Interview: Navigating The River

The River at Greenwich Theatre

Playing at Greenwich Theatre right now is Jez Butterworth‘s The River. It returns to the London stage in its first professional production since its premiere at the Royal Court in 2012. It’s a revival that we’ve called challenging and rewarding with a cast absolutely on top of their game in our recent review.

In the play an unnamed man (Paul McGann) takes his girlfriend on a fishing retreat to his uncle’s cabin, but once there, truths become slippery, time becomes abstract and nothing is quite as it seems.

We caught up with Director James Haddrell, along with stars Amanda Ryan and Kerri McLean, to find out a little more about bringing The River back to the stage.

What was it that attracted you to this project originally? 

James: Jez Butterworth is undoubtedly one of the most important British playwrights working today, but The River is something of an enigma – a three hander that Jez wrote after the initial success of Jerusalem, that was presented in a tiny space at the Royal Court Upstairs, so not many people have actually seen it. The chance to bring the play to a wider audience has excited me for a long time – it’s taken two years to align diaries with this cast – and Jez has been incredibly supportive of the show and has revisited the script specifically for us – so even for those who did manage to see the show there are surprises in store.

What’s your favourite element of the show? 

James: This is a play that uses a sometimes surreal, sometimes fairytale, sometimes slippery, elusive quality to try to say something about love. There are key moments in the production that are significant and will stand out – Paul McGann spent a morning with a fishmonger recently to learn to gut a fish – but for me the style is what I love the most. A folk tale with a theatrical twist, populated by real people feeling real emotion.

What has been the biggest challenge in realising the Jez Butterworth’s original vision? 

James:  I’ve had the good fortune to be able to talk to Jez about the show, to go over any tricky moments and to explore new readings. To be honest the biggest challenge has been trying to do justice to what he describes as his favourite of all the plays he’s written. 

For a revival of such a play, it must really be a bonus to have the playwright available and working with the team?

James: It has been a real privilege having the chance to chat to Jez about the play, but more than that, for this production he has revisited the script (which he described to me as his favourite, of all the plays he’s written). Jez hasn’t changed the dialogue in the core of the play, but there is a new frame for the work, and a twist in the tale that wasn’t there before. I’ve had the chance to liaise with playwrights before, with Philip Ridley, Michael Frayn and more, and it is always beneficial to have them on hand to answer questions about the script or an approach, but this was new for me – and the changes were made half-way through rehearsal. That means we’re still finding the resonance in what has been added, but I know it will be impactful for our audiences.

You also completed a major revival with Frozen earlier this year, how did that go and was there anything you learnt from the process of bringing that back to the London stage that you have brought over into The River?

I was incredibly proud of Frozen, though I think we are still feeling the impact of the behavioural changes that emerged during and just after the pandemic – comedy and musicals still seem to be outselling drama, in a way that wasn’t the case before COVID. But if I learnt anything, it was to trust the quality of the writing, and to play it straight. The best plays by the best playwrights don’t need to be reimagined or updated, the work and the words stand for themselves. Frozen was a tough piece (about a child murderer and the consequences on a mother) but the audiences were incredibly complimentary. The River is challenging in a different way, presenting the audience with a lot of ambiguity but at the same time with some of the most lyrical playwriting – and I think again it should be presented with confidence and be allowed to speak for itself.

Kerri, Amanda, what is it about your character that you most enjoy?

Kerri: She’s bold, brash, sexy and very fun to play. There’s a multi layered depth to her, and I love how smart and sharp she is. She’s got a mature emotional intelligence for her years. Every time I get close to her, I find another layer, so yeah… thoroughly enjoying peeling the layers off this onion, still got more to go before opening night.

Amanda:  I like her autonomy. I enjoy her sarcasm and the fun she finds. I particularly enjoy her secret, that you don’t even know she is hiding until it gets revealed half way through the play.

How challenging have the roles been for you?

Kerri: I’ve been doing screen acting work for the last half a dozen years as I have a little boy and haven’t wanted to be away too much so wasn’t taking theatre runs. James has been really understanding, allowing me to do school drop-offs and pick-ups to fit around rehearsals where possible. Something you rarely see in this industry. It’s been great getting back into stage acting again and I’ve had to work hard on getting those stage acting muscles and techniques back in shape… it’s same same but different, see.

Amanda:  The text is often poetic and rich with imagery. Honouring this whilst keeping the character light and relatable has been an enjoyable challenge.

James, does reviving a play like this and from such a significant author as Jez Butterworth bring any additional pressure? Does your approach change at all compared to say a new piece of writing? 

I think it does come with a degree of pressure. Presenting new work feels like the pressure sits with the playwright – if the work isn’t enjoyed or well received then the fault must lie in the play (not my view necessarily, but one that I imagine is hard to entirely avoid), whereas presenting work by such an established and lauded playwright means that if the work isn’t well received then it must be the fault of the production. The odd situation here is that we have an established play by a celebrated writer, but one which now has original elements, so we are all being tested at once. In approaching that I guess the key has been to blend the old and the new, to try to make the new elements feel integral to the whole, stylistically and narratively. I hope we’ve achieved that, but I look forward to hearing what audiences make of it…

What do you hope the audience thinks after watching the show?

Kerri: Well selfishly, I hope they come out thinking wow that was a brilliant production and well worth coming out for – let’s give these actors loads more exciting work!! Seriously though, I hope it captures the imagination and gets people talking and thinking about the themes within the piece and what it’s trying to say. It’s a text that can be read and interpreted in a myriad of ways, and like the characters that live within it, there’s a lot of layers. Jez Butterworth’s writing is simple and elegantly eloquent and reflects such an interesting part of the human condition. I hope the audience recognise truths contained within the play and perhaps see parts of themselves within the piece as a whole, even if they’re nothing like the individual characters that inhabit this strange little cabin by the river.

Amanda:  I think the audience will be fully intrigued and possibly leave with many questions. And I hope they do continue to think about and discuss what they have just seen, In a way that we have all enjoyed unpicking the events and relationships within the play, during our rehearsal process

James:  I hope they go away trying to unpick what they’ve just seen, feeling as we have in rehearsal that in one moment they’ve got it, and in another moment it has slipped out of their grasp. I know they’ll relish the performances on stage and the delicate magic of the story they’re seeing, but for me, the enigmatic quality that I hope they enjoy is what sets this play apart as something really special.

Our thanks to James, Amanda and Kerri for their time. The River plays at Greenwich Theatre until 27 October. Further information and tickets can be found here.

Read our four star review of The River here.