handbagged by moira buffini

Transcription

HANDBAGGED BY MOIRA BUFFINI
BACKGROUND RESOURCE PACK
Written by Harry Mackrill
Edited by Mark Londesborough
Handbagged by Moira Buffini
Vaudeville Theatre 2014
Tricycle Creative Learning
The Tricycle’s Creative Learning programme works to develop the imaginations, aspirations and potential
of children and young people in the diverse community of Brent and beyond. Collaborating with schools
and young people, we use theatre, drama and film, to bring unheard young voices into the mainstream;
creating work that engages the emotions and provokes debate. Whether as audiences, writers,
performers or producers of new work at the theatre, young people are at the Tricycle’s heart.
About this Background Resource Pack
This document is designed to give an insight into the research, writing and rehearsal of the Tricycle’s
production of Handbagged by Moira Buffini, directed by Indhu Rubasingham. It should prove particularly
useful for those students of the past for whom Margaret Thatcher’s time in office feels like ancient
history. We have not provided a synopsis here, instead have opted for a timeline of events in the lives of
Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth II, most of which form part of the action or dialogue in the play.
Contents
The Tricycle Theatre Production
p3
Character Biographies
pp4-6
Timeline of events mentioned in the play
pp8-12
Assistant Director’s rehearsal diary
pp13-16
Interview with playwright Moira Buffini
pp17-19
2 Handbagged by Moira Buffini
Handbagged premiered at the Tricycle Theatre in September 2013 and transfers to the
Vaudeville Theatre from 3 April- 2 Aug 2014.
The Company
Q
T
Liz
Actor 1
Actor 2
Mags
Marion Bailey
Stella Gonet
Lucy Robinson
Neet Mohan
Jeff Rawle
Fenella Woolgar
Director
Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Assistant Director
Voice/Dialect Coach
Head of Make-Up and Wigs
Indhu Rubasingham
Richard Kent
Oliver Fenwick
Carolyn Downing
Harry Mackrill
Majella Hurley
Sophia Heron
Lucy Robinson as ‘Liz’, Marion Bailey as ‘Q’, Stella Gonet as ‘T’ and Fenella Woolgar as ‘Mags’
Image: Hugo Glendinning
Character Biographies
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state for the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth
realms as well as being the Head of the Commonwealth. Born in 1926 and becoming Queen aged 25,
she has seen more than 60yrs of huge social and political change. Major events in her life and reign are
detailed in the next chapter of this document on pages 7-11.
MARGARET THATCHER
Margaret Thatcher was the first woman Prime Minister of Great Britain and the first woman to lead a
major Western democracy, which she did for 11 years from 1979-1990. Major events in her life and
career are detailed in the next chapter of this document on pages 7-11.
ACTOR 1 plays:
Kenneth Kaunda, born 1924 in Zambia, trained as a teacher before becoming General Secretary of the
African National Congress (ANC). In 1958, Kaunda broke away from the ANC and formed the Zambian
African National Congress (ZANC). He helped gain Zambian independence from Britain and became its
first President. Kaunda was instrumental during the Lancaster House Agreement (that brought
independence to Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe) – and was said to have bonded with Margaret when they
discovered they were both parents to twins.
Nancy Reagan, was born Anne Frances Robbins in New York in 1921, and later trained to be an actress.
In 1949, she signed a seven year contract with MGM. MGM promotional material in 1949 said that her
"greatest ambition" was to have a "successful happy marriage”. She met the young actor, Ronald Reagan,
in Hollywood and they married in 1952. She co-starred with Ron in her final film, Hellcats of the Navy.
Nancy Reagan launched the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign in 1982, which was her primary
project and major initiative as first lady. After the assassination attempt on Reagan, Nancy consulted
astrologer Joan Quigley, who would become known as the ‘White House Astrologer’.
Michael Shea, 1938 – 2009, was born and raised in Edinburgh and studied Economics at university. In
1963, Shea entered the Foreign Service, serving in Ghana, West Germany, Romania and New York. He
became the Queen’s Press Secretary in 1978. From the early 70s, Shea also had a successful career as a
novelist, and published political thrillers under the pseudonym Michael Sinclair.
Neil Kinnock, born in 1942, Tredegar, Wales, was the son of a coal miner and a nurse. He studied
Industrial Relations & History at the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, and became
a Labour MP in 1968. In 1979, Jim Callaghan appointed Kinnock to the Shadow Cabinet and in 1983
Kinnock was elected as Labour Party Leader. He gave his famous ‘I Warn You’ speech during the ’83
General Election. He said that Thatcher “was a person who couldn’t see, or didn’t want to see the
unfairness and disadvantaging consequences of the application of what she thought to be a
renewing ideology”.
