Michael Cox speaks with Jackie Wylie, Clare Duffy and Gareth Nicholls about this year's Platform 18 programme.
“Platform 18 is an important starting point for many of Scotland’s most exciting theatre makers.” So says Jackie Wylie, artistic director of The Arches and overseer of the ambitious project.
Each year, proposals are sent for the opportunity to stage fully-funded productions at both The Arches and the Traverse. The two winners not only have the chance to see their productions performed at both venues with full artistic and technical support but also have the opportunity to be mentored by some of Scotland’s best artistic talent. Noted past recipients include Nic Green, Davey Anderson, Rob Drummond and Cora Bisset, all of whom have since gone on to make significant work.
This year’s winners are Clare Duffy and Gareth Nicholls. In speaking about the winners, Wylie says that “Both of the proposals were instantly very exciting. Clare’s for her sense of political urgency and her experimental approach and Gareth’s, quite differently, for his commitment to storytelling and the proposal’s humour and warmth.”
Clare Duffy’s production, Money…The Game Show, is an active response to the current financial crisis. In describing the play, Duffy says that “It’s based on the premise that two people who use to be hedge fund managers decided to make a show about money and the value of money, to entertain and educate the world about money. So it’s a game show, and it’s being played with the cash from the award of Platform 18. The audience play a series of games which illustrate the different games played in the market and in the money system.”
In speaking about where the inspiration for the production originated from, Duffy speaks about the onslaught of news that came at the start of the financial crisis in 2008. “When Leman Brothers wasn’t rescued by the US government and those people were sent home from their offices. I just never thought that was ever going to happen. And the consequences of that happening just seemed to be so enormous and reaching right across the world. That was the most amazing week for news. I wanted to get up every morning just to see what happened in America the day before while I was sleeping.”
In tackling her concept, Duffy did an extensive amount of research. She read a number of books and spoke to numerous people, including accountants and hedge fund managers. She has also been influenced by the current budget, including the news of all the European countries that have had to be bailed out. She also finds it amusing how capitalism has recently required saving through socialist principals. “It’s interesting that, when capitalism breaks down, the government has to underwrite all of those debts.”
The other award winner, Gareth Nicholls, is creating something completely different. Called Pause with a Smile, Nicholls’ piece looks at the odd world of real-life coincidences and how such stories shape a person’s belief system.
In speaking about where he got his inspiration, Nicholls said that influence came from the stories one hears or reads about in pubs or magazines. “I read these stories in magazines and think that they’re ridiculous, but they make me laugh and bring a sense of joy to me. I go down to the pub with some friends and tell them this story, and they laugh and get the sense of joy and then tell their own stories. And that acts as a catalyst, and everyone wants to tell their own story.”
What began as a point of interest soon turned into an almost obsession. Nicholls began “collecting” stories and even sent out questionnaires. He found a number of stories, ranging from the comedic and heart-warming to the tragic. “None of them are made up, as far as we know, but we do question the validity of them. That’s a key part of the show actually. Do we actually believe this story’s true or not?”
Working with his actors and designers, Nicholls is hoping to take his audience on quite a journey. “I hope that the forms and devices to tell these stories are going to be surprising and interesting for people. We’re telling the stories in lots of ways. There’s audience interaction and a strong musical design as well, which all plays with the idea of random music and things like that, which links in with coincidence and chance.”
With such themes, does Nicholls perhaps see a larger meaning in the way coincidences work within the world? “For a long time, I thought I wanted to use these stories as a way of investigating how we view the world…how we choose to construct meaning in our daily lives. It’s still there, but actually the central point of the investigation has shifted for me more towards the idea of belief. What we choose to put our belief into and why. And I’m really happy with it actually. It could change again, but at the moment its working, with all the stories and all the performances and for me as a director and writer.”
Both Duffy and Nicholls’ seem grateful for the opportunities Platform 18 has given them, saying that they have both learned a lot and have grown significantly as artists. Nicholls calls it “a brilliant scheme” and is pleased to have the chance to create his own work in a funded environment. Duffy calls the experience “fantastic” and seems genuinely excited for the chance for her work to be seen in both The Arches and the Traverse.
Jackie Wylie agrees with their enthusiasm, saying that the award “is a vital step in the journey for artists setting off in exciting new directions.”
Money…The Game Show and Pause with a Smile perform at The Arches until April 9 before transferring to the Traverse April 14-17.
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