Say It Again, Sorry? on touring … Earnest?
Say It Again, Sorry? have certainly come a long way since we first encountered them back in 2020 at the Omnibus Theatre. And it wasn’t even in the main Omnibus venue, but the tiny little upstairs space! Now they are playing to pack houses up and down the country with …Earnest?, their rather reworked version of Oscar Wilde’s classic.
Eager to find out how they are all doing, we were delighted to catch up with Rhys Tees, Josh Haberfield and Trynity Silk to ask some important questions. And some less important ones obviously!
Hello all, so shall we kick off with some intros.
Rhys: Hello, I’m Rhys Tees, I’m a company director of Say It Again, Sorry and I am one of the actors in …Earnest? I play Graham who plays Lane (and eventually plays Merriman and Prism as well spoiler alert!)
Josh: My name is Josh Haberfield and I’m a company director at the theatre company Say It Again Sorry? We are currently touring the UK with our production …Earnest? in which I’m also in the cast playing the role of Simon Slough.
Trynity: I’m Trynity Silk, one of the founders of Say It Again, Sorry?. I am a performer in the show and the set designer.
So where will we be finding you for the next few months?
Trynity: We are on a countrywide tour until mid June and are visiting loads of beautiful venues. We have Malvern, Torquay, Hull, Cardiff and Leeds coming up very soon. But the tour also takes us all the way up to Scotland, has its final shows at Richmond Theatre in London and stops everywhere in between.
What can audiences expect then?
Rhys: Something very silly and chaotic, for sure – but more than anything, a show unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. Audience interaction often gets a bad reputation, but by the end of the show, I think most of the crowd will wish they had been pulled up on stage with us. Most should be prepared to leave feeling exhilarated, awestruck, and inspired – but a select few will enter as audience members and leave as legends.
Josh: Audiences can expect so much more than just a night at the theatre watching a play. This show is more of an entertainment experience which is geared to have you laughing throughout. It’s a shared one time only experience too as the show is never the same twice.
What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career, and how has it influenced your work on this show?
Rhys: “YOU are enough” is probably one of the most influential bits of advice I’ve ever been given. It’s a wonderful phrase that always reminds me that you don’t have to fake anything or put anything on when performing. If you want to give your most truthful authentic performance, just be present and be YOU. It’s a phrase that we’ve also all adopted in the show, which we pass on to the audience members that join us on stage and it really helps them to settle in to the madness happening around them, and also reminds them that its them that the crowd and to see and will be rooting for ultimately.
Josh: I once got told very early on in my career to “stay out of your head” when acting. What is meant by this is just to allow yourself to be completely present in that moment and not thinking ahead to the next bit or wondering how this certain bit is going at the very time it’s happening. This I find so important and especially in this show where I’m responding most of the time to whatever the audience members are giving me to react too. It’s freeing and allows you to react truthfully as stay in the moment.
Trynity: When I was in my early twenties, an actor I looked up to sat me down and reminded me that my career wasn’t an end goal, that being grateful for every moment on the journey would make life fulfilling, make any struggles worth it. It changed my outlook on everything. It removed the pressure of “becoming successful”. It meant that whatever I was doing was worthy of being done and a moment to celebrate.
What do you enjoy about your character, and what’s the biggest challenge with them?
Rhys: I love the flexibility and variety I get to have with Graham having to play many different roles in the show! It’s such a joy! I’ve done a fair share of multiroling and character work over the years, so it was something very much in my wheelhouse.
I think the main challenge in the beginning came from the fact that you have an unpredictable audience member on stage with you so as well as transitioning from character to character I’m also having to help guide them through the show and really pay attention to every detail of what they are doing.
There’s a part of the show where I have to do the voices of two separate audience members at the same time as well as guide them through the scene. It’s basically ventriloquism but the puppets have a life of their own and can (and will) do whatever they want on stage. It’s such a fun moment and I look forward to it every time, but it does take an incredible amount of focus, and I have to almost enter a bit of a zen like state to get through it. I sometimes finish the scene and I can’t remember what’s happened, it’s a real whirlwind but I love it!
What do you hope the audience thinks after the show?
Josh: I hope that everyone has had a riot of a time! However I then like to think of all the audience members who weren’t involved up onstage imagining themselves in those roles that we give out, and giving them the confidence to maybe push themselves out of their comfort zone the next time an opportunity to do so arises.
What is your favourite element of the show?
Trynity: I love how this show makes fully grown (serious) adults playful. It is so “in the moment” that everyone in the room has a chance to drop their masks and shields, to feel like a child again, to let themselves fully embrace the silly and fun. It disarms people through play.
What do you hope audiences think about your character?
Rhys: Throughout the show, my character Graham is repeatedly told by the director, Simon Slough, “Actors with solutions, not actors with problems.” I hope people see that, at the end of the day, he’s just a guy trying his best to make the show great for everyone – even if some of his solutions to the challenges that arise are… unconventional.
Who do you imagine enjoying the show the most?
