As always it takes us a little while post-production to get a blog out. This time more so than most as Low and I whisked off on a sunny getaway just moments after For Our Tomorrow finished!
I should start off by saying thank you to everyone who came over the two nights. We appreciate it so much! Especially given they were mid-week, fairly late performances. Those who dealt with rail-replacement buses are heroes in our minds! We had a great time and the feedback has been amazingly positive. And no ones mentioned the ropey lights operated by yours truly so clearly I got away with that one!
If you weren't able to make it to the shows then fear not - I'll be adding some "production" photos (AKA pictures I took on my phone during dress rehearsal which will be heavily filtered before publishing) onto our Instagram and Facebook pages soon.
I'm sure I've said this before but it bears repeating how incredibly lucky TwentySomething are to have such wonderful people want to work with us. We simply couldn't have made For Our Tomorrow without the dedication and enthusiasm of our actress, Rowan, Jacqueline and Alex. It was no mean feat, getting to Edinburgh for late and long rehearsals in cold rooms, not to mention dealing with re-writes only a few weeks before the performance (sorry again Alex!) and they dealt with it all like the complete and utter professionals that they are. I can only hope that we haven't scared them all off and that we'll be able to work with them again sometime soon!
Up next for TwentySomething... who knows?! We'll keep you posted!
Sweeney x
Friday, 4 November 2016
Monday, 26 September 2016
Progress
I don't know how your Sunday night was but mine was fantastic. Last night we showed For Our Tomorrow to a small group of invited audience members (eg. My parents, Alex's mum and assorted pals). It was great to have a proper audience - albeit one that was predisposed to positivity. The idea behind last night was for us to get feedback on how the play is shaping up and how we're staging it. Luckily everyone we invited had notes for us: parents can be surprisingly cutting - I'm looking at you Valerie!
It's always nerve-wracking to ask for feedback on work, especially when it's at such an early stage, but it has given us a few things to think about during the next few weeks.
By choosing to perform a play set during the First World War we've given ourselves a lot more work than we needed to. Low and I have spent a long time talking about how our limited (non-existent) budget will affect how we can make it clear to an audience when the play is set. Our thoughts, in general, are that naturalistic setting and costume only work when they can be done well. Realistically we can't create an authentic looking 1914s living room inside Roxy Central and so we aren't going to! Likewise our costumes won't be historically accurate either! Instead we're going to be giving a nod to the period without being too precious about naturalism!
Our other challenge is performing in the round. If anyone saw Sex and God, Low's first foray into directing in Dundee, you'll know that we love a play in the round. However it isn't easy to block, or light for that matter - but that might just be my inability to use a lighting desk. Roxy Central is a beautiful space too and so we want to make the best use of it we can.
Low and our actresses have a few more weeks of rehearsals before the show opens properly in October. I'm going to try not to send over too many rewrites in the meantime!
A reminder- Tickets are on sale on the Assembly Roxy website and we'll be selling them on the door too.
Sweeney x
It's always nerve-wracking to ask for feedback on work, especially when it's at such an early stage, but it has given us a few things to think about during the next few weeks.
By choosing to perform a play set during the First World War we've given ourselves a lot more work than we needed to. Low and I have spent a long time talking about how our limited (non-existent) budget will affect how we can make it clear to an audience when the play is set. Our thoughts, in general, are that naturalistic setting and costume only work when they can be done well. Realistically we can't create an authentic looking 1914s living room inside Roxy Central and so we aren't going to! Likewise our costumes won't be historically accurate either! Instead we're going to be giving a nod to the period without being too precious about naturalism!
Our other challenge is performing in the round. If anyone saw Sex and God, Low's first foray into directing in Dundee, you'll know that we love a play in the round. However it isn't easy to block, or light for that matter - but that might just be my inability to use a lighting desk. Roxy Central is a beautiful space too and so we want to make the best use of it we can.
Low and our actresses have a few more weeks of rehearsals before the show opens properly in October. I'm going to try not to send over too many rewrites in the meantime!
A reminder- Tickets are on sale on the Assembly Roxy website and we'll be selling them on the door too.
