INTERVIEW by Heather Jeffery

It was a real pleasure to be invited to see the dress rehearsal for the first run of VOLCANO on 7 March and to have the opportunity to ask questions post performance.   I wondered whether my presence would be distracting for the actor, whether I might garner more about Proforca’s processes and how easy it might be to fully understand the deeper concerns of the play? The clearest point about the play is just how relatable it is, particularly for men.  It has the constant theme of what happens when a man finally gets off the tread mill.

Max, played by Jamie O'Neill, experiences a melt-down in one night to remember. The show has a Brechtian format with the time being flagged up on the projected image whilst familiar scenes of London clarify the location. One of my first thoughts about this solo play (with voiceovers) is how does the actor remembers all his lines especially when the rehearsal process has been completed within five days. 

It's no sweat for Jamie who admits that at first it’s really “bitty” and that he needs to “connect the threads” the through line of the story. The sound helps him to channel his feelings and acts something like buoys in the ocean, helping him to find his way.  Far from being distracted by an audience, he actively “needs an audience”.   He needs “people to speak to, the smile on their faces or that awkward moment.” He seems to thrive on the challenge as it enables him to be more “spontaneous”.

Co-writer Georgie Bailey strikes right at the heart of the play when he mentions that during lockdown he felt that theatre companies were putting on shows to earn money, rather than for creative satisfaction. He isn’t in theatre for the accolades and so he’s really pleased to back in a pure creative process such as this.

Director David Brady doesn’t agree that companies were producing work to earn money as his experience was different. During lockdown his play 5A mystified the theatre scene when he refused to give any details of the play pre-performances.  He's always pushing the boundaries.  He points out that Volcano is about getting off the treadmill. It’s scripted with ‘lots of lists’, to do lists which we all have in life (a bit like Trainspotting's opening lines ‘Choose a life. Choose a job. Choose a career’).   In Volcano it's about the realisation that we can have a different life, the one we really want.  This is something that David really believes in, note his tag line for the Lion and Unicorn Theatre: ‘Be who you want to be’. 

The play is achieved with the minimum of fuss, with projection replacing a set, minimal lighting effects and sparing but very exacting sound design. Sound is something tremendously important to Proforca company, with often poetic language or imagery being used. In Volcano the sound is used almost as the other characters of the play. 

The full team present in the room includes the Associate Director and the Movement Director. They all agree that the show is now in the hands the actor.  Jamie hasn’t got here by chance with 700 applicants whittled down to 64 for the live auditions. He’s the right choice because he is not the ‘made’ actor, he’s developing and that is going to be interesting over the run. At the same time David will be challenged in his role as technician, because he’s going to have to interact with the actor to get across that feeling of a dialogue between them. 

David’s ideas are working wonders at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre. It’s largely black box because without a set “the world is bigger, you can go anywhere” he explains. He is clearly a man who doesn’t like being told what to think, it’s his bugbear with twitter, so the play doesn’t preach, it just shows a man in meltdown, with a few surprise elements.  The potential to go in another direction is a major step but some people are doing just that. 

Bookings for the show can be made here

Our interview with co-writer Georgie Bailey is below. 

Georgie Bailey is co-founder of the multi Award-Winning ChewBoy Productions. On this occasion he is collaborating on VOLCANO with PROFORÇA THEATRE COMPANY led by David Brady. We, at London Pub Theatre are delighted to have this opportunity to find out more.

LPT: Firstly, how did the writing collaboration with David Brady and Proforca Theatre Company come about?

Georgie Bailey: Back pre-pandemic days, I worked with David (Brady) on the 2020 instalment of Feel More and had a wonderful time creating a new piece in that format. It was a blessing to be in such brilliant company, and I was chomping at the bit to work with David and Proforca again. Then, in 2021, I was fortunate enough to work with David and James Lewis (co-writer) on Proforca’s new play Lately in a Dramaturgy capacity – and had the best time! We worked together in exploring the play’s story, key moments and characters and putting together provocations for what could happen instead, leading to a more holistic version of the play which was more representative of the key ideas and themes. Lately then went on to get nominated for an OFFIE for best new play, so I think we all thought that working dynamic clicked really well, leading David to ask the question about Volcano… and here we are!

LPT: Could you tell us something about the story of VOLCANO that might surprise us.

Georgie: The story takes us through an odyssey of London over one night, and some of the characters that Max meets aim to paint a picture of today’s British society. These characters are surprising in themselves, and offer a lot to the wider landscape of a discussion around mental health, connectivity and who we decide to put our trust in. Alongside this, the audience are very much included in the journey of the story. Not in a participatory way, but more in an active storytelling sense, which is a surprising and refreshing take on dramatic form.

LPT: What has been your process for co-writing the show with James Lewis? Is it anything like your collaboration with Hal Darling (co-founder of ChewBoy Productions) on ‘Tethered’?

Georgie: The process for writing Volcano has been incredibly collaborative, open and honest. David has given myself and James a great deal of scope for working on the play, and has allowed the room for us to play, experiment and explore ideas and themes in brand new ways through multimedia and poetic writing. My collaboration with Hal on Tethered was a longer process, and involved us playing around with ideas in a room as actors as well, which feels like an incredibly different process, but doesn’t necessarily mean one is better than the other. I’ve loved both processes for different reasons, and hope that the openness of mine and James’ collaboration has created a holistic piece which speaks to everyone.

LPT: How has your previous writing experience fed into the writing? Should we expect the same kind of surrealism that you have developed for ChewBoy Productions? 

Georgie: There are definitely some abstract elements in there which aim to keep the audience on their toes, along with some of the comedy inspired by everyday life ringing true throughout. A lot of my previous writing experience has fed into this project, particularly my work on DJ Bazzer’s Year 6 Disco in learning more about how to write for a single character traversing across multiple spaces in an hour whilst maintaining audience engagement. I think Volcano is one of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on to date, and has allowed me to experiment with my style, voice and favoured techniques I’ve learnt from my previous experience, but also challenge myself to think in new ways.

LPT: What new insights have you gained from working with Proforca?

Georgie: It’s been wonderful working with the Proforca team to realise what the piece was. It was incredible being able to utilise the Lion and Unicorn and actually develop ideas in the space itself which is such a privilege as a writer – getting to know the space you’re writing for even better. David is a brilliant collaborator too. He’s incredibly encouraging and challenges ideas and thoughts in such a positive way to bring the best out of everything to a small moment to the poignance of endings. It’s also been wonderful getting to work with Jamie O'Neill (lead actor playing Max) on the play, and writing with an actor in mind to play to their strengths and test them also – Jamie’s got a lot of fun on his hands!

LPT: What is your favourite bit in VOLCANO?

Georgie: It’s hard to choose just one bit! There’s a very loud sequence set in a night club that I think is my favourite, but I don’t want to give too much away…

LPT: Could you tell us a little about your role within the play?

Georgie: Sam is a man living on the streets around Liverpool Street station and signifies a moment similar to the ‘Good Samaritan’ for Max, which backfires and sends Max hurtling down a different direction. Sam definitely makes his presence felt and is a very honest character too! He’s been very fun to explore so far.

LPT: What do you think you will personally bring to the play and what are you particularly looking forward to performing in Volcano?

Georgie: Huge question! I’m hoping to bring a different perspective to the world of the play through class and situation. David, James and I wanted part of the play to be about the people you always pass but never speak to, and the idea of the lack of connectedness we have as a society. This is something that’s been on my brain a lot recently, and I’m excited to explore it through the character, and through the play too.

LPT: Finally, who would you most like to see in the audience?

Georgie: The person reading this!