LIVE VOICES

While the ‘Juliet balcony’ pictured here has been featured in performances such as American Troops (where the actor came out from it on a zipwire) and other plays, we want to tell you some secrets from the people who make those productions possible at the wonderful Live Theatre. To do so, we have created this short piece of ‘verbatim theatre’ from three interviews conducted with people important to the theatre. ‘Verbatim’ is a type of documentary theatre constructed from the words of real people.

1.
My granddad was quite important to Live Theatre. It’s really nice to connect with the person I never got to meet. 

I write plays too, but I never grew up in a theatrical household. 

A lot of our holidays when I was a child were in a campervan. Rainy Scottish islands, fifty sheep. I wrote about that.  

I love the noisy youth groups. They make it all up themselves.  

They realise they have the ability to conjure a world from nowhere. 

Like a world where you can only eat baked potatoes and beans. And all the rebels want is sandwiches.  

You’re all in the same imaginary world, and someone says, what if this happens? And the audience will be like yes, we believe you. 

2. 

There’s a little bit of me in most of this building. 

You know how people have comfort zones? 

A lot of the clues are in the script for sound design.  

You add drama. Atmosphere. You locate things. 

It’s just bringing the real world into the theatrical world, that’s all. 

If I shut up, and you listen to the world… 

3.
I’ll warm up on my tall tales.  I’ll give you facts too.  

You decide which is which. 

Let’s start at the beginning.  

Once, it was a maritime museum, then a chandler’s.  As the workers watched, a crack appeared in the wall, and grain trickled out. 

Trinity chare runs behind the theatre. 

The woman who haunts it is the Grey Lady (they often are.) The way you tell she is a ghost is, when she lifts her veil, she has no face. 

This is our community garden, have you seen the strawberries?