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In the first of a new series looking at Scottish theatre companies, Michael Cox speaks with artistic director Michael Emans.
‘You can do something that is very accessible and is immediate and resonates with an audience and still say something important, still be artistically strong.’ So says Michael Emans, artistic director of Scotland’s Rapture Theatre. ‘I don’t think “artistically strong” and alienating the audience are the same thing. I think you can actually engage the audience and produce great art as well.’
Rapture Theatre has been ‘engaging’ Scottish theatre audiences since 2000 with numerous productions of varying genres and styles. Calling themselves Scotland’s ‘premier touring company’, Rapture has taken its work throughout the land. ‘That’s what we’re about: the idea of quality performers going out to inspire audiences and future generations.’ Using inspiration from such companies like Wildcat, Emans is passionate about taking productions on the road, reaching audiences normally neglected by touring schedules and giving them ‘quality experiences’ that enrich lives.
Just a quick glance at Rapture’s repertoire will show that the company appears to have sporadic tastes. However, Emans is quite clear about one common thread each production has had: quality scripts. ‘In essence, it’s plays I’m passionate about: the subject matter, or the writing.’ In choosing what script to do next, Emans states that no matter what, ‘it has to be a well-written script, something that gets me excited.’
This is something that one can see in Rapture’s recent productions. ‘With The Sash, it was a link to the whole notion of the sectarianism I grew up around. With The Collection…I myself have been in debt massive amounts of time, and I’ve been on the edge with that. We’ve covered mental health issues with The Collection and Blue/Orange.’
However, not all of Rapture’s productions are ‘issue’ plays. ‘With plays like Shang-a-Lang, they’re perhaps slightly more geared at developing an audience.’ Emans believes that, by offering work some might view as populist, he can encourage audiences to be a little more experimental. ‘I’ve seen the same people at our shows. They’ll come back because it’s a Rapture show, and they tell me that they know they’ll get good-quality, an engaging piece of theatre.’
An example of this can be found in two of Rapture’s recent productions. Emans is quite proud of Shang-a-Lang, a comedy ‘girls’ night out’ that had a rich feminist message behind its comedic shenanigans about three friends who were fans of the Bay City Rollers. But he wanted to encourage that same audience to see John Byrne’s adaptation of a Chekhovian classic with Uncle Varick. ‘It wasn’t as if it was a cynical [choice]. It was, for me, a very important piece but it was one that I knew would get us an audience, and then we could get them back for a Chekhov. Which we did do.’
It is this ‘nurturing’ of audiences to take chances on plays audiences might not usually seek out that Emans is not only keen to continue doing but is at the heart of what he sees as Rapture’s ‘innovative’ spirit. He chooses work that he hopes will entice audiences into theatres, to create a feeling of trust, and then to offer them more difficult work that they might not have previously considered. In speaking about his recent run of work, Emans said, ‘We are innovative in the choice of play that we do.’
It is his belief that the term ‘innovative’ has led some companies in alienating audiences in support of conceptual interpretations that fail to serve the script. ‘I’ve seen productions…have overwhelming concepts. They’ve been riveting but overwhelming of the play, so you then start to look at the directorial hand and either liking it or not liking it rather than actually engaging as much with the characters or the situation or even the issues because you’re so blown away by what the director has done.’ He also believes such strong concepts can disengage an audience. ‘I think that, if you go too far down the “arty” route you can lose the audience because, what happens is that you the artist goes on a journey but you don’t take the audience with you. The point of the artist is to communicate, to bring people with you and to stimulate them…to give them a thought, to make them think, to make them react to your work.’ He further questions some design choices, choices that might look good but not serve the play. ‘I think that you can be innovative and clever and directorally smart but still serve the play.’
Serving the play is key to Emans. ‘The director can have a vision, but the vision can work in tandem with the play. Transporting the audience and getting them to really engage with the play or engage with what they’re doing. I think that’s what we’re about.’
In fact, Emans believes better serving the script, words and characters is in itself ‘innovative’. In reference to many productions he’s recently seen, Emans feels that many directors are forsaking story, character and dramatic through-lines in favour of visual wonder. ‘What we are about, really, is spoken words and about the text and about bringing it to character. And therefore, the innovations that we have are maybe more subtle.’
As for the future, Emans has ambitious plans for Rapture. ‘Basically, we’ve got a fantastic programme of work we want Creative Scotland to support us on which would allow us to develop partnerships, allow us to develop our touring and develop our artistic practices and quality.’ Such partnerships include projects at Byres Theatre and working in tandem with the Beacon in Greenock. ‘We’ve developed a track record of working with many talented actors and other artistic personnel, so it’s really about developing that further.’ In talking about what makes for good theatre for audiences, Emans says: ‘It’s immediate, it’s there, it’s glamourous, it’s sexy, it’s…for them. But it’s not low-brow.’
It’s the act of surprising audiences with quality productions with top-notch writing that Emans is particularly keen to continue doing, planning on not only producing productions from great scripts but also in working closer with well-respected writers. He also wants to continue to challenge artists and audiences alike in what makes good theatre.
‘Art doesn’t have to be obviously art to be art, if you know what I mean.’
Next time, Michael Cox speaks with Mark Thomson of the Royal Lyceum Theatre.
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