Enoch Powell, 1912 – 1998, read Classics at Trinity College, Cambridge before becoming a
Conservative MP in 1950. In 1974 he became an MP for the Ulster Unionist Party. He held strong British
nationalist views, and became infamous for his controversial ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, in which he warned
of the consequences of immigration. The Times newspaper said of the speech: “This is the first time that
a serious British politician has appealed to racial hatred in this direct way in our postwar history."
Actor 1 also plays: Kenneth Clarke, Conservative MP who was a member of Thatcher’s cabinet during
the 1990 Leadership challenge; A (fictitious) Palace Footman – a member of Her Majesty’s household
staff at Buckingham Palace; and a Protester of the 1990 Poll Tax Riots, which took place just before the
new legislation – deemed unfair by politicians and civilians alike – came into play.
ACTOR 2 plays:
Denis Thatcher, 1915-2003. Born to New Zealander parents, in Lewisham and educated at Mill Hill
School, a non-conformist public school. He had a successful army career and was made MBE for his
service during the war. It was during the war that his first marriage, to Margaret Kempson, fell apart and
they divorced in 1946. Denis took over the family paints and preservatives business, ATLAS Preservatives
when his father died, later selling it to Castro. Denis met Margaret Roberts through the Conservative
Party and proposed to her in 1951. He retired from his position at Burmah Oil in 1975, four years before
Margaret was elected Prime Minister.
Peter Carrington, b. 1919, was the 6th Baron Carrington and took his seat in the House of Lords on his
21st birthday. He served as British Defence Secretary between 1970 and 1974, British Foreign Secretary
between 1979 and 1982 and as the sixth Secretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. He is the last
peer to have held one of the four Great Offices of State. He was instrumental in the Lancaster House
Agreement, which gave Zimbabwe independence.
Geoffrey Howe was born in Port Talbot, Wales, in 1920 and read Law at Cambridge. He became an MP
for the Conservative Party in 1964. After the Conservative victory in 1979, he became Chancellor of the
Exchequer and later Foreign Secretary, until he was demoted by Margaret in 1989. Howe’s resignation in
November 1990 – in retaliation to her attitude toward Europe - is said to have hastened Margaret’s
downfall. Dennis Healey said of Howe’s resignation speech: “It was the equivalent of being savaged by a
dead sheep.”
Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States of America, began his career as an actor in
Hollywood. His final film was The Killers in 1964. Although he began his political career as a Democrat, he
actively supported Nixon's campaign for president in 1960and – at the request of his wife Nancy switched political parties, officially becoming a Republican in 1962. In 1966, Reagan successfully ran for
Governor of California and served two consecutive terms. For the 1980 election, Reagan won the
Republican nomination and beat Jimmy Carter to the presidency. Reagan also won the 1984 presidential
election against Democrat Walter Mondale.
Arthur Scargill, left school at 15 to become a coal miner at Woolley Colliery in 1953, where he
remained for 19 years. In 1962, he undertook a three-year, part-time course at the University of Leeds,
where he studied economics, industrial relations and social history. In 1973 Scargill was elected
Compensation Agent for the National Union of Miners (NUM). He led the union in the 1984–1985 miners'
strike. He is currently leader of the Socialist Labour Party, which is founded in 1996.
Actor 2 also plays: Gerry Adams, Irish republican politician and President of the Sinn Féin political
party; Rupert Murdoch, the Australian founder of News Corporation, who owns Sky television and
many publications, including The Sun and The Times; Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II and
the longest-serving and oldest-ever spouse of a reigning British monarch; Michael Heseltine,
Conservative MP who stood against Margaret in the leadership challenge of 1990. Margaret said of
Heseltine, “he had everything it took in politics except brains.”
Fenella Woolgar as ‘Mags’ and Jeff Rawle as Actor 2/ Denis Thatcher (image: T ristram Kenton) Marion Bailey as ‘Q’ and Stella Gonet as ‘T’ (image: Tristram Kenton) 7 Handbagged by Moira Buffini
Timeline of events mentioned in the play
Queen Elizabeth II
World Events
Margaret Thatcher
Early lives
21 st April, 1926 – Born
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of
Windsor in London.