Sweeney x
Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Introducing: For Our Tomorrow
TwentySomething are back! After a few months of rest and relaxation... who am I kidding?! It was Fringe - Low and I are just happy to be alive! But anyway, the three of us are back in business and getting ready to share something entirely new.
Our latest project, For Our Tomorrow, has been brewing in my mind for the best part of a year and a half now. It started in a classroom in Dundee and took me to the Progressive Playwright event at Tron Theatre, and now it's going to the Roxy. It's a period piece (something I'm always worried about telling people, less they think I've tried to dramatise Jane Austen) set during the First World War. I've always been fascinated by the lives women lived during both world wars; the way they took on jobs and responsibilities that would be handed back over to men a few years later. In particular I've always been struck by how their lives would be irrevocably and immeasurably changed by a war that would take away almost all the men they knew.
For Our Tomorrow follows theee women from before the war starts to halfway through. Mairi, Anne and Lucy are each affected by the war in different ways and deal with it in different ways. I wanted to show the scope of what could happen to a woman during that time, and what a woman could do herself.
Our characters will be played by three marvellous women; Jacqueline Thain, Alex Forrest and (we didn't scare her off in Prague!) Rowan Hall. We started rehearsals last nighr and despite the hilarity (keep your eyes peeled for an egg motif throughout the play) we actually managed to get a fair bit of work done: with Ms Low at the helm we were always going to be in safe hands!
Tickets will be available from the Roxy website very soon and on the door each night of the performance. Keep up to date with our rehearsals on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
Sweeney x
Our latest project, For Our Tomorrow, has been brewing in my mind for the best part of a year and a half now. It started in a classroom in Dundee and took me to the Progressive Playwright event at Tron Theatre, and now it's going to the Roxy. It's a period piece (something I'm always worried about telling people, less they think I've tried to dramatise Jane Austen) set during the First World War. I've always been fascinated by the lives women lived during both world wars; the way they took on jobs and responsibilities that would be handed back over to men a few years later. In particular I've always been struck by how their lives would be irrevocably and immeasurably changed by a war that would take away almost all the men they knew.
For Our Tomorrow follows theee women from before the war starts to halfway through. Mairi, Anne and Lucy are each affected by the war in different ways and deal with it in different ways. I wanted to show the scope of what could happen to a woman during that time, and what a woman could do herself.
Our characters will be played by three marvellous women; Jacqueline Thain, Alex Forrest and (we didn't scare her off in Prague!) Rowan Hall. We started rehearsals last nighr and despite the hilarity (keep your eyes peeled for an egg motif throughout the play) we actually managed to get a fair bit of work done: with Ms Low at the helm we were always going to be in safe hands!
Tickets will be available from the Roxy website very soon and on the door each night of the performance. Keep up to date with our rehearsals on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
Sweeney x
Monday, 27 June 2016
Prague Fringe 2016
Prague Fringe 2016
We’re back! After days on end of 37ck beers and late night
trips to McDonald’s – we’re back to reality. This year was my third at the Prague
Fringe Festival and I think it might have been my favourite so far. The quality
of performances this year was incredible and I think I speak for all of
TwentySomething when I say how grateful we were to be a part of it.
"Prague Fringe is like Edinburgh in the 60s; intimate, friendly and fun." Jim Haynes.
For my
sins, I spent the Fringe working as a Venue Supervisor and my every waking
moment was dedicated to Fringe-life. Being part of two sides of the Fringe was
an eye-opening experience (and one I’m sure I’ll be repeating before too long!) Prague Fringe is like nothing else. It's so small you can meet every other performer if you wanted to. It's so supportive that audiences can sometimes be made up entirely of other companies taking a break from promoting their own shows. Whilst I'm an Edinburgh Fringe regular, I have to say that my love for Prague is still going strong!
Hell Has No Fury opened to a sell-out audience at the Golden
Key on June 1st. It was actually a little heart-breaking having to
turn away Fringe staff at the door. The performance space had been described to
us as a cellar, underneath a boutique hotel on the street leading up to Prague
Castle. We didn’t really know what to expect beyond limited tech and limited
space but we hoped that the room would add some atmospheric element to the
piece. The venue completely lived up to our expectations. Heavy rain the day
before meant there was water dripping down the back walls during our technical
rehearsal (classic Prague), which filled the room with a damp, dank smell. The
room was boiling – despite the two fans which had been furiously blowing air
into it between shows – and only got warmer when filled with 22 expectant
audience members (also classic Prague). I hadn’t realised how lucky we had been
with our venue; that hot, cramped, enclosed atmosphere was so
perfect for performing the piece.
