day four of rehearsals.

On the anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings and the day which saw a phone hacking scandal bring the closure of the News of the World, I found it quite appropriate to see The Myth of Escape and take from it themes of reality, trust and truth, personal and political freedom and power and control.

Having seen most of acts 2 and 3 in early rehearsals, I didn’t know what happened at the very end of the play – or even how the story began.

Act 1 was all new territory for me, but it is brilliantly and darkly funny – I hadn’t expected to be made to think as much as I was made to laugh. Billy’s bizarre story about a dog and what it prompts him to do will make you choke laughing, as well as question his sanity. I was really surprised by what happens in act 1, and how it fits with acts 2 and 3. I certainly wasn’t prepared for Billy’s reason for his crime! Given Alex’s imaginings and meltdown in act 2, I was surprised by his calm self-assuredness during act 1 and his certainty in his strategy to avoid all questions and escape the probing of his interrogators. Chris’s early meeting with Billy was another surprise. Her cold manipulation seemed so calculated when contrasted with her concern for Billy – I wasn’t sure which parts of her personality were ‘real’, she’s quite an automaton, which I had already gathered from rehearsals.

So, what was different from my ‘in-rehearsal’ viewing of acts 2 and 3?

Obvious differences of course include costume and a lack of script-holding. The stage was, I think, maybe shallower than in rehearsal – but with careful plotting of movement and direction, it didn’t feel like I was watching a small stage, or that performances were in any way inhibited.

I thought the storytelling element of Alex’s long monologue (act 3) came across very strongly and was supported in its dramatic unfolding by Billy and Chris being with him and reacting to it as it progressed. There was a real sense of awe and wonder in the details of what he was relaying.

It’s fair to say I’m still not entirely sure how the story began; I still have plenty of unanswered questions about how the characters got to where they are at the beginning. Why’s Alex in prison? Why does Billy return? Are the two men deliberately put in adjacent cells? Why can they hear each other through thick stone walls? Are the people who judge and punish in a society really fit to be doing that? But I think that audience members will each have their own interpretations, which is just one reason why The Myth of Escape is so interesting.

4 stars – Laura Maley for Cultural Shenanigans.

Work experience: Day 5 Getting The Gun

Blog by Kathleen, a 15 year old budding TV producer from Salford who joined us for the week.

LAST DAY

After a great week today was my last day of work experience and I spent it in the rehearsals of ‘The Myth of Escape’ in the Adelphi building with John and the cast.

They started off with a run through of act 3 a section that I hadn’t seen yet, up to that point I had only seen a speed run of Act 1 and some rehearsals of act 2. I think that the last act contains a really good, well directed and well acted conclusion. Afterwards John gave out his notes that he had been writing during the run through. I hadn’t noticed any of the points he had written down while watching and I’m sure any other new audience would have either but it’s a director’s job to make any play the best it can be and that’s exactly what John was doing.

During the lunch break Susi picked up the gun that was going to be used in the play and many phone calls were made to make sure that they had enough time to do a tech and dress rehearsal in Salford studio to make sure it’s ready. The group waited for a phone call from Rob Johnston to see if they could go down and have more hours of rehearsal instead of two. Unfortunately the space was being used and they moved on to a complete run through of the play.

Firstly to warm up John got them to play the very entertaining game of stand up, sit down, lie down where each person had to do one of the three at all times and change now and again while running the lines of a scene. They also played a game with the props which was to grab the prop named and begin a scene from the play with it. After we altered the room to fit the size of the stage in Studio Salford including marking out the size of the wings with chairs either side or then the play stated.

One of the many great aspects of the performance was that there was no point where a member of the audience would drift off. For me the dialogue and the acting kept my attention for the full hour and fifty minutes even on the acts I had already seen. This is defiantly a performance that an audience member will think about days after they have left unlike other plays because it is remarkably unique and because the plot leaves the audience room to think.

It was unfortunate that it was my last day. The week was a fantastic work experience opportunity and a hundred times better than my original work experience which was in Salford Precinct in Co-operative travel. I enjoyed every day of it and I thank everybody I met and worked with for a brilliant five days.

