I am thrilled that TRAILER/trash has been invited to appear at this year's Hotbed Festival at the Junction, hosted by Menagerie Theatre (Friday 10th July, 5.30pm - free entry!).
http://www.junction.co.uk/trailertrash
I'm also humbled and delighted that people continue to wish me and the team their best wishes for Friday, or indeed, have helped cover the costs of this venture which was not part of my Arts Council application. I am truly grateful for this amazing level of support from a wide range of people. Plus the fact that I am asked regularly how the new script is coming along since the reading we did on 15th May.
Well, I'm happy to report that the rehearsal draft for this week has been distributed. And that I am extremely happy with the result - but the proof of the pudding...etc etc. But I stand by my work.
There are some subtle but important changes but I have also gone back to my very, very first premise in which I wanted these characters, Frankie and Shyanne – unlikely as they are as a pairing – to exist in their own little bubble, mainly without any sense of shame, conditions or comment. I admit I was a little distracted by some of the feedback I received from a few people/practitioners who expected a sense of greater 'realism' and wanted total 'naturalism' (whatever that is, really, in theatre...). To have Shyanne, for example, relentlessly tackle Frankie about his gender/sexuality in an obvious, aggressive way is so far from what this play is about and so, although I have included some initial curiosity on her part, I am declining the opportunity to turn it into soap opera. This is not what the play set out to be – I did try to explore these styles after the feedback in a redraft but they changed the nature of the play so much I’ve finally rejected it. So, I’m not regarding this as a faux documentary for the stage and I avidly want the audience to come away with questions – who, what, how, why? Because in the ideal world that I'm creating, there is no transphobia, no homophobia, no racism, no judgment based on a person's preferences, religion or origin. So perhaps I am exploring un-realism, un-naturalism and perhaps I am too subtle for my own good, but that’s the way I like it!
Because what I have discovered from feedback (on this and the previous version I showcased 3 years ago) is that when the questions are open-ended, the audience actually do debate it more either with me, the actors, or away from the play altogether. The biggest task has been to cut it back and remove a lot of the repetitive sequences which I originally included to see which stuck to the wall. I've taken out the ones that didn’t necessarily advance the narrative and I've created a new opening. It's tighter, more direct, more broad brush strokes, peppered with key words and phrases. But ultimately it's about two people who accept each other for who the other person is. And they talk. They talk alot. Because in the real world (were they to inhabit it) there is an upsurge of folk that wouldn't even give them the time of day. They never have done and they'll do their damndest not to, not now, nor in the future.
Welcome to TRAILER/trash.
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