of an answer
straighttorvvard and ahsoluter t'undamental questions. vyhich are sophisticated. htit not complicated. It asks the questions: ‘llovx do I exist". and 'lloyy do I relate to other people." And those seem to me to he the t'tmdamental questions that theatre should alvvay s he asking. l‘unnily enouin r and hy' chance. I think. rather than design there have heen echoes ol those themes right through the [y cetim's season this year. You have similar questions heing asked in .-t ll'i'nlt'r'y Iii/e. ahout reality and representation and how people perceive the past and litiyy it acts on the present. vvhile hoth Living Quarters and The (i/uss .lleiiueeric are very carettilly constructed around hovy people vy ant their stories to he told. ll. l’irandcllo hadn‘t vvritteii Sta ('liumt'lr'rs. all the other 30th century plays that come out ol that tradition might never hay e happened. It's an ahsolutely‘ iconoclastic vvork.
The Grande Dame
Una MacLean plays Madame Pace What's interesting ahotit this play is that you never knovv vvhether whats happening is the truth or a take. There are the Actors. there are the Characters. and I am neither of these. I inhahit a character vvho is a surprise I come and I turn out not to he what I initially seem. The cast is exciting. too - so many good Scottish actors.
The Director Mark Thomson is the director
We decided on Sit ('liuructwiv tor a numher ot‘
reasons. The idea ot‘ a stage rehearsal heing invaded by diameters is still brilliant and tirein despite it heing a 90-year—old play. Interestingly. there‘s no character in the script vvho's called hy' a name — they all have roles. you knovv. .\lother. liather. Step-Daughter. Director — and each role is very. very clearly defined. each of these people driving these stereotypes. hut in a very rich t'ashion. What you get played out on stage is a kind of horrihle dystopian misunderstanding. inahility to he understood. inability to feel a lull human heing or a lull character. And that. I think. is something everyhody can identity vvith - vve've all had moments ot‘ quiet vvhere we feel very untultilled or insubstantial. .-\nd I think the play tackles that head on. that question of vvho am I and vvhat am I tor?
The Rising Star
Andrew Scott Ramsay plays The Son Working on this production has heen an ahsolute pleasure — it’s very exciting for me. jttst a year out of drama school. to he pan ot‘ a cast stut‘t‘ed full of the great and good of Scottish theatre.
Despite the fact that I am playing a (‘haracter
vvho is — well. the vvhole point is that he's tictional — for me the natural way to approach the role. and the most interesting. vvas empathetically. I'm playing him as a person. not as a type — it‘s the relationships hetvveen the Characters that make the play interesting. That's vvhat keeps the Characters alive. and stuck pemetually' in their drama.
There are long points when The Son is silent. refusing him to he realised. and the only things
drama oi
that keep him alive. keep him e\isting as a character in the drama are his relationships \\llll
other people.
The Producer
Vicky Featherstone is Artistic Director of National Theatre of Scotland
Sit ('liurm lt'lW is part ol a loose strand ot productions that vvc're going to put on at the National 'l'heatre ot’ Scotland. the tirst ol' \\ltlcll \yas Schillch .llu'i'v Slim/‘1 talso adapted hy llarrovveri these hig. classic Izuropean plays that Scottish audiences haven't had a chance to see recently. We‘ve commissioned other nevy versions ol' classic vvorks. \vliich vye'll he putting on oy er the ne\t lh’ months. 'l‘hese plays are vvritten l‘or higger casts. so in very simple terms.
Anti-clockwise from main image: the ‘SIX Characters‘ we interviewed: the 'SIX Characters' in the play: director Mark Thomson with the cast at rehearsals
‘SOME PEOPLE MIGHT BE BEMUSED BY IT, SOME MIGHT BE INFURIATED BY IT'
they cost moie money loi theatres to put on; \lS is m a position to ollei Scottish audiences that opportunity.
I lirst read .\it (lit/rm It'l\ at college. and I loved the lantastic game at its heart. the dark. comple\. hrilliaiit game that ll plays on the audience. .\ll these plays ll;i\ e aii urgency ahout them. still put on stages today.
a reason \vliy they one/it to he heing
Royal Lyceum. Edinburgh. Fri 15 Feb-Sat 8 Mar: Citizens” Theatre. Glasgow. Wed 12-Fri 29 Mar.
1 .7“. 1-2:. 7.3% THE LIST 21