It’s not long now until wartime drama Narvik arrives on our stage, telling a music-infused story of love and loss. To find out more, Director and Box of Tricks co-founder Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder discusses her inspirations and hopes for the production and also what the future holds for their company…
What is the play about?
HTP: Narvik is a play about one man’s experience of war and how those few years have shaped the rest of his life. It’s also a play about memory and the fact that we don’t necessarily get to choose which people, places and images stay with us throughout the years – some ghosts refuse to be laid to rest no matter how hard we try.
What made you want to you to commission this play?
HTP: I wanted to commission Lizzie to write a play where music and text were of equal importance as I was excited by the prospect of working with a playwright/singer/songwriter. When I approached Lizzie with the idea of creating a play with songs she responded with the idea behind Narvik – an exploration of wartime, bravery and betrayal.
Why do you work with new plays?
HTP: I think working with new plays is a particularly rewarding experience as it’s a genuine collaboration between writer and director – you’re both on a voyage of discovery throughout the development and rehearsal process. I also like the fact that a new play is a totally blank slate for all the creative team and the actors, no-one has to forget or ignore previous productions of the work or try to be innovative for innovation’s sake, our only job is to serve the text and the playwright’s vision.
How does Narvik fit in with your previous work?
HTP: I think there’s a definite through-line to the plays that I’ve developed and directed with Box of Tricks. The same themes crop up time and again: trust, betrayal, intimacy, vulnerability basically all the perils and pitfalls inherent in being a human having relationships with other humans!
What do you hope audiences will get from watching the play?
HTP: I think I’ve got the same hopes for an audience’s relationship to Narvik as I would have for any play I’m directing – that they connect with the characters, and care about their fate and that the themes of the piece in some way cause them to reflect on their own life and experiences. And, obviously, I’d like them to enjoy their couple of hours in the theatre and in the case of Narvik come out humming some of the songs!
How did you get into directing?
HTP: I directed my first piece of theatre while at sixth form, did some more directing at university and after graduation went to Mountview to study on their Postgraduate Theatre Directing course. I had a pretty clear idea of the career I wanted to pursue from a relatively early age so tried to plan my route into theatre, making the most of the opportunities that presented themselves along the way.
How does it feel to see your work on the stage?
HTP: I like watching my productions, seeing the shared vision that you and the playwright (along with the cast and creative team) have developed over weeks and months come to life is just wonderful. It’s obviously nerve-wracking sharing productions with an audience for the first time as you don’t know whether they’ll share your love of the piece, but watching a good performance of a show you’ve directed when an audience is connecting with it is just brilliant.
What was the best bit of advice you were given when you started out?
HTP: I think the best piece of advice I was given early on was to get actors up on their feet as soon as possible in a rehearsal process. Although I do a lot of textual analysis in the rehearsal room I’m someone who learns by doing, so it’s only when actors are given the chance to move around and start to inhabit characters that I see a play come to life.
Why should people come and see Narvik?
HTP: People should come and see Narvik because it’s a beautifully written play by a talented playwright with the bonus of some gorgeous live music – what more could you want?!
What’s next for Box of Tricks?
HTP: After Narvik, Box of Tricks will be remounting last year’s site-specific rural touring piece – Chip Shop Chips by Becky Prestwich – on a national tour. The last tour sold out each and every night, so we’re looking forward to hitting the road again and tucking into more fish and chips!
Narvik runs from Tue 31 Jan – Sat 04 Feb 2017. Find out more and book tickets here.
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