The Swallowing Dark Gets Rehearsing
Posted by Box Office on 30th Sep 2011 at 10:05 | 2 comments
So, a train / tube / cab journey brought a nine-strong troupe of Everyman & Playhouse personnel to the pleasant London suburb of Forest Hills on Monday.
It was a nice morning, journey-wise, weather-wise, and otherwise-wise, and continued to be as the day progressed.
The reason for such a trip was for our forthcoming production of The Swallowing Dark, Lizzie Nunnery’s psychological drama of two people with stories to tell. Everyman & Playhouse-goers may know Lizzie from her past plays, Intemperance (2007) & Anthology (2010).
Introductions and pleasantries abounded on first contact, as we became acquainted with the lovely folks from Theatre 503 (our co-producing partners in bringing the play to the stage), as well as the ridiculously talented company of the show.
After the meeting and greeting, we were talked through the set design and technicalities of the staging. And didn’t they set the stage well. All the designers have really tapped in to both the closeness and the lyrical quality of the play, and I can’t wait to see all the aspects come together, made all the doubly exciting by the venue. In this, its Centenary year, the theatres will reopen the Playhouse Studio in three weeks’ time, and The Swallowing Dark will be the inaugural show before it moves on to London town.
And then came the read-through. The show itself is a two-hander, an intimate tête-à-tête between a man and a woman telling their stories and finding a truth. I’d read the script, and it’s brilliant, but there’s something about it being performed that’s really incomparable. Wil Johnson and Allyson Ava-Brown star as the two hands, and they already seem intimately familiar with their roles. For a first go, it seemed remarkably accomplished.
As technicians and designers and other talented people conversed and discussed, Day 1 of rehearsals was drawing to a close, and I had leave to remain safe in the knowledge that this play looked a good’n. It’s all about the story, and with cast and company all singing from Lizzie’s expertly crafted hymn sheet, The Swallowing Dark looks set to be a remarkable piece of theatre to both re-open the Playhouse Studio and to grace the Theatre 503 stage.
And then we came to the end. An overground / underground / cross-country train journey later, we merry band of vagabonds pulled into Lime Street Station, aptly overcome by the swallowing dark of an autumnal Liverpool evening.
Andrew Reece
Communications & Sales Assistant (Media & PR)
The Swallowing Dark by Lizzie Nunnery, directed by Paul Robinson.
A Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and Theatre 503 production.
Liverpool Playhouse Studio: 20 October – 29 October
Theatre 503, London: 1 November – 26 November
[Please note that availability for the Liverpool performances are very limited. Please contact the Box Office on (0151) 709 4776]
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