1936
Edward VIII abdicates the throne to
marry American divorcee, Wallis
Simpson. Elizabeth’s father becomes
King George VI, making Elizabeth first
in line to the throne.
13 th October, 1925 – Born
Margaret Hilda Roberts in Grantham,
Lincolnshire.
1939
Hitler invades Poland; two days later
Britain and France declare war on
Germany.
1940s
1940 – Elizabeth makes her first
radio address to the country
during an air raid on London.
1940
Rationing begins in Britain. Winston
Churchill becomes Prime Minister.
1943 – Margaret causes “quite a stir
in Grantham” by gaining a place at
Oxford, where she reads Chemistry.
1944 – Elizabeth becomes a
Counsellor of State, taking
official duties in the absence of
her father.
1945
8th May; VE Day is celebrated as
Germany surrenders.
1947 – Graduates from Oxford with
a 2:1 and moves to Colchester to
become a research chemist for BX
Plastics (“Plastics was one of the
things of the future”)
1947 – Elizabeth marries Prince
Philip of Greece & Denmark,
known as Philip Mountbatten, at
Westminster Abbey.
1948 – Prince Charles is born.
1947
Indian independence.
1948
The NHS is launched.
Empire Windrush arrives in England.
1949 – Margaret stands as
Conservative candidate for Dartford.
Millionaire divorcee, Denis Thatcher,
proposes and Margaret accepts –
although they postpone any public
announcement until after the
election.
1950s
1950 – Princess Anne is born.
1952 – George VI dies whilst
Princess Elizabeth is touring
Africa.
1953 – The Coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II.
1957 – Queen Elizabeth II makes
her first live television address.
1951
Harrow educated Winston Churchill is
re-elected and will become Elizabeth’s
first Prime Minister. He is succeeded
by Eton graduate, Anthony Eden.
1956
The Suez Crisis in Egypt. Britain sends
troops but is force to withdraw,
signalling an end to Empire rule.
1951 - Margaret and Denis marry.
1953 – Margaret qualifies as a
barrister. Four months later she gives
birth to her only children, twins Carol
and Mark.
1959 – Margaret is elected MP for
Finchley.
1960s
1960 – Prince Andrew is born.
1964 – Prince Edward is born.
1965 – Elizabeth makes a state
visit to Germany, the first by a
British monarch for 52 years.
Elizabeth attends the funeral of
her first PM, Sir Winston
Churchill.
1963 – The Robbins Report on
Education leads to state paid fee’s and
maintenance from the Government to
students in higher education.
The President of the United States,
John F Kennedy, is assassinated.
1961 – Margaret is appointed
Parliament under secretary for
Pensions and National Insurance.
1965 – The Comprehensive education
system is initiated.
The death penalty is abolished.
1967 – Abortion and homosexuality
are legalised in the UK.
1968 – Martin Luther King is
assassinated.
1969 – The Governor of California,
Ronald Regan, addresses the Institute
of Directors at the Royal Albert Hall.
Margaret Thatcher attends.
1970s
1971 – Elizabeth receives
Emperor Hirohito of Japan on his
first state visit to Britain since
World War II.
1977 – Elizabeth celebrates her
Silver Jubilee. The Sex Pistols
release God Save the Queen.
1979 – Philips uncle, Lord
Mountbatten, is killed by the IRA.
1971 – Decimalised currency replaces
pounds, shillings and pence.
1979 – Widespread strikes by public
sector trade unions lead to the Winter
of Discontent.
18 British soldiers are killed in an
ambush by the IRA at Warrenpoint.
During the Commonwealth Heads of
Government meeting, attended by
Elizabeth and Margaret, the Lancaster
House agreement brings
independence to Zimbabwe.
1970 – Edward Heath appoints
Margaret Secretary of State for
Education and Science.
1971 – Margaret bans free milk for
school children. The papers dub her
‘Margaret Thatcher: Milk Snatcher’
1975 – Margaret wins the
Conservative Party leadership
challenge against Edward Heath.
Later in the year, Denis retires from
his role at Burmah Oil.
1979 – Airey Neave, Margaret’s
political aid and friend, is killed by a
car bomb planted by the IRA, outside
Westminster.
MARGARET IS ELECTED AS THE FIRST
FEMALE PRIME MINISTER OF GREAT
BRITAIN.
1980s
1981 – Prince Charles marries
Lady Diana Spencer. A year later
their son William is born.
1983 – The Queen and Prince
Phillip visit Ronald and Nancy
Reagan during a state visit to
America.
1986 – Prince Andrew marries
Sarah Ferguson.
