THEATRE
Theatre of the mind
Lost in Theatre is described as a theatrical treasure hunt via headphones. Is it a sort of a pre-recorded play? It will explore the idea of public solitude. It will involve the audience seeking out different spots in the building and working out what play has been inspired by each spot.
How much time does it take? The great thing about Lost in Theatre is that the audience can take as much time over a different play as they want – there are no performers as such. If anything, other members of the audience and front-of-house staff can become the characters within the play. And because the plays are pre-recorded, they can be revisited as many times people want. The time of day, in the cases of some of the plays, will change the atmosphere of the piece. Exploring a play in the sunlight will be a very different experience to after sunset, for example.
The plays are five minutes long. How did the timeframe and the unusual setting influence what you created? I think it will make the plays more intense. Being inspired by a specific place in the building and having to be five minutes adds a type of pressure, an intensity that may not be present in another format because the plays have to capture the audience quickly without the benefit of actors.
One highlight of the busy Open Court programme is Lost in Theatre, a lively “theatrical treasure hunt” at the venue. One of its creators, playwright Archie Maddocks, tells us what it’s all about
There are a number of playwrights involved. Did you work together or separately? While the writers met each other and picked which spots we wanted to work from, we created our pieces separately. For something like Lost in Theatre, it needs the intimate experience of working separately from a group to properly showcase the writer’s voice in such a short time.
Do you think Open Court will open up the venue to new audiences, and how important is that to you as a playwright? I hope it does, certainly. Lost in Theatre is unique in that something like this hasn’t really been done at the Court before. It also gives the audience impetus to explore
the building more closely. To me, it’s very important to entice new audiences to the theatre, and something like this will hopefully bring in audiences that would never usually come to the theatre.
Can you remember the first play you saw and when did you realise you wanted to write yourself?
I’ve always been in and around theatre because most of my family are actors. The first thing I can properly remember seeing is The Mysteries at the National. I just enjoyed the immediacy of the experience and wanted to recreate it. Working in theatre is something I couldn’t not do, so for me it was never really a choice. Luckily, I love it.
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photo: Jason Osterman
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