Distortion is the culmination of the weirdest and most wonderful behind-the-scene efforts, and perpetually hurdling over the numerous objects thrown in our way. We just have a moment to catch our breath, grab a coffee and write a blog post before hurtling into rehearsals, then straight into the show's run! Book tickets.
On a crisp November evening, in an attempt to distract myself from the prospect of returning to my soulless job the next morning, I innocently Googled "how to make a website". Three weeks later, I had quit my job, completed a brief online course on HTML and created a basic website for our theatre company. We then began the Brighton Fringe Application process, and after submitting to about 12 venues, one expressed interest in what we had to offer. Two 19 year-olds with only 6 days separating them can easily be underestimated. Having both completed a year's training in REP, and with Artistic Director Molly Bater already having previous professional experience in directing, we still manage to look better in person than we do on paper. The intimate 2x3.5m box allowed an audience of 30 to experience the show end on. It was already clear this space would create the perfect atmosphere for the show, and allow the audience to see the whole story without hiding from anything.
January saw an apt New Year's Resolution of "make it happen" almost topple to the ground. After weeks of waiting, we received a brief email from the office that would grant us performing rights for David Harrower's Blackbird, informing us that a commercial production was in the works and we could not continue with the show. Perhaps here "pole vault" is a more accurate description of our obstacle than "hurdle"... A week before the registration deadline, an epic decision awaited: cancel our Crowdfunder campaign, return the money and pull out of Brighton Fringe, or create our own show from scratch and pitch that to our venue contact. Naturally, we were both too stubborn to quit. The deal was sealed on the back seat of a Hyundai i10, speeding along the M4 from Worcester to Oxford between family visits. We both sat with our laptops open, ferociously typing and scrolling through calendars, whilst simultaneously negotiating with our venue contact about where to fit in our performance slot. It was decided: Distortion would show at 5:20pm, 9th-15th May, at Venue 18 - Sweet Waterfront 2.
February sent Molly off on a UK tour of a Theatre In Education show about cyber-bullying called Don't Pack Up Your Troubles. Between performances to hundreds of children, she flipped the tone to create the dark world of Distortion. We decided to emulate some of the themes that run in Blackbird, as these are ones we are passionate about discussing. As the show developed, the originally male paedophile character became genderless as this would be more open to cast, however, Molly's writing eventually leant towards exploring the psyche of a female paedophile. With family working in psychiatry, research into this unique character was compelling and eye-opening. It became clear that the writing was not going to be a narrowminded, tabloid-esque, paedophile bashing political rant. It was more interesting to explore both characters as humans, rather than monster and victim. You will discover the disjointed thoughts and feelings of Alma twelve years after her childhood abuse. Memories chop and change as you watch her twist through trauma and turmoil. Emotive pieces of abstract movement convey feelings where words do not suffice. One thing is certain about the show: it is not written to please. I won't make the Marmite comparison, but it may have a lasting bitter aftertaste; some will empathise deeply with one or both characters while others may feel disconnected from the experience. We only hope that those two people meet after and have a passionate discussion about the show and its topics, themes and styles.
The casting was scheduled for the end of March, along with Molly's return from tour. We had a fantastic casting workshop involving animal movement, devising dance and script work. We cast two fantastic women for the roles of Danny and Alma, and you can learn more about them on our website! A fortnight later we congregated in Battersea Park to shoot the teaser trailer. The Sunday sun saw swarms of children taking over our filming location. Legally we weren't allowed to ask people to move, and the image of four fully grown women waiting patiently in line for the swings behind several tiny humans is hard to forget. Watch the trailer below:
It seems hard to believe it'll all be over in a month, as so much is left to do! Molly has just about enough time to recalibrate her body clock from anti-social writing hours (it's always the way isn't it?) to socially acceptable rehearsal hours. With props forming a steadily climbing mountain as they arrive day by day in the post, I'm becoming more and more worried about how we're going to move them all up to London and then down to Brighton! One thing is certain; there is never a dull moment creating this show.
Emily Aisher, Production Manager
Incredible! It all looks and sounds so exciting - we can't wait to see you down at the Brighton Fringe. The best of luck!