I’m sick of bleak theatre. Let’s have theatre of hope

Convener: Tom Wright

Participants: Mhairi Grewlis (I’m sure I got that wrong – sorry!) Nicola Stanhope, Rose Biggin, Eve Leigh, Sian Rees, David Cottis, Tom Brocklehurst and a hive worth of bumblebees.

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

So, on Sat night I saw a 110min straight through show. The performances were amazingly committed and the writing was lush and dense, but five minutes in I knew that it would bleak; nothing good would happen to these characters and there was no chink of hope. All that skill and effort was aiming to make me depressed. I need no help to get depressed; I can do that sitting in a dark room on my own for a bit. If I really need help I can turn on the news for five minutes. What I need help with is generating hope, feeling up-lifted and inspired. Yet this show had dozens of five star reviews and was sold out.

Throwing it open the floor, I was persuaded to reveal the show; Pitchfork Disney. I was roundly told that the script was brilliant and hilarious. My bad! We drilled further in:

Mel Brooks: ‘Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die.’

Me: Comedy is when horrible things happen and you laugh, but at the end everything is resolved. I like this. (Can, like musical, be like a happy meal – sugary/fatty fun on the way in but lets you crash.)

Tragedy is when horrible things, but they are not inevitable, you sit going ‘no, don’t do that!’ then you end up crying, and come out purged. I like this too.

For both to be satisfying they have to have light and dark. Also happy with comedy-tragic and tragic-comedy (funny and ends badly, or sad but ends happy.)

But there’s a new thing were everything starts bleak, no hope, then there’s a grim middle section before a despairing ending. Ugh. Seems to be very popular with reviewers and audiences – feels very serious and we like to talk about serious.

(Digression on academia – is it okay to talk about emotional response in academia? Some different views on this.)

Site recommendation: Taste (haven’t found URL yet?) which sorts reviews by feeling it engenders not genre or stars. Sounds great!

General feeling; I’m picking my tickets really poorly! Everyone else seems to be seeing inspiring stuff from time to time.

Other ways at looking at the issue:

Cynicism vs. what? Idealism? Romanticism?

Or in fact, since drama reflects life which is hard, but not unending horror, all drama should have light and shade. Unremittingly bleak is therefore just bad, as would be unremittingly chirpy. Question of quality not emotional choice.

Is it to do with process – might writers, on there own, get more bleak than devisers bouncing off each other?

Ayckbourn, Chekhov, Beckett – funny but bleak as about people stuck, unable to change. Do we laugh at them, feeling smug, because we believe that we can change?

Inspiring shows – Big Society, Operation Wingfield, Daniel Kitson.

Maybe one play doesn’t transform you, but like reading a particular newspaper, the constant drip drip of a certain sort of story can have a profound impact.

Key question for an artist: What do you want to achieve?

Lower Class Social Bleakness as Social Tourism – Middle classes get to be relieved that their life is not that bad.

It’s nice to have characters you can care about.

If this world is meaningless maybe we should celebrate those who are making meaning! Very liking this. Might make it into a t-shirt.

Closed with a promise that if TomWrightDirector.com comes up with something which is just bleak you can punch him in the face.

Regretting that a bit now, as lots of people seemed quite keen to hold me to it. Oh well. Promise is a promise. . .

Actions: If anyone knows the address of the emotion review site, let me know. Also I want to know you’re stories about theatre uplifting/inspiring you in a lasting way.

Ashrams in India…how to be calm(ish)

Convener: Sally Christopher

Participants: Tiphaine, Alex, a lovely lady from Dublin and another very nice lady

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

A very lovely, useful and insightful session where we met and shared experiences involving yoga, ashrams, India, Ta-ke-ti-wa and the notion of dreams and travel.

The conversation travelled from practical tips on where to go and what to expect (Kerala, Shivanda and a family yoga farm on Clare Island, off the coast of West Ireland come highly recommended) to how we feel, how we cope, what we desire and what we dream.

We discussed the notion of discipline and dedication. Of focusing the mind. Of challenging yourself and your body.

We discussed what drives us, what may happen when we begin to unlock (and the fallout) and how we cope with this. Meditation and a way to focus the mind to stop the chatter in our heads which come from our work and our life.

Conversation moved to talks of trekking through France, friends on pilgramages and interesting dreams. Alex bumbled bee-ed in at a wonderful time – sharing the knowledge of another group’s discussion on Ta-ke-ti-wan.

It felt refreshing and inspiring and calming. It reminded me that I don’t need to go to India to find inspiration and time to think…although I will still be going in India and I am, of course, naturally scared but thrilled by the prospect.

I am also going to stretch every morning for 20 minutes and start up my morning pages again. Small things, but great things.

Thanks to those who came. A brilliant and relaxing way to end this uplifting weekend.

Lunchtime Buddhist Chanting Meditation

Convener: Lawrence O’Connor

Participants: Tom, Shakira, Louise, Mary, Eve, Jennifer

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

Very enjoyable session in which we chanted together for fifteen minutes, led by Tom, preceded by a brief explanation of the phrase chanted: Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo

Following the chanting, there was discussion about our responses to it.

Everyone agreed that the sound was very pleasing as was the activity of participating and that they felt increased sense of positivity.

Several observations were made about the positive, subtle interactions of breath, presence and sound.

We were to chant longer but Tom felt that the sound may be off-putting to some who are not engaged in the session and did not want to risk encouraging more people than necessary to have to obey ‘the law of mobility’ by leaving the building to get away from it.

Spirit in the Circle

Convener: Leviathen

Participants: Andy Saich, Nicholas McInerny, Ned Lunn, Lucy Avery, Chris Grady, Cindy Osein, Kath Burlinson, Sam Pallis, Alan Lyddiard, Ellis Kerkhoven, Valentine Zagerie, Sarah Sansone, Paschale Straiton

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

Session started with much talk about circles and their ancient potency and essentialness to living a fulfilling life. Safety and comfort of circles of people. The non-hierarchal and fostering nature of sitting in them.

Breaking of that tradition by organized religions in to a physical focus on an authority figure by shifting people’s position to forward facing toward an altar/authority figure.

Richard Giles is/was an architect who restructured a church in Philadelphia into a circle.

The power and superiority of theatre in the round was discussed.

Spirituality in theatre – when the audience comes out feeling strongly connected to each other, that’s a spiritual experience.

However, as evidenced by the number of people who left or quickly chose not to join our discussion, the word ‘spirit’ seems to scare people. This could be due to the liberal, societal-norm and hence religion-shunning nature of many people drawn to the theatre arts. What more benign words can we use in lieu of ‘spirit’? Heart, passion, and soul were suggested.

How do we keep the Spirit alive in our drama schools and diminish fear of the concept of spirituality?

There’s a spiritual experience in the collective creation process of mounting a production from idea to script to casting to staging, and then performance and viewing experience.

A negative critique of productions often uses phrases like ‘lacks soul’ or ‘has no heart’ to describe that lack of a spiritual or transformative or transcendental element to a production.

Quotes of the session: ‘Say yes to availability and yes to vulnerability’

‘The only reason angels can fly is because they take themselves lightly’

‘I wouldn’t be a very good explorer if I didn’t get lost.’