1980 – 10 IRA Prisoners starve
themselves to death during a hunger
strike at the Maze Prison.
The Moscow Olympics Boycott, lead
by the USA after the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan.
1981 – The protest group, Women For
life On Earth, arrive at Greenham
Common to protest against cruise
missiles.
Ronald Reagan becomes the 40th
President of the United States.
1983 – Wins a second general
election with a majority of 144 seats.
1985 – Margaret is the target of an
IRA bomb that explodes during the
Conservative Party Conference at
the Grand Hotel, Brighton.
1987 – Margaret wins third term as
Prime Minister with a decreased
majority of 101 seats.
1982 - Argentina invades the Falkland
Islands, Thatcher quickly retaliates.
The conflict lasts 74 days until
Argentinean surrender.
During the conflict, Ronald and Nancy
Reagan make a state visit to Windsor
Castle.
1983 – Neil Kinnock gives his famous ‘I
warn you speech’.
The USA invades Commonwealth
country, Grenada.
1984 – A national miners’ strike begins
under NUM leader Arthur Scargill.
1986 – Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster.
1989 – The fall of the Berlin Wall.
George Bush becomes the 41st
President of the United States.
1990s
1992 – The Queen volunteers to
pay income tax on her private
earnings. This is implemented a
year later.
Large parts of Windsor Castle are
destroyed in a fire.
The Queen gives her ‘Annus
Horribilus’ speech at the
Guildhall.
1990 – Geoffrey Howe resigns from
the Cabinet.
1992 – The Conservatives win the
General Election and John Major
returns as Prime Minister.
1997 – The Labour Party win the
General Election and Tony Blair
becomes Prime Minister.
After 150 years of rule, Britain hands
Hong Kong over to China.
1996 – Prince Charles and
Princess Diana divorce.
1990 – Michael Heseltine stands
against Margaret in a leadership
challenge.
Margaret steps down as leader of the
Conservative Party and Prime
Minister.
John Major takes over as leader of
the Conservative Party and becomes
Prime Minister.
1992 – Margaret enters the House
of Lords as Baroness Thatcher.
1997 – Princess Diana dies in a
car crash in Paris.
2000-present
2002 – The Queen Mother dies
aged 101.
The Queen celebrates her Golden
Jubilee.
2005 – Prince Charles marries
Camilla Parker Bowles.
2001 – The 9/11 terrorist attacks on
America. Britain join the US in air
strikes over Afghanistan.
2003 – Britain join the US in an
invasion of Iraq.
2005 – The 7/7 Terrorist attacks on
London.
2001 – Appears at her first
Conservative general election rally
since 1987. She announces: “I was
told beforehand my arrival was
unscheduled, but on the way here I
passed a local cinema and it turns
out you were expecting me after all.
The billboard read The Mummy
2011 – Prince William marries
Kate Middleton.
The Queen begins a four-day
state visit to Ireland, the first by a
British monarch in 100 years.
2012 – The Queen celebrates
her silver jubilee.
Returns.”
2003 – Denis Thatcher dies at the
age of 88. The Conservative central
offices fly their union flag at half
mast as a mark of respect.
2004 – Margaret attends Ronald
Reagan’s funeral and delivers the
eulogy.
2005 – Celebrates her 80th birthday
with a dinner in London attended by
650 guests including the Queen.
2013 – Margaret dies in London
after suffering a stroke.
Assistant Director’s rehearsal diary – Original Production (Tricycle
Theatre, 2013)
Harry Mackrill
WEEK ONE
Our first week begins with a brief introduction to the play by our writer, Moira Buffini. The play is an
extended version of a short piece presented in 2009, as part of the Women, Power & Politics season,
directed by Indhu (and also starring Stella Gonet in her current role as ‘T’, the older Thatcher). She tells
the company how much she enjoyed writing the play, allowing it to process her own relationship toward
Thatcher and the decade that she was in power; the 1980s. Moira also explains that in theatre we can
present “a truly complicated picture” and that this play can explore voices that are normally censored in
the public domain. But she is sure to maintain that everything is, above all, a leap of the imagination.
On Monday, we have a full read-through of the play. This is the first time that cast and creatives hear the
play out loud – but, as Indhu explains, it is also important for the whole Tricycle team to be present. This
way everyone from Marketing to Development and Front of House understand the play that they will be
working on for the next 12 weeks. In a producing house, the world of the play reaches much further than
simply the rehearsal room and the theatre.
