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Craig Henry tells us about his Camden Fringe play, Assessment Centre
Many of us have experienced it, a cringeworthy assessment centre for a job. The role playing, the tests, the questions that make you question why you’ve even bothered to turn up! What’s probably most surprising is that it’s taken so long for someone to turn it into a show. But that is just what Craig Henry has done, and the result, Assessment Centre, will be at Etcetera Theatre for three evenings this August for Camden Fringe.
Before that though, we invited Craig along to attend our own assessment centre to answer some questions about the show.
What can you tell us about Assessment Centre, is it going to be a fly on the wall for a job interview?
Yes – the play will have the audience watch two candidates battle it out for a new job. The two applicants must work together over a series of tasks despite being total opposites. The Assessment centre pushes them to their limits to see how much they will sacrifice to achieve success and eventually unpack their childhood traumas.
The play is a mix of the serious and the silly. Three tasks, two candidates, and one job up for grabs, all set over an hour of comical chaos.
Is this the result of a bad past experienced then?
I work in HR and have been involved in many (good and very bad) recruitment processes. Inspiration came from wanting to take this high pressured scenario and make something dramatic from it. I have seen candidates perform very erratically under pressure and through this it launched the idea of basing a play in this world.
The second part of the inspiration for this play came from a podcast I co-created in lockdown which told the stories of adults bereaved as children. So the play is a combination of a HR corporate setting with a sprinkle of grief and trauma. Although this sounds like an unlikely mix, I am hoping this absurd setting will entertain and give the audience something to ponder.
Are you exploring the sometimes-absurd nature of job interviews, or more looking at the people who will do anything to succeed?
The play does indeed take the absurd nature of job interviews and pushes this further. In my opinion, job interviews are absurd in structure and expectation because how can you test someone’s suitability for a role that is 37 hours a week per year in a 45 minute interview? The other aspect is the pressure of the applicants, the desperation to be successful and how this destroys logic and sensible behaviour. If you combine these two forces an explosion is imminent and there lies this play.
How extreme do you plan to take things with Assessment Centre? Are you looking to push the applicants to their limits for maximum comic value?
Without giving too much away, it is safe to say that this is not your regular job interview. We have used this eccentric content to provide comical chaos over the hour that the play runs. Working with the actors has been a lot of fun on this, and taking their experiences and energy into this cauldron has been so rewarding to witness in rehearsals.
The other reason we are pushing things beyond usual limits is because that is what grief and trauma does to us. After the loss of a loved one we are changed forever and ‘normal’ behaviour can be forgotten, this show explores that and hopefully presents a refreshing alternative to the discourse on death in the UK.
Will we recognise the experiences that your applicants are going to go through?
If you have ever been to a job interview or have lost someone in your life then you will be able to recognise the experiences in this play.
It is maybe those who the play does not relate to that I am most intrigued to watch it. If you have ever been in someone’s presence after they have experienced trauma and you stumble on what to say and how to behave, this play could provide guidance on this.
As you have figured out by now, this show may not be an easy watch because I want to make the audience comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Do you feel the whole process of actually applying for a job nowadays is as much an act as any stage show?
Applying for jobs in 2023 is largely completing online application forms which is such a bore. Beyond this, interviews are very performative and always fascinating to watch; the power plays, the strange sentences, the sweaty palms and deafening awkwardness, who wouldn’t want to make a play out that?
Art imitates life and by bringing my professional experience onto a dramatic canvas it will shed light on something many can relate to. The question is whether or not it will make sense or be relatable, guess we answer that opening night…..
Has writing this put you off applying for another job ever again?
I must confess, I am a huge HR nerd and strangely enjoy the job application process. That said, if I was ever to attend a job interview like the one depicted in the play, I don’t think I would last very long.
Our thanks to Craig for his attendance. We’ll let you know if you’ve been successful soon.
Assessment Centre plays at Etcetera Theatre on 8, 12 and 13 August as part of Camden Fringe. Further information and bookings can be found here.
