I have done quite a few crazy things on stage and television over the years. I’ve performed a safer sex show for gay men on Hampstead Heath at midnight, and convinced audiences across the globe that I was kidnapped by Mama Cass. I’ve set an American flag alight, and appeared as a fat version of Posh Spice. I’ve even had sex with a cake – all in the name of art, of course.

I recently put the video of my cake sex performance on YouTube. My mother stalks me online, and tracked it down. She was shocked and horrified, which I found strange. In my mind it seemed totally OK and kind of normal to have sex with a cake. Then I realised her taste in performance is more Les Mis than Miss Mess. Let’s just say she didn’t share the link on her Facebook page.

As a performer, if you don’t push the boundaries of art, taste and comfort, then you might as well go and work at the RSC. Traditional theatre is safe, cosy and comforting; fine for a midweek matinee on a coach trip from the Home Counties, but I rarely find it life changing. Yeah, I’ve seen lots at the National, much of it very good. But it doesn’t get me very excited.

On the opposite side of the performance spectrum, there’s a cabaret culture of “risqué” which I find equally bland and boring. Any publicity that tells me I’ll be titillated, teased and shocked… well, you can guarantee I’ll be the one snoring in the stalls. Burlesque and cabaret presents itself as risky and saucy, but how many faux-drunken European accented ‘sexy’ shows can one watch? One day Edith Piaf is going to rise from the dead as a zombie cabaret star and strangle her modern imitators… then we’ll all be free.

I prefer to see and make shows inspired by clubs, gigs and parties. It’s where real life in all its messiness and brilliance happens. My latest solo show, Unhappy Birthday, combines all three of these elements.

Unhappy Birthday explores the extremities of pop fandom. The show takes the form of a birthday party, and I’ve invited my all time favourite singer, Morrissey. While we wait for him to turn up, we play pass the parcel and crazy stuff happens, with a backdrop set list of Smiths and Morrissey tunes. There’s lots of dancing, snogging and beer – and that’s just the audience. I channel my inner teenager for this show; it is such an extreme, concentrated version of myself. The emotions, attractions, and passions we feel as teenagers are so powerful and silly. I love that. Unhappy Birthday is a reminder of the joy and embarrassment of being a teen.

I wanted to really push myself with Unhappy Birthday. Bringing in Scottee as my director was a move towards more challenging physicality.  He is fat like me, and I knew he’d instinctively understand the challenges – and fun – of having a big body. My main goal was to create a visceral show that thrust me beyond my performance boundaries…  scary and exciting!

It was a tough challenge, because most days I’d rather sit on the sofa with a cup of coffee and watch reruns of The Great British Bake Off. Scottee encouraged me throw myself around the rehearsal room like an idiot. I wasn’t sure if I’d succeed, fail or die trying. But if performers don’t push themselves – or have directors who share their vision, then audiences get bored… and that’s a one way ticket to an Equity retirement home.

While performing Unhappy Birthday, I’ve fallen flat on my face, sat on an audience member and collapsed the chair, and groped nearly a hundred strangers. It’s not Shakespeare, and it’s not been directed by Nicholas Hytner. Unhappy Birthday doesn’t star Dame Judi Dench and Andrew Lloyd Webber hasn’t written the score. I don’t wear a corset, and there’s not a bowler hat in sight, either. Sorry. But you should come and see it anyway. You just might enjoy yourself.

Unhappy Birthday plays at the Camden People’s Theatre from 14 May – 1 Jun. For information and tickets, see the CPT website.

With so much going on for Shakespeare’s birthday on 23 April – celebrations at the Globe, the RSC and at Shakespeare’s birthplace - here at AYT, we thought we should do something to get in the party mood too. What better way to celebrate than a competition to win a book full of drama games for acting Shakespeare? Yes, we have teamed up with interdisciplinary theatre director and writer Martin Jago to give you the chance to win a copy of his book, To Play or Not to Play: 50 Games for Acting Shakespeare. Read the blub below for a bit more information about the book and then scroll down to see how to enter. Good luck!