Work experience: Day 4 In Rehearsals

Blog by Kathleen, a 15 year old budding TV producer from Salford who joined us for the week.

IN REHEARSALS
Today, on the fourth day of my work experience with Happystorm I came along to the rehearsals of ‘The Myth of Escape’ in the Adelphi building, which is part of Salford University and had a handy space to practice the play.

I was able to sit next to John the director and watched as they ran through certain sections of ‘The Myth of Escape’. It is exactly a week before opening night so the play was almost completely finished and from what I saw it was looking great. Firstly James and Andrew started with a speed run of Act 1 which is set in the prison and even this run looked good because of John’s blocking for the scene and because of the amount of lines that both actors had memorized.

I don’t want to give too much away to anybody going to see the performance but I think that all aspects of the play are very clever and extremely well thought out and these aspects include the dialogue, the characters and especially the staging created by Rob Johnston, where two rooms are merged together as one so the characters appear to be in the same space but are actually separate directing their voices at the dividing wall. Genius!

After this we had a Lunch break where John told us the origins of the drink Fanta and everyone used a certain knock to get in to the rehearsal room which was just actually one loud bang on the door to show that we weren’t students asking to use the room. Then the group started to work on Act two which is also another original part of ‘The Myth of Escape’ that is going to bring different feelings  to the audience as another character played by Susie is introduced.

I left for the day before the cast and John started an official run of Act one and this is because the next day I am going to be seeing a full run through of the play which I am definitely looking forward to.

It was interesting to see a director at work making suggestions to the actors who also use their talents to show the characters personality through the dialogue and actions. It was also very significant to see the process of a professional rehearsal and after watching this I am even more eager to see the play and also ‘The Myth of Escape’ trailer.

Work experience: Day 3 Out and About Flyering

Blog by Kathleen, a 15 year old budding TV producer from Salford who joined us for the week.

FLYERING IN SALFORD
Today it was a 10:30 start again at Innospace and I had gone in knowing that I will be traveling with Clare to various locations asking to show the posters and flyers of ‘The myth escape’ but first I finished off the previous days blog.

Once this was all done and dusted I moved on to more of the websites that needed changing with the new image and the new blurb until about twelve and after a break the flyers arrived. As soon as I saw them I knew they looked extremely professional and very eye-catching; if I walked past and saw them I would definitely pick one up to see what they’re about and of course others would as well, it was just a case of getting them to a place where they would be seen.

This is the task Clare had brought me along to do with her and we set off to the Adelphi house (the building that I will be spending both Thursday and Friday in to see the rehearsals of the performance). Here we passed half of the flyers over to Susie and she gave us the posters to put up as well, it was here that Clare realized she had forgotten the blue tack to put up the advertisements.

Firstly we reached the Church, which I found out was the venue for ‘The Crypt Project’ unfortunately it was closed. After buying blue tack (which was left behind again in the shop and had to be fetched!) we got to one of the venues which is part of the ‘Not part of festival’ which includes plays that are ‘not part of’ a festival taking place in Manchester, here we put up the larger poster and added our flyers to the others which I thought were prominent over the rest because of the use of bright red.

The next venue was where Happystorm’s production was being premiered to the public which was Studio Salford, this was a great place to advertise the play and we went in (After the blue tack was lost in the car by Clare!) to add the advertisements. The final venue we fit in was Salford Arts Theatre who where happy to let us put down a lot of the flyers.

I thought today was very productive and again it was another part of the running of any Theatre company. Without this job being done there would be no way the public could here about it other than on websites. A good point made by Clare was that if a person notices an advertisement and then sees it again in another venue they are definitely going to be encouraged to see it. By the end of the day I found I had learnt many things such as what the ‘Not part of’ festival is, how to get your production noticed and that blue tack doesn’t seem to like Clare.

Work experience: Day 2 In The Office

Blog by Kathleen, a 15 year old budding TV producer from Salford who joined us for the week.

