The Camden Fringe Interviews
Krill Levman talks about Interview
Calling your Camden Fringe show Interview really is going to lead to confusion isn’t it! Especially when we then want to do an interview about Interview! But that’s exactly what we have done, as we find time with director Kirill Levman to ask him questions about, yes, you’ve guessed it, Interview – this is getting very meta isn’t it!
We like to think our interview was a little more conventional than the one being portrayed on stage though! And you can catch that when it plays at Etcetera Theatre on 9 and 10 August.
Great to chat with you, so first things first, shall we do introductions.
My name is Kirill Levman, and I’m an independent theatre director from Israel. My team and I have brought our small, but unique show to the festival, and we are proud to represent our art and culture here.
What can audiences expect from the show?
The show is an adaptation of the 2007 Steve Buscemi film. It’s a comedy, but if you ask me, I don’t really know where you need to laugh. The film itself was very sarcastic, but our own interpretation, that we’ve tried to create is maybe even more. Hope you’ll like this, though we are taking all the absurd of the film to red lines.
Where will we find you during Camden Fringe then?
We’ll be performing at the Etcetera Theatre. A few years ago, I took a course in London and one of my classmates – Lucien- he’s helping me here today, told me about this theatre. I’d never worked in pub theatres before, but when I lived in Camden Town, it was just next to the Etcetera. I thought it was a sign. I believe in all this magical stuff. And it’ll be an interesting experience for me- pub theatre is such a British invention. I like it.
What was it that attracted you to this project?
Let’s confess, everyone wants to produce big shows with one thousand people. But when you’re a freelance fringe director in some small and not the most popular country, you’re mostly looking for cheap deals. Surely if you’re going to London.
So, I was looking for two actors plays. On the other hand, it won’t be a lie to say that I also like two actors plays. I like stories where a limited number of people find themselves in a limited space and find their secrets that they hide from everyone and from themselves too hard. We know a lot of films of this style, and I thought it could be a good idea to adapt one of them. These stories are often boring, but I like that. Life is boring and cold sometimes, and we’re all lonely and scared. But if you emphasised the real tragedy of that in a piece of art, if you can emphasise it in the right way, it could be just a gripping piece. More than some nerve-wracking thriller.
When we started working on this it was quite a simple text, but we’ve found out how much drama is hiding in this small talk. Every word that you choose to start with, could bring you to a completely different plot. There’s an endless labyrinth of feelings sub-texted in our routine conversations sometimes.
What is it you hope the audience think after watching the show?
In the play two people are feeling something common between them. But every time they feel that they have stepped forward to this ‘something’, they take two steps back. I’d like that in real life, people could remember that if you like someone, it’s better to keep getting closer, and not to be afraid of your feelings, and not to give up.
Is Camden Fringe going to be the show’s first time on stage?
Returning to cheap deals… It’ll be the world premiere in Camden, but we did a few previews in Israel. There we did it in a site-specific version. We performed in a real apartment where real people live. It was a completely immersive experience, which made people feel the part of our heroes’ life. I hope we can repeat that in London on the stage too.
Being Camden Fringe, we all know sets have to be bare minimum, how have you got around this with your set and props then?
Oh, you just buy it in Argos on your way from the airport to the theatre. We’re all very experienced savers in fringe. Really, I bought a few things online, and I’ll collect it before the rehearsals.
Will you be frequenting the bar after your show, and if so, are you hoping people might stay to ask you about the show?
I’m scared already. I have no problem to perform in front of thousands of people, but I’m such an introvert in my real life. I’ll probably stay for one ginger ale (I don’t drink alcohol, and I’m a very rare guest in pubs), and I hope my actors will help me to answer any questions.
If you had to describe your show as a colour, what would it be, and why?
It’s not hard to tell when I use red posters on the wall and a red carpet on stage. On the other hand, once I’ve had a show where it was nothing but one red rose on the stage. Anyway, I’d call that show red. I like red, but I’ve had a show that I’d called yellow, and one more was blue. And it’s almost nothing to do with the real major colour on the stage. It’s a mood.
If budget was not an issue, what’s the one piece of scenery/ set you’d love to have in your show?
Returning to cheap deals… (laughing). When I’ll be directing these big shows with one thousand people, I won’t refuse to a time machine on stage for a start. But I have a feeling that my stage will keep emptying with every new production. I guess my minimalism is stronger than all the budget abilities.
Thank you Kirill for taking the time to talk to us. Interview will be playing at the Etcetera Theatre as part of Camden Fringe 9 – 10 August. Further information and tickets available here.
