Читать книгу Hard to Swallow - Mark Wheeller - Страница 10

A Reflection on the Touring Production by TiE It Up Theatre

Elliot Montgomery and David Chafer (TIE IT UP THEATRE) talk about their experiences of working with Hard to Swallow.

First Encounters with Hard to Swallow

For Elliot, the initial exposure to Mark Wheeller’s work was during his Secondary School education, when an inspirational Drama teacher handed out a script that stirred such emotion it was to shape his entire career from that point on. That script was Hard to Swallow.

The play addressed the issue of eating disorders, which was unheard of at the time. The subject matter become the focus of many discussions amongst the teenage drama group for weeks and months afterwards. It moved the group to raise money to fund an on-site counsellor to support other young people but also inspired a young Elliot Montgomery to become a Drama teacher and, over thirty years later, he continues this legacy with his own Drama students. There still remains no better way to do this than by introducing young people to Mark Wheeller’s plays, which all have a timeless quality and are as relevant today as when they were written. These plays take pride of place in Elliot’s school drama studio, with Hard to Swallow as the centre-piece. Elliot introduced the text to his close friend, David Chafer, an experienced professional actor and producer, and TIE IT UP THEATRE was formed.

How was TIE IT UP THEATRE created?

It had always been an ambition of Elliot’s to create a theatre company that was able to provide young people with a high quality, professional live theatre experience. David was keen to ensure that the company not only delivered an important message to young people but also provided an opportunity for talented actors to tour the UK, backed by a company with ethics and integrity at its heart. So, when Eduqas announced that Hard to Swallow was going to be one of their GCSE set texts for Drama it felt like an appropriate time to make that dream a reality.

Rehearsing and Touring Hard to Swallow

Mark Wheeller was (and continues to be) incredibly supportive of the company’s work and they were thrilled when he gave the company permission to take the play on a national tour of UK secondary schools in the Spring of 2018. TIE IT UP THEATRE cast five incredibly talented, professional, adult actors, who were a joy to work with in rehearsals. The play was new to each of them and it was great to see how the story and its subject matter achieved the same emotionally charged reactions from them as it continues to with students across the country. This was most evident when the cast were shown the harrowing photographs of Catherine that are used in Section 10 of the play. No matter how often we see these images they are no less shocking and we are reminded how important this play is in educating its audiences about eating disorders.

Each actor came to the first rehearsal having carried out lots of research into the story, its characters and the subject matter. Maureen Dunbar’s book ‘Catherine’ on which the play is based, was a powerful resource that we used. In addition the company carried out extensive research into anorexia and a variety of other eating disorders.

Once the ensemble started moving from page to stage, it was important to TIE IT UP THEATRE that they created something new and didn’t reinvent anything that had been done before it in its staging. It was also important that the actors felt completely comfortable in offering their ideas about how each scene could be crafted; this really was to be an open and safe rehearsal space where all ideas would be explored.

TIE IT UP THEATRE had several aims for this particular tour. Firstly, they wanted as many young people as possible to be able to see a live piece of theatre. Secondly, they wanted to help bring the text to life so that they could help Drama students with their studies. Thirdly, and most importantly, they wanted to raise awareness of the complexity of eating disorders and their impact on the families of the victims. They were constantly aware that they were performing a play about real people and they owed it to the Dunbar family to tell their story in the most truthful and sensitive way possible.

The production was created over a period of six intensive days before embarking on the two week tour. The response to the production has been overwhelming. The discussions that have taken place during the workshops afterwards have shown how many young people have been affected by eating disorders in some way. The company have received messages from teachers letting them know that some students have opened up for the first time and made a disclosure about their own battle with anorexia. They have also explored many other issues in the workshops as students have picked up on the stresses and strains that may have been caused as a result of Catherine’s illness. The issue of mental health is often discussed and it is important to the company that students are signposted to where help is available for them.

TIE IT UP THEATRE have now toured the UK performing Hard to Swallow every Spring since 2018. To date they have performed in over seventy schools to approximately 4,500 young people.