IN THE OFFICE
Today’s starting time was 10.30 and straight away I met Clare who runs the marketing for Happystorm theatre who I spent the day with seeing how her job works. First, of course, I got a tour of Innospace, (Happystorm’s office) which, as I found out today, was a space where people with a company would pay and run their business using the facilities. After being shown the location of Clare’s milk and the Happystorm cupboard I sat down to finish yesterday’s blog. This took me up to round about twelve o’clock but once that was done and I had had a lunch break I could start working on the first of the tasks given.

On the Happystorm website a question and answer feature had been added which could be reached through facebook. On this any visitor would be able to see the answers of fourteen different questions from Mike (filmmaker), Katie (set designer), Susi (actor/producer), Matt (Director/producer), Rob (writer), John (stage director), James (actor), Andrew (actor) and Laura (Blogger).

My job was to put the answers of those involved together to the questions so that they can be put on the site. The questions where perfectly related to ‘The Myth of Escape’ and they will help the reader to know more about those involved with Happystorm theatre. For example one of the questions was ‘If you were sent to prison, who would be your nightmare cell-mate?’ I couldn’t help reading some of the answers to this. James’ answer was understandably ‘Jedward’, and Laura’s answer to ‘What is your biggest fear?’ was also understandably ‘the Justin Beiber phenomenon’. I also found out that the myth Matt believed in when he was younger was that Aslan was living in his wardrobe.

This took me a while but after I moved on to the next task which was related to the advertising of ‘The Myth Escape’. My job was to change the image, blurb and link for buying tickets on certain websites making the play more likely to grab a person’s attention. For some sites Clare had to phone them up to asked the information to be changed but on others it could be quick and easy because Happystorm was signed up to the sites such as Creative Times, Where Can We Go and School of Everything.

This day was completely the opposite of yesterday when I spent around four hours on Location, but it was just as enjoyable and useful. This was because I got to see the other side of a production which is how the advertising is done and I will be getting to see a lot more of this tomorrow.

Work experience: Day 1 On Location

Blog by Kathleen, a 15 year old budding TV producer from Salford who joined us for the week.

ON LOCATION
It was only the first day of my work experience with Happystorm theatre and already I was In the middle of the action with a brilliant opportunity.

I was lucky enough to be brought along to the filming of their trailer directed by Matthew for ‘The Myth of Escape’ an ingenious sounding play written by Rob Johnston where Billy (played by James) and Alex (played by Andrew) find themselves in cells alongside each other neither of them knowing fully why they are there, but what they do know is that someone wanted them locked away. John is the director of Happystorm theatres production of this play who also came along to the shoot and took many photographs.

I arrived at Happystorm’s offices at 11.45 and after a conversation with Susi we set off to Bolton. The location appeared to be the perfect setting for this prison related drama with it being in the former Bolton police station in the well chilled cells, where the best out of four cells was selected as Billy’s to shoot in. I was told that a theme in the play was isolation and this will definitely be shown to the audience through the size of the room.

Andrew got into his costume and character being the first to be filmed. Mike started the camera rolling with the first shot where John’s (a member of film crew) hand-made wooden Dolly was put to good use being pushed forward and back for another take. It unfortunately wouldn’t fit in the doorway of the cell, but the crew persevered and managed to get a version of the intended shot. It was really useful because it was the first time seeing how technical it was to get the camera position and shot you want when on a set.

As a person who would love to be a part of the film crew on sets whether it is a small or large role, I found that the whole four hours we spent in the police cells filming extremely insightful in many ways. For instance I found that the crew filmed different versions of the scene so that in the edit the best can be chosen and put together to make the scene. This included the actors tone when they said their line, the way Susi walked down the corridor as her character and also the position of the camera.

The full day was also very entertaining with everybody having a good sense of humour, especially when Matthew found he had bought James skinny jeans accidentally. It was also especially enjoyable when I got the opportunity to where the heads phones while the camera was rolling, I was asked to say action and cut which of course was a great feeling and something I, as well as lots of people who want to work on sets, have always wanted to do.

At the end of the day I’m sure everybody was tired but I think all the crew and actors where happy with what they had come out with. I thought that the trailer was already looking brilliant and well made from everything I had seen. The last section that was filmed I was able to stand in the room when Mike and Matt were filming Susi’s line at the door. It was a brilliant ending to the advertisement and I’m sure everybody who sees this professional trailer will want to see ‘The Myth of Escape’ I know I am going to.

