There is just so much write about Walter Meierjohann’s latest world premiere production The Funfair. I’ve been lucky enough to preview the first two scenes, sneaking into a rehearsal, and it is powerful stuff. It’s the inaugural performance at HOME’s new theatre at First Street, and the cast and crew are littered with award winners and nominees, not least double Olivier Award-winner Simon Stephens the local playwright who’s adapted the play for the UK audience.
Ben Batt (who you may know as psycho-Jo from Shameless) brings his heavy-lidded malevolence to the role of Cash, contrasting quite uncomfortably with his delicate leading lady the lovely Katie Moore who plays Caroline. (Katie’s credits include Paradise, Doc Martin, Call the Midwife amongst many, many other shows). It’s a comedy at heart but it’s a black heart full of tension and rumbling undercurrents of violence and menace.
Talking to Petra Jane Tauscher, Dramaturg, and long-time collaborator with the Director Walter Meierjohann, I got to ask a few questions about this exciting production.
HOME Theatre is seen by many as the new centre of the Mancunian cultural hub, so what is it about this play, do you think, that made it the first choice to be staged here?
Walter has a special admiration for Odon von Horvath’s who wrote the original play, Kasimir and Karoline. He knew its setting, after the 1929 crash, had a certain resonance with current times, i.e. there’s still a lot of economic insecurity, and with the election coming up there’s political uncertainty which has led to a certain sense of foreboding in the air. Right wing politics have taken a foot hold in many communities, and whilst it can’t be compared to the Great Depression parallels can be drawn. When the opportunity arose to work with Simon Stephens, who is also holds a long-term love of Horvath’s work, it became a clear choice.
What developments can the general public expect from local playwright Simon Stephens’ adaptation?
It’s difficult to explain to those who don’t know the play but he has stayed faithful to the original; we put a lot of work into ensuring the translation of every sentence is correct and relevant but he has also totally made it his own. He understands the complexities and contradictions running through the play, so he has been able to deliver the simplicity and efficiency of the language whilst maintaining the poetic nature of the prose. The aim is to achieve Hovarth’s signature style of theatre that we describe as ‘heightened realism’, where he takes ordinary people in ordinary situations but makes them extraordinary.
Is there a particular audience you think the play is most likely to appeal to?
The play is well known in German-speaking countries, but Walter has always believed it was a play for the North of England. He thinks the Mancunian public will respond particularly well to Horvath’s bold, even brutal characters and contradictory themes.
Have there been any particular challenges in staging the play in such a brand new theatre?
To be honest, no! We have been moving from site to site putting on performances across the Manchester for the past year so we are totally used to it.
Such a large cast, 14 actors and supported with live music, I imagine rehearsals were either rather unruly or run with military precision, how’s it gone?
It’s just been fun. Rehearsals have been about enabling the actors to connect with the character and find the physical nature of each personality, then shape it into a clear form. Walter’s style is very much about encouraging his team to find the physical confidence to fill a space, a good example would be Ncuti Gatwa’s Mercutio in our production of Romeo and Juliet at Victoria baths. As such the stage is uncluttered, it is filled with the performance itself.
Can we expect a minimalist production then?
Well this is it, (Petra points to the single carousel horse at the centre of the stage), but as ever there are contradictions. The set has been designed by Ti (that’s Manchester Theatre Award winner Ti Green to you and I) and there’s live music. The stage rotates and whilst the back drop is plain it is over 8m high and we have visual effects and video streams that will animate the entire stage, and hopefully the audience, with the sights and sounds of the funfair.
The Funfair opens Thursday 14th May – 13th June 2015 – DON’T MISS IT. For tickets and information, please click here.
Image credit – Graeme Cooper