Bizarrely, this was the first time I had seen Hell Has No
Fury performed. I was absolutely blown away. Rowan Hall is incredible and
Prague Fringe thought so too, nominating her for their Performance Fringe
Award. Being in that room on opening night was an utterly wonderful experience.
All in all we had an amazing first (and most certainly not last) time at Prague
Fringe!
Up next for TwentySomething - keep an eye out for encore performances of Hell Has No Fury and it won't be too long before we have something completely different to share with you all!
Sweeney.
Friday, 20 May 2016
Hell Has No Fury and Prague Fringe Update!
What a crazy month it’s been! We’ve not blogged for a while,
and so much has happened, including the premiere of Hell Has No Fury at Assembly Roxy. Now, with a week to go before we
head to the Prague Fringe, I thought I’d give you a quick round up of
everything we’ve been up to.
First off, another huge thank you to everyone who came to
the first ever performance of Hell Has No
Fury back in April. We had a fantastic turnout and your feedback and
support has been invaluable.
Without talking too much about the fascinating (and
sometimes stressful!) ~journey~ we’ve
had with this show so far, I will say that from my point of view, the run up to
our first public performance was a massive learning curve. Having just one day
to tech the entire show, we had to very quickly find a way to communicate our
ideas and stick to an unmoveable deadline: 7.30pm that same evening. I learned
quickly when to take a step back and let those with better ideas and more
experience than me take control, and our tech day was a great reminder to me
that there’s always a way towards a solution, and that sometimes Plan B is as
good, if not better, than Plan A. After initial and expected technical teething
problems (and learning to work alongside some particularly raucous pigeons in
the rafters), the sound and lighting design came together, not least thanks to
the talent and patience of Julian our operator. I was chuffed to bits with what
we came up with in the end: an atmospheric and evocative space for Medea –
played by the absolute trooper and fab talent that is Rowan – to tell her story
in. I hope all of you who came to see it
thought and felt the same.
The week following that whirlwind of a first performance was
a blessedly quieter one – mainly because we basically decided to give ourselves
a week off before charging head on into preparations for Prague. Our venue in
Prague is completely different to the end-on, 170-seater auditorium at Assembly
Roxy, and we knew that we would have to make some changes to both the feel of
the play and the text itself before it would be Fringe-ready. So we took our
metaphorical scissors to the play and cut around 10 minutes worth of script. We
had a long discussion about what this new space – the 17th century
basement of a hotel – would bring to and even change about how Medea would tell
this story. What we’ve come up with is a woman much more focused on the ritual
of finding a way to atone for the acts she has committed, whilst creating a
candlelit, shrine-like space to the two sons whose loss she is struggling to
come to terms with. I can’t wait to see how transporting the play to that space
will impact on the performance – it’s an exciting time!
On the other side of things, the TwentySomething marketing
machine is kicking up a gear, with posters and flyers being printed, press
releases being sent out and listings posted online. A big thanks too to Katie
Jowett who published an incredibly generous and lovely review of our preview at
the Roxy – we now have some juicy quotes for future posters! Last week we also
filmed a trailed for Hell Has No Fury,
with the help of Sean Duncan, which will be shown at Fringe Sunday, the opening
showcase of the festival, giving audiences and companies a one-minute taster of
all the shows in the programme. Like our poster image, created with a lamp and
some greaseproof paper, our trailer had humble beginnings (a stolen mirror from
my sister here, cleverly draped fabric to disguise a classroom whiteboard
there), but we are thrilled with the end result. If you have yet seen what it’s
all about, you can watch it here.
We now have just over two weeks before Hell Has No Fury opens at the Prague Fringe 2016. We can’t wait for
new audiences to see our show, and we’re so excited to have the opportunity to
see the work of other international theatre makers and performers. Neither
Claire nor myself have ever been to Prague, so we’re also excited to explore a new
city – hopefully one we’ll be returning to before long. Wish us luck and we’ll
keep you updated with how everything goes. Roll on Prague Fringe 2016!
