X, Camden People’s Theatre
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Imagine being stranded out in space, with no way to contact Earth! This is one to make you think, make you laugh occasionally but also leave you unsettled. We spoke to UCA Graduate Company to find out more about their performance of X by Alistair McDowall, a show that was originally performed at Royal Court. Catch it at Camden People’s Theatre from 13 to 16 August. Get your tickets here.
What can audiences expect from the show?
Five people out in space, with no way to contact anyone back on Earth. A scary enough thing to mull over in of itself, but with time now being an unreliable source of comfort or knowledge? Audiences can definitely expect a real think-piece. It’s a show that is really going to resonate thematically with people for a variety of reasons, whether thats’s seeing themselves reflected in the relationships between the characters, or being caught up in the existentialism of facing your mortality so bluntly. Despite how terrifying and complex some of the themes, and our cast’s interpretation of them, are, humour is still found in places throughout, which is almost a comfort when paired with the otherwise quite harrowing and unsettling imagery. Everyone is going to take something different away from the play and the experience of watching it. Sort of like life, really.
Is Camden Fringe going to be the show’s first time on stage, or have you already performed elsewhere?
It will be the debut of our company performing X, and the debut of our company as a whole! We formed as a group about a year ago and chose X as our first ever piece. And what better place is there than the Fringe! To have access to such an incredibly diverse and passionate group of people, that all love theatre and the arts and have the privilege of being in the lineup alongside so many other wonderful pieces. We wanted, particularly for our first performance as a proper company, to plant our feet somewhere we felt could do us justice and share the work we have done as a team.
What was it that drew you to this show and role?
I was very keen to do X, I’m very much a fan of horror and existentialism and those are two very prominent themes/genres found in the play. I knew I wanted to play Gilda very early on too. She’s a deeply anxious person; caring very much about how she is perceived and always wants to do the right thing. While these things are personally rather relatable to me, I haven’t actually gotten to play characters like her previously. I really wanted to focus on channeling her anxiety in a way that conveys how complex of an emotion it is and find a way to express it, while still making her different than myself. Finding and playing with the nuance of her and her own strength is such a fun and rewarding process.
What is it about your character that you most enjoy?
That she isn’t one dimensional. While she very clearly struggles with anxiety and often wears her heart quite clearly on her sleeve, she has so much going on other than that. She’s patient, she’s articulate, she wants to connect with people. She’s got this strength within her that can only be seen once you look past her nervous and self-doubting exterior and see what she’s having to carry on her shoulders. She deals with things much better than most people do. She’s admirable.
How challenging has this role been for you?
The role has come with its challenges, though I will say a lot of them relate to the dynamics and the text of the play. It’s definitely the most challenging thing I’ve ever had to learn; Act 2 in particular. In terms of her specifically, Gilda can be a challenge when trying to pinpoint where she is speaking from. I didn’t want to fall into the trap of just making her a quiet, nervous person all the time, but I didn’t want to swing too far the other way and make her too confrontational. Finding nuance is one of my favourite things and while challenging, it’s definitely welcome.
Being a fringe festival, we all know sets have to be bare minimum, how have you got around this with your set and props?
With our play, we are quite fortunate with how free we were in terms of set and props. It’s set in a research facility in space. That left a lot up for interpretation and allowed us to built ideas from the ground up. While we as a company would have likely, had we the budget and facilities, gone for a more in-depth and intricate set etc, we knew that the performance is what really matters. Flooring, a couple of cubes to sit on or use as tables and the props necessary for the plot are all there to support the narrative and create the visual space. It’s an unsettling, cold environment and the lack of things in the space definitely caters to that, which we think works in our favour.
Are there any plans for what comes next after the show has finished its run – for you or the show?
We as a company, as of right now, are planning on developing our own pieces. Some of us have already started writing, which is really exciting and we are all very intrigued to see what each of us brings to the table. The plan is to pick one of the pieces to start working on and put it together, then once we have finished with performing it etc, we can pick another from the pile and so on and so forth! It’s a really exciting concept for us and it will definitely give us the opportunity to try out so many different genres/approaches and allow the writers in our group to have their work brought to life.
If you had to describe your show as a meal what would it be?
Unidentifiable mulch, that doesn’t taste bad but you have to really try to identify any of the ingredients
If budget or reality was not an issue, what’s the one piece of scenery/set you’d love to have in your show?
The giant nightingale that is meant to take up most of the stage and have someone crawl out of it sounds like a pretty awesome sight.
What words of advice/encouragement would you give anyone thinking about doing Camden Fringe next year?
To not feel the need to try and cater to every single person there. It’s completely understandable to want to try and make your piece comprehensible and palatable to as many people as possible, but in doing that, you could be swaying your creativity or instincts. Make the piece that you want to make. And revel in the opportunity to lose yourself in it, doing what you love.
Thanks to the UCA Graduate Company for chatting to us about their frankly quite terrifying first play for their company. We can’t wait to see what they do next. Catch X at Camden People’s Theatre from Wednesday 13 to Saturday 16 August. Get your tickets here.
