Nights at the Circus

At the beginning of rehearsals for Nights at the Circus we met with the Artistic Director of Kneehigh, Emma Rice, to ask her about her approach to directing.

Q. Do you have a set methodology or approach to making theatre?

There is no formula to the way we make theatre. However, it always starts with the story. No, it starts before then.It starts with an itch, a need, an instinct. I think it's important that all the actors find a personal connection to the story. What does this story say to you about your experience? What is your relationship to the text? It can be a small thing
or a big thing. It might be as simple as I dream about flying. That's something that everyone can relate to.

Q. So, what is your connection to Nights at the Circus?

I'm very moved by and empathise with all the issues of identity in the novel. Carter is exploring what it means to put on the make-up, what it is to live in front of an audience. I feel it's very much a book about women getting older, and certainly women in the theatre getting older. It's about the layers that we cover ourselves in to protect ourselves. It's a novel about theatre and showbusiness and women in that world. It's literally about women bursting out of their corsets and flying. I'm not a feminist in the same way that Angela Carter probably was but I celebrate this book.

Q. Who are your major influences?

Kneehigh has become it's own influence. We are by our nature outsiders. We are not particularly influenced by the business. We get together once or twice a year and ask - what are we interested in now? We have a core team of actors who tend to come back again and again. This is probably the reason why the work is so distinctive. However,
like all theatre directors of my generation I have been greatly influenced by the work of Complicite.

Q. How did you approach adapting the novel?

The amazing thing is that nobody has adapted this text before as it's one of the seminal books of the twentieth century. The challenge of this piece has been working with a massive text. I did a lot of work before rehearsals began stripping the novel back to a manageable story. Things that work in a novel just don't work on stage. They are two
different mediums. The experience that one has being absorbed in a book for nine hours is very different from a good night out at the theatre. I know that some people are going to complain that I've missed out their favourite bit!

Q. How do rehearsals begin?

The first thing I do in rehearsals is get everyone thinking about the production as a whole. The shared imagination is greater than any individual's. I get the actors to tell the story to each other. I usually work on great big pieces of paper, which get stuck up around the rehearsal room. We often refer back to these notes later. Often I find the actors have some of their best ideas on the first day. It's important that these early ideas are not forgotten; they become useful reference points later on, especially if we reach a creative block.

Q. Can you describe any particular methods you use when directing your actors?

I very rarely ask people to improvise vocally in the early parts of rehearsal - that's being clever with words and can come later. I prefer to work on a more emotional level. What does it feel like for Walser to walk into Fevver's dressing room? I might put on music and lights but it's very simple. I'm trying to stop the actors from feeling that they immediately have to be brilliant or clever. I try to give the actors a clear starting point. So I might work out three words that are associated with their character, or sometimes it's a phrase. You might have someone who internally is thinking ‘I am very beautiful' or ‘I'm hungry.' I also give them a clue about their physicality. When they go into a scene they will have three character words, a part of the body that leads, and a secret thought. It means that you are not going into the space starting from nothing. It's vital that the actors have active words to play. You can't play being alone - you just are alone. However, you can play being violent for example. I also get all the actors to work on the same character. So everybody gets the chance to play Fevvers for the day. I try to  create an environment in which the actors are not precious about their work.

Q. Why is play so important to your work?

I have a profound belief as a director that our primary emotion as human beings is fear. We are all basically fearful of making a mistake or looking like an idiot or being found out. In theatre fear is an entirely useless emotion. As a director I try and remove fear from every aspect of the creative process so that nobody is exposed or has a sense of failure.

Q. How do you see your role as director?

As a director I keep a strong eye on the direction of the piece, the actors don't need to worry about that. They are totally free; they don't have to be responsible for the structure. I give them very clear situations to play and they then offer me the most amazing, rich palette of ideas that I could never think of alone. Their play is balanced by my responsibility as a director. I am guiding their play.