We spend a good deal of the week on table work. The play is a complicated exploration of an eventful
decade and it is important that we are all aware of the chronology and facts of the piece. For the majority
of the Company, both Thatcher and the Queen are two of the most significant public figures, and each
new scene elicits their stories and anecdotes . It quickly becomes apparent that Thatcher was a Prime
Minister whose influence, good and bad, reached every strand of society.
However, for some of us (Neet Mohan playing ‘Actor 1’ and me) born during her premiership, a more
detailed and fact-based level of research is required. We sift through timelines, biographies and
interviews, painting as broad a picture as we can. And by the end of the week, everyone is working from
the same level of understanding.
The week ends with a new edit of the play. With new writing, the rehearsal process develops both the text
and production, and Moira remains a key figure in the rehearsal room. Lines are added and
cut, and sometimes swapped between the characters. It is a detailed and complex process which can only
be fully achieved when the text is spoken by the cast.
WEEK TWO
With the research and ‘table work’ (literally, sitting around a table working on the play) – as well as a large
amount of editing – behind us, we start the second week by putting the play on the floor. What becomes
immediately apparent is the complex world which Moira has created. There are many dimensions within
the single story, all of which exist in unison with one another. Although the four representations of
Elizabeth and Margaret are present on stage throughout, we have to discover who is responsible for and
involved with each new ‘beat’ of the play.
Unlike a traditional, realist play, Moira has broken the convention of the Fourth Wall, and each
character has a great deal of direct address to the audience. As the week progresses, certain conventions
of this particular play solidify: ‘Q’ and ‘T’ are aware of the play as a theatrical event, whilst ‘Liz’ and ‘Mags’
are more directly connected to the real-life historical chronology presented in the piece. However, these
conventions become more blurred with the development of the characters of ‘Actor 1’ and ‘Actor 2’. As
we rehearse the opening of Act 2 more and more questions arise: Can the ‘actors’ speak directly to the
audience? Which world are they in – the theatre, or Q and T’s imaginations?
In order to try and solve this, we start to discuss the ‘actors’ relationship with each other and the world of
the play. Indhu sets up an improvisation: a conversation that begins as the actors leave their ‘dressing
room’ and eventually becomes Moira’s text. This way, Jeff and Neet are able to contextualise their roles
and develop a subtext for two characters that initially appear as “functionaries”, but become more vocal
and politicised throughout the piece.
During the week, Majella Hurley – the dialect and voice coach– comes in to watch rehearsals, observing
the actors and taking notes. She then works with the four actors playing Elizabeth and Margaret,
exploring the fundamentals of the (incredibly well known) voices, but also the how they developed with
age. She then works with Actor 1 and 2, focusing on the accuracy of portraying historical figures but also
how to access different dialects quickly, often switching between two in a scene.
Finally, at the end of the week, we ‘stagger-through’ the entire play. This allows Indhu and Moira to view
the arc of the whole piece for the first time since our read-through on day one. We are able to clarify
which moments drive the story forward and where it becomes cluttered or difficult to follow.
WEEK THREE
As we begin our third week of rehearsal, Moira submits a final rehearsal draft to the company (and the
publishers). Each beat of the play is becoming more defined and Indhu encourages the actors to find a
freedom within the structure of the play. But within this freedom, we have to remember to keep the
‘stiff-upper-lip’ and professionalism of these two women. Indhu talks about the clarity of story-telling
being aligned with the straightforward approach of the Queen and Thatcher; sentimentality doesn’t
serve this story.
Relationships, instead, become apparent through physical relationships. The blocking of the play is vital
to explain how each character impacted Margaret and her premiership. The slightest shift of a chair can
signal huge defiance (for example, when Gerry Adams comes on stage), and the emotional rigidity of
Thatcher and the Queen contrasts wonderfully with the Hollywood schmaltz of the Reagans.
Carolyn Downing and Oliver Fenwick, respectively our lighting and sound designers, come into rehearsal
to see the shape of the play and understand how the story has developed over the last two weeks. They
both need a clear knowledge of the shape of the piece so their work can compliment and build on the
work of Indhu and the cast. Richard Kent’s set is minimalistic, creating a large, white purgatory for the
action to be played out on, so the different locations will be created through sound and lighting effects.
