INTERVIEW WITH PATRICK MARBER
Education Dramaturg Ted Sod spoke with Director Patrick Marber about his work on Travesties.
Ted Sod: When did you first encounter Travesties? Did you see the original Royal Shakespeare Company production in 1974?
Patrick Marber: No, but I saw it at school when I was 14, in 1978. Some of the older students did a production. I didn’t understand it, but I really loved it. I was confused by my reaction: on the one hand it was incomprehensible and on the other, magnificent. This intrigued me. It drew me—strongly—to Stoppard’s work. I began reading him and became an admirer.
TS: Later, after you began writing plays, you became friends with Stoppard—correct?
PM: When my first play, Dealer’s Choice, was produced at the National Theatre in 1995, Tom was on the board there. He was a supporter of that play and more particularly of my second play, Closer. I felt very honored to have his blessing. We would have the odd lunch or dinner, and it was thrilling. On one occasion he cooked me lunch in his flat and then gave me some vital notes on my third play, Howard Katz. Pinter and Stoppard are huge influences on my work as a playwright. I have had the great privilege of working with both of them as a director.
TS: Was there anyone who influenced your directing?
PM: I became a director by default. I ended up directing the original production of Dealer’s Choice because there is a complicated poker game in the play, and it made sense that I should look after it because I understood what the hell was going on. I'm influenced by too many to mention but no one director more than another.
TS: Is it true Tom Stoppard called you to discuss another director being considered to direct this revival of Travesties?
PM: Yes! I was in Venice with my wife and one of our sons. My phone rang, and Tom's name flashed up on the screen. I have to admit that I was in the bathroom at the time and that my posture was sedentary. My first thought was, “It’s not appropriate to take a call from Sir Tom Stoppard on the john.” Then I figured, genius though he is, he’s not going to know my exact location. So I took the call, and we exchanged pleasantries. Then he said, “The reason I’m phoning you is that I once wrote a play called Travesties.” I said, “Yes, Tom, I’m aware of it.” He continued, “It seems the Menier Chocolate Factory would like to revive it.” And I thought, “Great, he’s going to ask me to direct it.” Tom continued, “I was wondering what you think of Sam West as a director?” Now, I’ve known Sam since university, he's a friend and a terrific director. In fact, he directed a very fine revival of Dealer’s Choice at the Chocolate Factory in 2007, so it was logical that Tom would ring me about him. I said, “Sam is excellent, and he’ll do a terrific job on Travesties.” Tom said, “Well, good, thank you very much,” and we continued to natter. We got to the end of the call, and I blurted out, “Look, Tom, just one thing before you go - if Sam can’t do it, please can I throw my hat in the ring?” He said, “Oh, well, thank you very much, that's good to know.”
Nothing happened for two weeks. Then I got a call from David Babani, the artistic director of the Chocolate Factory, offering me the job due to Sam West's tricky scheduling issues. I thanked him and said that before
4 ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY Patrick Marber
I committed I was going to re-read the play because I hadn’t actually looked at it since I was 14. It lived in my mind as extraordinary, but I should read it over the weekend to be sure. Obviously I’d say “yes,” but due diligence was required. David said great, and we agreed to talk on Monday.
So, I sat down and read it on a Saturday morning and then felt very glum indeed. I had no idea how to do it. It was impossible to direct. It was as mystifying to me as it had been more than 35 years before. I spent the rest of the day in a very dark brown study thinking, “I can’t turn down this play, I'll never forgive myself.” Equally, I thought, “Tom will never forgive me if I screw it up. Nor will I forgive myself if I fail it because I’ve waited so long to see it done as I dreamed it should be.” On the Sunday I had another try. This time I read the original 1973 version. And on this second read I got an inkling of how I might approach it. I saw it as an intellectual farce with songs and dancing and the lucid logic of a dream. And I found its emotional pull; the terrible tragedy of time. I still couldn’t grasp the play, but I felt I could stage it without too much embarrassment if I got the right Henry Carr.
I phoned David and then Tom and said “yes please” and then explained that having read both of the published texts I felt there were some things we might think about restoring and some other things we might cut. Tom was remarkably generous about all this, and we met on and off over a few months (smoking, coffee, cutting, pasting), and he produced a fantastic new draft specifically for this production. It was a great experience working with Tom, now eighty, on this flabbergasting play he wrote in his roaring thirties. I could see that it was haunting for
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