Origins

The Brave Anthology (TBA) was first staged as a small 10 minute performance consisting of 4 poems written and directed by me and performed by Olivia Scott, Ciara Lea and Maryam Shaharuddin. This short piece explored the experience of feeling love for the first time, heartbreak and then learning how to love again. By staging this, it became apparent to me what my writing's gesture was and how it may be developed into a longer performance. However, the main provocation for me writing the dramatic narrative of the whole play was The Inheritance (2018) at the Young Vic, a two-part epic exploring the gay experience in contemporary New York. The production's fusion of a formal narrative and its Epic style inspired me; its aesthetic, method of story telling and relationship with the audience was so unique that I had to capture my own feelings about it and write my own play. These influences inspired me to write the definitive version of TBA; full with character and dramatic action, as well as the poetry from the original 10 minute scene. The end result consisted of a young man's journey and his position within the city, meeting friends and strangers representing types of love that one may come across and how the solace in human connection can either be cherished or something we flippantly exploit. 

Production Style 

The script I wrote challenged the conventonal role of the performer as actor, making it seem as if they were a chorus spontaneously devising the narrative; either talking to the audience directly, or speaking in the third person about their own character, enforcing the Epic style of the text. The production style adopted the text's Epic nature by using expressionistic conventions: coloured lighting, atmospheric sounds and the use of elements such as smoke all resonated with the text's inherent poeticness. TBA was staged in the Boilerhouse Theatre at RHUL, a vast space with a sprung dancefloor covering the majority of the room, we decided to harness this space by creating a 'thrust' audience shape, helping the performer's engagement with the audience as well as immersing audience members within the action. One particularly favourite moment of mine was a scene called 'Aldwych', a surreal scene depicting Angus' mind as he imagines the  characters he's come across. To create atmosphere we used a smoke machine, engulfing the stage and the audience, the lights from above shone through creating a stunning ocean like colour, creating a setting of ambiguous beauty. 

All of the performing arts societies at RHUL host an annual event known as the RHoscars, an awards ceremony celebrating the achievements of all productions throughout the year. The night is similar to the Oscars, but involves more spontaneity and perhaps more alcohol (this might not be the case, I am yet to attend the Oscars...). The awards are voted by members of every society throughout the University, The Brave Anthology was nominated in four categories and was lucky enough to win each award:

Best overall SW production (directors): Sam Pout, Becky Hinde

Best Female Actor in a SW production: Sophia Chimonas

Best Supporting Female Actor in a SW production: Hannah Harding

Best crew member in a SW production: Jacob Gregory

Rehearsal Photos

On Reflection...

What did I learn from the experience?... A lot!

I learned about how my mind works and how my writing is generated, by working under pressure I learned how to be economical with my time. Especially working as a director and writer, both sides of my head were informing each other as I learnt when to prioritise which way of thinking. The role of being a director on a large scale production was a huge learning curve as well; time management, rehearsal planning, as well as improving how I facilitate everyone's experience to ensure lines of communication were working smoothly. I am certainly not claiming I did all of these perfectly, if I thought I did then I wouldn't have learnt! By reflecting on how I facilitated such a process, I am able to improve my approach to similar projects with a new understanding of my style of directing. However, what I learned most from directing TBA was how people work, their individual processes of rehearing and understanding character. Overseeing the process, I was able to observe how each one of the 10 cast members worked, enabling me to have more empathy for the struggles one may face during a rehearsal period, as well as the professionalism that cast members adopted which constantly amazed me. Directing TBA opened my eyes to new types of people and new ways of working, a feeling I hope I will continue to experience, which will inevitably advance my understanding of the industry and the different creatives that help keep it the diverse and thriving culture it is today. 

The Brave Anthology was performed at The Boilerhouse Theatre, Royal Holloway University of London 28 Feb - 1 Mar 2019 with the following cast and crew:

I would like to thank Adam Yeomans, acting as Production Liason but also offering his invaluable dramaturgical advice. Additonally, I would also like to thank The Student Workshop Committee 2018/19, without the resources of the Student Workshop and the Drama Department, The Brave Anthology would never have been realised and so I am imensely grateful for their help. 

Click on the following links to discover more about TBA and The Student Workshop...

The Brave Anthology Facebook page.

The Student Workshop Facebook page