Josh: Honestly, this show is for everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, if you like theatre or not even. It’s for all.
How important is audience interaction?
Trynity: Our company was built on the idea of the audience becoming the artist. Audience interaction has become everything to me. Having spent six years exploring this concept and watching how it transforms people when they are able to express themselves – it is a gift that no one knows they need. An opportunity to be creative as a form of real, authentic, individual expression is something everyone should have in their lifetime.
Breaking down the fourth wall, bringing people into the action and allowing them to be themselves without the pressure of a script, without any elements of humiliation or punching down – it is a platform that should exist for everyone.
What are the most important lessons you’ve learned from with the show?
Rhys: That everybody has the capacity to be creative in some way if they are given the opportunity and encouragement. We see people do amazing things in this show every single day and most of the time they never even knew they had it in them. Also, it sounds corny but just what the gift of laughter and community can actually do for people.
We’ve had incredibly beautiful moments chatting with some of our audience members backstage doing this show. I’ll never forget one time we had these two ladies onstage with us and during the interval backstage we found out from them that they were both recently widowed and had come to the theatre alone. As soon as they found this out about each other, they exchanged numbers and planned more trips to the theatre together and we just sat back and watched the forming of a beautiful new friendship. When we said goodbye to them at the end of the show, they thanked us for letting them be a part of the magic and left the theatre hand in hand. It’s moments like that which really make all of this so worth it.
How has audience feedback shaped the show?
Josh: It’s given us the confidence to keep doing what we’re doing and trust that we’re doing the right thing! As far as we know no one else has ever done what we’re doing, so by the feedback being constantly glowing it allows us to carry on with this brave and bold new way of making a live theatre experience.
What was a moment that felt magical?
Trynity: This show has gone through many iterations. Each version has had a little more budget and allowed the vision to be realised more and more. The nature of the show is so silly, and having the freedom to include ideas that add to that sense of frivolity rather than being included for practicality has been very special for me.
If you had to describe your show as a famous person?
Rhys: Oh god that is hard… I don’t think I could narrow this show down to a single famous person. There’s so much stuff going on! Maybe like if you mixed Rowan Atkinson, Victoria Wood, Monty Python, The League of Gentleman and Suzy Izzard in a bowl and made a new person? or maybe like someone like Dionysus the Greek god of wine, theatre and parties…he’s famous right?
If you could have any special guest (living or dead) attend your show?
Josh: I’d love for Rowan Atkinson to see the show. He’s always been a big influence on me since I was young. Growing up watching his amazing clown work as Mr Bean, and then later on discovering his older stand up material was amazing. I’ve always appreciated how he can play the straight man so well but then flip into complete Bouffon. It’d be an honour to have him along.
What’s the weirdest or most unconventional prop you’ve had in the show?
Trynity: Most of the props in the show have very practical uses. Sometimes they are in the show as a plot point, and other times, they are there for a gag. I think one of the more unconventional props is what we have called “the christening veil”. This prop came about whilst trying to find a practical solution for needing to cover someone’s mouth for a scene in the play. Without being able to find a real life solution, we invented our own. There is no such thing as a “christening veil”, but it’s become so normalised that no one questions why it exists.
What do you do during your downtime between shows when you’re on the road?
Rhys: We usually try to get out and explore our surroundings. Go for walks, try local delicacies etc. Either that or I can sometimes be found chilling at our Airbnb or in my dressing room playing Pokémon Red on my Gameboy. iykyk.
How do you handle the physical and mental demands of a touring schedule?
Josh: I’ve been lucky enough to do a lot of touring in my career so over the past decade it’s sort of been the norm for me to be constantly on the go. I always get out and explore whatever place we’re in that week. Find the best local coffee shops. If somewhere rural I get out into the countryside or coast for a long walk.
These things allow you to switch your brain off from “show mode” and enjoy being stimulated by what is around you. The weather is improving so I’ll be chucking my Paddleboard in the boot this week and getting out on the water as much as possible in my downtime.
How do you manage to maintain a sense of community and cohesion among the cast and crew while on tour?
Trynity: I feel incredibly fortunate that the company is made up of a really close group of friends. We have a very close relationship as a group, and working closely together for this many years has really helped us grow creatively and personally as a group. We have recently added a few more people to our touring team and they have fit in so well, it’s as though they were always with us.
I think part of the cohesion is that right from the get-go, we choose to work with people who have the right kind of energy. It is one of the biggest requirements in our hiring process; to make sure the team will gel well. Everyone in the group have a number of silly little traditions and superstitions they adhere to on the road, Guido and Rhys have a very specific warm up routine that they practise before every show, Myself and Rhys have a little wiggle together right before one specific scene in the play. We always shake hands with every single person backstage as we get clearance, proclaiming “Have a show!”
Thank you to Rhys, Josh and Trynity for finding time out of their touring schedule to chat with us.
…Earnest is on tour nationally now until Saturday 14 June. Full tour dates and venues can be found via the below link.
