Interview: Post Breakup Conversations in Kentish Town

Kay Brattan and Heather Jones

We bumped into Kay Brattan during one of our regular visits to Lion and Unicorn Theatre, and when she mentioned the name of the show she is currently directing, well, we just had to find out a little more. We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it: and I guess that’s now is certainly attention grabbing, as well as a bonus for any reviewer struggling to fill our 600 word review count! But it wasn’t just the title that piqued our interest, but moreso Kay’s opening line that the show was “about the end of all things”. Because we do love a little nililism in our theatre!

So, we arranged to catch up with Kay, along with cast member Heather Jones, to find out if it’s all worth it in the end of if we should just embrace the end of it all!

First things first, just how does a show from a Canadian writer and theatre company find itself in Kentish Town then?

Kay Brattan: That’s a good question! Well it’s because I’m here. Little Lion Theatre Company was founded by a classmate of mine from East 15, who is also Canadian, and when she went back to Canada, I took over the company. We’ve been around for a while now, and after a brief break, we’re back! We’ll burn this bridge when we get to it: and I guess that’s now was first performed as a stage reading that the company did in 2021 at The Drayton Arms in an international scratch series called ‘Stories From Home’, which was a collaboration between Canadian playwrights and London based theatre makers. This play in particular stood out to me, and to Heather Jones, who is playing El and read for the role back in 2021, and it was her idea to do a fully staged production of Nicola’s script this year. I think Heather said to me “The world’s a mess and I want to throw it into a fire, shall we do this play?” How could I refuse! I love the space at the Lion and Unicorn, and love the artistic community David Brady has fostered here. After directing a piece for SideHustle Scratch earlier this year in their End of the World show, it just felt like the stars aligned to bring this idea to fruition.

Heather Jones: Really, you have to thank Kay for forming strong creative relationships and bringing her vision to the UK! I’ve had the pleasure of working with Little Lion Theatre Company on and off for the past 5 years and there’s never been a dull moment. There’s always plenty of variety and you can really see the care and attention that goes into each production. From the moment I read We’ll burn that bridge…, I knew this was a piece that the UK needed to see.

What is it about We’ll Burn That Bridge that made it the ideal show for you all to work on?

Heather Jones: I had the pleasure of working on this show in 2021 as a staged reading in the ‘Stories from Home’ series that Little Lion ran. I remember it hitting me really hard at the time, especially with it being shortly after the Covid-19 lockdowns. Everything was pretty gloomy and there were definitely times where I wanted to burn everything and start over! However, earlier this year, I found myself thinking about We’ll burn that bridge… even more. It feels like the world has declined rapidly; no matter where you turn, the media is full of genocide, wars, hate-crime, absurd bills being passed, need I go on? I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that the urge to burn everything and start again has returned (or perhaps just grown). Although, we might not fix anything by staging this production, to know you’re not alone in feeling the weight of everything in this current climate is cathartic.

Kay Brattan: The themes are so resonant right now with everything going on in our social surroundings. We’ll burn that bridge… is ultimately a story about forgiveness. There’s a lot of hurt that surrounds these two characters who care very deeply about each other, but who have caused pain to the other in some way or another. As crazy as the concept is, it’s a story that is relatable to so many of us. Think of it as a “post breakup conversation”. So many things are said and left unsaid between these two characters. I, personally, can relate to the human experience that is happening between Tophe and El in this play, and what Nicola has so brilliantly done is take a micro moment and reflect how it can be found on a macro level, that these feelings of connection and disconnection are incredibly prevalent in the current state of our world today.

What can you tell us about the characters of El and Tophe, are they human or is there some mythical concept at play with them?

Kay Brattan: Well Tophe is the maker of everything, and El is his ex-bff/antagonist (or he’s her antagonist…we do get into that). You can make up your own mind on who these two are, but they’ve been with us since the dawn of time. So although they exist in an ethereal higher realm, they very much exhibit the traits of messy, complicated, and loveable human beings.

Heather Jones: Ahh, well it’s open to interpretation! But, I see El and Tophe as two God-like beings. Tophe is the creator of it all and El once stood at his right hand side. If you want to get biblical, Tophe is most like God and El is comparable to Lucifer. When the play starts, it’s clear the two haven’t seen each other for a long time. It’s a bit like that post break up chat you’ve been avoiding! So, although they are these ethereal beings, they feel very human because of their decisions, conversations and relationships.

The show is about “the end of everything”, a subject that Lion and Unicorn seems to savour, but what about it means it’s not going to be all too miserable?

Kay Brattan: There’s a lot of humour in the script. So despite the subject, Nicola’s infused the script with moments of levity that balance the moments of poignancy, which is wonderfully embodied by Stan (Stanley Eldridge whoplays Tophe) and Heather (El). As a director, I am drawn to these kinds of plays, the ones that take you on an emotional roller coaster. Because life is like that, grief is very much like that. There is light in the dark, and those contradictions exist everywhere around us. A moment of laughter can snap into a moment of sorrow in a manner of seconds. And I think this play truly captures that messy experience of being human.

Heather Jones: Although, it’s about the ‘end of everything’, it’s not all doom and gloom. Nicola has created a wonderful dark comedy that takes you on an honest journey. There will be moments where it gets a bit heavy, but there’s also a lot of humour along the way! I hope the audience will laugh, cry, reflect and discover something new.

Have you got any tricks up your sleeves to bring out the end of the world within the black box of the venue?

Kay Brattan: The space at the Lion and Unicorn is perfect for the intimate nature of this play. We’re in a liminal space, it’s nowhere, somewhere, somenowhere, and in my opinion, a black box theatre already has that vibe, we’re just adding in enough details through set, lighting and sound to transport the audience to Tophe and El’s realm. As for how we’re going to create an ethereal bonfire on stage, well I guess you’ll just have to come and see for yourself!

Heather Jones: We have a wonderful set designer Valentina Turtur and a wiz of a stage manager Harri Compton who have been working hard to bring our world to a reality. Although a true magician never reveals their secrets, we were drawn to the Lion and Unicorn and its black box space as it has this remarkable ability to feel intimate whilst encapsulating the vast ‘nothingness’ that is inevitable when you burn the world!

Given the play is all about the end of everything, have you thought what comes next beyond its run at Lion and Unicorn yet, or is this really the end?

Heather Jones: In truth, only time and funding will tell! But seriously, this is a truly special piece that I feel everyone needs to see and I do hope we can give this to more audiences beyond this run.

Kay Brattan: I hope this is just the beginning for We’ll burn that bridge…. I want to see this have a life beyond this run. I truly think this is a unique piece of writing and I cannot wait to share it. So if you know Sonia Friedman, please tell her to come!

Many thanks to Kay and Heather for finding the time to chat to us. We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it: and I guess that’s now will play at Lion and Unicorn Theatre from 14 – 18 October.