A sneak preview of The Myth of Escape

The Myth of Escape – a guest blogger’s view by Laura Maley

Writing about a play on day four of rehearsals may seem a little unfair. Lines aren’t fully learnt, scripts are clutched and the movement certainly isn’t fully choreographed. But watching a rehearsal allows me a fascinating glimpse into how performances and characters develop in two scenes, even in the space of a few hours.

First impressions reveal a tiny stage area marked in red tape on the floor of a rehearsal room at the University of Salford’s Adelphi Building. John Garfield-Roberts, director and Matthew Ganley, assistant director, agree that this space could even be bigger than the Salford Studio floor space where the play opens on 7 July. I immediately wonder how on earth the three actors will contain their movement in rehearsal; and then we begin…

Worlds collide
The first scene I watch is in act 2. Different scenes, times and relationships seem to happen at the same time on the same stage. This is immediately confusing for someone who hasn’t read the script or seen the first act. A coat ready on a table for Ellie (Susi Wrenshaw) to put on is in the way of the rucksack Billy (James Jowett) needs later. Layering different events and times must needs careful planning and clear directional vision.

The scene shows a couple getting ready for work in the morning. A couple doesn’t just come together in a single rehearsal, the physical intimacy; the affectionate gestures need practice to become natural for actors and audience alike. That’s something Susi and Andrew (Roberts-Palmer, playing Ellie’s partner Alex) will be able to work on, and will surely become even easier without scripts in hand.

After a second reading John and the cast agree a number of things they will work on before they agree on the movement within the scene the following day. They need to work on how to establish the relationship between Alex and Ellie, to explore why Alex is having flashbacks and to find the best way of showing the audience how Alex describes Ellie to Billy.

John describes Billy as a sprite, “the comical force” of the piece, and he provides plenty of laughs both from the lines he speaks, but also physically from an echoed movement or just a look between characters. In fact, when you come and see the play, look out for a hilarious and unexpected phone call for Billy.

There’s a moment where Andrew’s manifestation of emotion is in danger of detracting from what is happening in the script. It’s both physical and audible (he made me jump while my head was down taking notes!). Advice from John there was to remember where he was in that particular moment, but to hold something back from rehearsals for the actual performances.

The smallest gesture needs to be unpicked and analysed
Chris (also played by Susi Wrenshaw – all will become clear to the audience…) crosses her legs when she sits down. I didn’t notice that happen, so John and Matthew must have hawk eyes… There’s some discussion about the leg cross – is it on purpose? Does it show she’s relaxed? Does doing it take away her power in that scene? Should she be more officious and formal? I realise that every small movement needs to be done with absolute purpose, in order to fully build a character and make them believable for an audience.

Lines are there to be played with…?
That may not be what a playwright would say, who’s sweated blood and lost sleep over particular phrasing or finding exactly the right word, but I think it’s true. When actors speak the lines in front of them they sometimes need a small tweak, possibly a snip here and there. Later in this particular scene the actors explore running some lines on top of one another. I think this works quite well, with two people talking at once to Alex; it adds to the confusion in his mind about what is real and what isn’t, and the same is communicated to the audience.

Nearly the last words of the play
The second scene I watched in rehearsal was Alex’s monologue at the very end of the third and final act.

After the emotional intensity of what had gone before, this scene was about telling a story; a story which seems to me to feed the rest of the play. It’s about a tender moment, for which John suggests Andy use Stanislavskiyan ‘emotional memory’ technique. It sounds very technical to an untrained blogger, but it seems to mean the actor fixing on a memory from your own life and bring the emotions connected with that to life. It really works; Andy’s expression changes and his delivery now softens with his description of his sleeping partner.

Frustratingly I didn’t get to see the final page of the play; I was this close to finding out how it ends up! I can live with the not knowing, for now, so I will be on tenterhooks as much as the rest of the audience on opening night.

Thank you!
Thanks to John Garfield-Roberts, Matthew Ganley, Susi Wrenshaw, James Jowett and Andrew Roberts-Palmer for so generously welcoming me along and letting me spend the morning with you.