RLx
Sunday, 10 April 2016
6 Days To Go!
The past two weeks have been somewhat fraught for us at TwentySomething. Nothing too serious, nobody died, we haven't declared bankruptcy (yet). But it's been a stress-filled fortnight none the less.
However, instead of regaling you with the many hurdles we've jumped, I want to talk about the many people who've helped us out. It's something you hear about all the time when professional creatives discuss how they started and who supported and encouraged their work. It's the first chapter of their autobiography or the first scene of the documentary on their work. (My mantra for the past week or so has been, 'this will sound good in the memoirs.')
We're lucky enough to boast some pretty talented, creative individuals amongst our friends. This has become even more apparent as we reached out to the people around us to help with Hell Has No Fury and TwentySomething in general. They've taken time out from university work, real paid work, and general life to help us out. From our logo (designed by the wonderful Katie Wilkinson) to Julian who''s teching the show, to Dundee Rep and DU Opsoc who"ve let us raid their wardrobe and prop departments to Medea herself (Rowan Hall) to everyone who has bought and will buy a ticket; we're incredibly grateful.
It's amazing to me that we're getting to do this, that we're getting to make theatre with people we want to work with, take it to several venues, go to Prague Fringe and have people watch this thing that we've made.
As the title suggests it's a under a week until the big day. Just a few rehearsals, some tech time and several gins (for me, not Medea) and we'll be ready. We're so excited to share Hell Has No Fury.
Here's to more collaborating and more productions. And more thank you's, cause we can't say it often enough.
However, instead of regaling you with the many hurdles we've jumped, I want to talk about the many people who've helped us out. It's something you hear about all the time when professional creatives discuss how they started and who supported and encouraged their work. It's the first chapter of their autobiography or the first scene of the documentary on their work. (My mantra for the past week or so has been, 'this will sound good in the memoirs.')
We're lucky enough to boast some pretty talented, creative individuals amongst our friends. This has become even more apparent as we reached out to the people around us to help with Hell Has No Fury and TwentySomething in general. They've taken time out from university work, real paid work, and general life to help us out. From our logo (designed by the wonderful Katie Wilkinson) to Julian who''s teching the show, to Dundee Rep and DU Opsoc who"ve let us raid their wardrobe and prop departments to Medea herself (Rowan Hall) to everyone who has bought and will buy a ticket; we're incredibly grateful.
It's amazing to me that we're getting to do this, that we're getting to make theatre with people we want to work with, take it to several venues, go to Prague Fringe and have people watch this thing that we've made.
As the title suggests it's a under a week until the big day. Just a few rehearsals, some tech time and several gins (for me, not Medea) and we'll be ready. We're so excited to share Hell Has No Fury.
Here's to more collaborating and more productions. And more thank you's, cause we can't say it often enough.
Thursday, 10 March 2016
Medea is...
If you follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (and if you don't then you should, so do that right now) you'll have seen that this week marks the beginning of our Hell Has No Fury rehearsals. We've been incredibly lucky to get some amazing rehearsal space in Dundee for Rebecca and Taylor to use as they see fit for the next few weeks.
Our première is on the 16th of April at Assembly Roxy in Edinburgh, mere weeks away!
You should buy tickets. Like now. Right this second. Do it.
As the writer of Hell Has No Fury my job is pretty much done at this point. Which is delightful for Low and Claire who have to put up with my nagging, constant barrage of pointless ideas and general panic that there's something I should be doing. Luckily they're very patient individuals and thus far my incessant panicking has not broken TwentySomething up - but it's early days.
Whilst I twiddle my thumbs I thought I would give a little insight into the idea behind Hell Has No Fury and the inspiration for the story. In case you don't know, HHNF follows the story of Medea from the play by Eurpides. Before our classes at Dundee last year I hadn't read Medea. Honestly I'd never read any Classic play from start to finish, despite being obsessed with all things Greek and Roman when I was younger. I loved studying these classic texts and if you ever want to hear me wax lyrical about how the female characters of Greek Tragedy are feminist icons I'd be more than happy! Medea in particular caught my attention, she was who I'd heard the most about. However, everything I'd ever known about her was focused on her insanity, her cruelty and her 'unwomanly' behaviour. It didn't take me long to fairly agressively reject that image of her.