WEEK FOUR
The final week of the rehearsal process is used for piecing each element of the production together. We
run Acts 1 and 2 individually, hear notes from Indhu and Moira, and then build into a more detailed and
complex picture. Running the play allows us to see what does and doesn’t work
before we enter the theatre, and we continue to re-block moments that don’t seem in keeping with the
rest of the piece. It also allows for the play to seep into the actors muscle memory. Richard (our designer)
brings in the actual handbags that will be used, and the Queens and Thatchers are fitted with their shoes.
Jeff and Neet are bombarded with elements of their costumes and props (although these are often
rehearsal items and we won’t see the finished product until next week’s tech!) and start to chart their offstage plot as much as their onstage narrative.
We finish our time in the rehearsal room with a final run of the play. It has been a real journey into the
heads of two of our most famous female leaders, and the men who worked so closely with them. The
whole cast use this run to try out any remaining ideas and really throw themselves into the world of 80s
Britain.
WEEK FIVE
The next step is for the creative team to add elements of lighting, sound and design to the story-telling,
and enhance what our brilliant cast is already doing. Technical rehearsals are slow but necessary part of
the production process and allow the cast to find their feet on stage without the pressure of ‘performing’.
The costume and wigs are uncanny. Before our eyes two versions of Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret
Thatcher have appeared.
The final piece of the puzzle will come on Thursday when we open the house to the audience. It is an
exciting prospect to finally be sharing this story.
Interview with playwright Moira Buffini
Director Indhu Rubasingham and playwright Moira Buffini in rehearsal
Image: Tristram Kenton
Harry Mackrill:
What was the inspiration behind the original Handbagged and how
did this develop into the production today?
Moira Buffini:
When Indhu came to me with the Women, Power and Politics season [Tricycle
Theatre, 2010] and asked if I would write a play, it seemed that Margaret
Thatcher - as the most dominant woman in politics in our times- was an
obvious place to start. But I wanted to put her interestingly - not with all the
men with whom she operated, but with the one other woman of similar status,
who she had to meet every week for all those years she was in power. And the
Queen is interesting to me, as this strange figure in our country who is both
powerful and powerless.
The rumours surrounding the Queen and Margaret Thatcher are fantastic; full
of drama and humour. Their relationship is an ideal basis for a piece of theatre.
And I wanted to look at the 80s, and Margaret's time in power, from an unusual
angle. It seemed to me that Margaret’s effect on the Queen could explain her
effect on all of us, on the whole country.
Having two versions of the Queen and Thatcher was one of the first ideas that
came to me and stuck. It felt the right way to tell this story. But I was open to
anyone coming onto the stage, in order for the story to be told. And, if you have
Ronald Reagan, Nancy has to make an appearance! What also developed during
the re-working of the shorter play was the importance that the ‘other’
characters were played by two actors who were themselves characters.
HM:
How did your writing process for HANDBAGGED differ
from your usual approach?
MB:
The research. I had to absorb myself in the world of these two women.
I was sure I only wanted to use material that was in the public domain. I didn’t
interview anyone – I didn’t want to indebted to their version of events. But I
would read and read anything I could find, and watch documentaries, clips and
interviews. I was absorbed in the way these people speak; and they would often
come back with some absolute pearls.
I didn’t want to be reverential because I was writing about real people. Drama,
and the exploration of character, has to be fair. My political bias will, obviously,
be heard within the play, but I set out to be absolutely fair. My research came
back with a fractured image and I wanted to show Margaret as she was, as a
human being. And one who was complicated, shocking, admirable, and terrible.
All of this work helped me enormously, but the final leap is of the imagination.
HM:
How do rehearsals inform your writing process?
MB:
I feel it is absolutely important for a writing to attend rehearsals. Theatre is
above all a collaboration and rehearsals are the most creative time in the
production of a play.
In a rehearsal room, you get to see and hear your play for what it is. There is a lot
of fine tuning and focusing; you understand what you need more of and what
you don’t need at all. Which is why characters such as the Protester and Gerry
Adams were added as late as week two of rehearsals. The need of the story
becomes clear in the rehearsal room.
But the rehearsal is also a time to take a step back, once the editing has been
completed, and allow the director to be the voice in charge. As a playwright, you
are one of the demands on the director, which is why – for me – it is so
important that playwrights share a taste and vision with the directors they work
with.
HM:
You’ve written for both stage and screen. Why was theatre your
chosen medium for HANDBAGGED?
MB:
Film is a literal medium. And I felt this story had to be told in a place as clear,
coherent and poetic as the stage. There is a freedom within the theatre which
Handbagged needed; in order for the action to be in several places as one time
and told from the perspective of several people.
18

handbagged by moira buffini

Transcription

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