If you don't know the story; Medea is in a relationship with Jason (oh he of Argonaut fame). When Jason leaves her for a younger woman, a Princess, Medea enacts revenge on him by killing their two sons. Pretty simple. Pretty horrific.
What strikes me about the way Medea is normally portrayed is how she is seen as a vindictive lunatic, a woman who goes mad with jealousy and rejection. I find this surprising because Medea is anything but mad, she's entirely lucid throughout every minute of the play. I think that's what makes her so much more interesting; she knows what she's doing, she's thought about it, she isn't struck by a fit of passion or madness, her actions are calculated and reasoned.
That's one of the main things we're focusing on with HHNF: Medea isn't mad.
Medea is ruthless. Medea is a murderer. Medea is terrifying.
But Medea isn't mad.
Another focus of our production is the idea of justice. Medea has an intrinsic and irrevocable sense of right and wrong. Jason has done the wrong thing, not only the wrong thing, but the worst thing he could have possibly done, and for that there has to be justice. Medea sees herself as the bringer of that justice. Medea's scorned woman image is important, but it isn't the reason she does what she does. Jason's deeds affect more than just her, they affect her sons and that is why he has to be punished.
Medea is an enigma, that much is certain. She's far too complicated to be fully explained in an hour. But I hope that HHNF highlights the parts of Medea that don't always take centre stage in productions of the play.
Medea is difficult. Medea is complicated. Medea is worth listening to.
Sweeney
Our première is on the 16th of April at Assembly Roxy in Edinburgh, mere weeks away!
You should buy tickets. Like now. Right this second. Do it.
As the writer of Hell Has No Fury my job is pretty much done at this point. Which is delightful for Low and Claire who have to put up with my nagging, constant barrage of pointless ideas and general panic that there's something I should be doing. Luckily they're very patient individuals and thus far my incessant panicking has not broken TwentySomething up - but it's early days.
Whilst I twiddle my thumbs I thought I would give a little insight into the idea behind Hell Has No Fury and the inspiration for the story. In case you don't know, HHNF follows the story of Medea from the play by Eurpides. Before our classes at Dundee last year I hadn't read Medea. Honestly I'd never read any Classic play from start to finish, despite being obsessed with all things Greek and Roman when I was younger. I loved studying these classic texts and if you ever want to hear me wax lyrical about how the female characters of Greek Tragedy are feminist icons I'd be more than happy! Medea in particular caught my attention, she was who I'd heard the most about. However, everything I'd ever known about her was focused on her insanity, her cruelty and her 'unwomanly' behaviour. It didn't take me long to fairly agressively reject that image of her.
If you don't know the story; Medea is in a relationship with Jason (oh he of Argonaut fame). When Jason leaves her for a younger woman, a Princess, Medea enacts revenge on him by killing their two sons. Pretty simple. Pretty horrific.
What strikes me about the way Medea is normally portrayed is how she is seen as a vindictive lunatic, a woman who goes mad with jealousy and rejection. I find this surprising because Medea is anything but mad, she's entirely lucid throughout every minute of the play. I think that's what makes her so much more interesting; she knows what she's doing, she's thought about it, she isn't struck by a fit of passion or madness, her actions are calculated and reasoned.
That's one of the main things we're focusing on with HHNF: Medea isn't mad.
Medea is ruthless. Medea is a murderer. Medea is terrifying.
But Medea isn't mad.
Another focus of our production is the idea of justice. Medea has an intrinsic and irrevocable sense of right and wrong. Jason has done the wrong thing, not only the wrong thing, but the worst thing he could have possibly done, and for that there has to be justice. Medea sees herself as the bringer of that justice. Medea's scorned woman image is important, but it isn't the reason she does what she does. Jason's deeds affect more than just her, they affect her sons and that is why he has to be punished.
Medea is an enigma, that much is certain. She's far too complicated to be fully explained in an hour. But I hope that HHNF highlights the parts of Medea that don't always take centre stage in productions of the play.
Medea is difficult. Medea is complicated. Medea is worth listening to.
Sweeney
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