To Play or Not to Play: 50 Games for Acting Shakespeare
by Martin Jago

“An insightful and essential guide for actors, directors, teachers and anyone interested in Shakespeare.”
- Guy Roberts, Artistic Director, Prague Shakespeare Festival

Martin Jago has written an attractive, informative, and practical book for professional and enthusiasts alike, on the subject of acting Shakespeare. Jago has created a manual, if you will, for the professional actor, and student alike. There is much here as well for anyone interest in having more grounded, and hands-on knowledge of what is, I believe, some of the greatest writing we will ever know. Jago encourages you to feel the text, both as physical and emotional experience, but above all, a practical one, reclaimed from mere passive observation, and to have a lot of fun along the way. He has created games and exercises that free the text, and liberate the performer.

Enter the competition
To win a copy of To Play or Not to Play: 50 Games for Acting Shakespeare simply fill in the form below and submit it by 4.00pm on Monday 6 May. There are two copies of the book to be won and winners will be contacted via e-mail for delivery details.

By entering the competition you agree to have your email added to the A Younger Theatre 
E-Newsletter. AYT never passes your details onto other third parties – we keep them safe!

We asked AYT readers what they’d like to ask our RSC diarists…

Q: “I’d love to know how rigorous the rehearsal period is; time-wise and the level of depth with textual analysis.”

Rosie: Well, it varies according to the director’s process and the parts you play. In Hamlet, we spent the first few weeks going through each scene in detail and discussing it, then slowly putting it on its feet before we moved on to the next scene, and after an initial read through we were only called for the scenes we were in which we explored bit by bit. But in As You Like It we were all called for a two week movement workshop which had no text at all, before we even read the script around a table together. The workshop had us dripping in sweat for eight hours a day pretty much, whilst the read through was a week long and at times it could lead to hours of discussion on one scene.

As for parts, I thought that as a newbie cast in small parts I wouldn’t be called that much, but both David Farr and Maria Aberg had us in for group scenes again and again (they can be very choreographed and technical), as well as song, dance, movement and voice calls.

So I’ve done 12 hour days, five to six days a week for the last two and a half months, and what with the understudy runs and All’s Well That Ends Well coming up, that doesn’t look set to change until the 7th August. It’s amazing, but exhausting.

Dan: Rehearsals at the RSC are very in depth. We’re lucky enough to get ten weeks to explore each play. Both processes included a great deal of textual analysis and table work as a company, to discuss the meanings of all the lines and words within the play so we would be able to communicate them to an audience properly. With As You, we also had a two week workshop period where we improvised and tried out various movement ideas for establishing the two worlds of the court and Arden.

Q: “Is there any chance for those of us who don’t go to drama school after university due to cost?”

Rosie: I tried to get acting jobs without an agent and without drama school, and it varied from hard to impossible. Unless you know someone like a radio producer, or director, or want to put on your own stuff, go to drama school. It’s hard to get an agent and without them you don’t get seen for paid jobs. I know RADA can take on tuition fees if you can’t afford them, at least they could when I applied. Otherwise, the Actor’s Centre do courses which at least means you meet professionals and peers, and Paines Plough do fantastic open auditions.

Dan: I think it’s getting a lot harder for people going to drama schools, especially with the recent increase in fees. But don’t be put off, there are various bursaries and scholarships you can apply for which help towards funding. If this is your first higher education course, you can take out a student loan to help with the costs too. Also there’s nothing stopping you working for a year or so to stockpile some cash to help get you through your training as well.

Q: “Do you have any tips on how to make yourself more open and vulnerable in acting?”

Rosie: Being centred and remembering to breathe helps to focus your concentration on listening like you’ve never heard stuff before, which means if the situation is sad or funny it should make you laugh, cry, sigh automatically. I need to know who my character is through movement, rehearsal, and what they are thinking, then I can relax and stop worrying about back story because it’s in my body and I can just listen. It’s hard though; I’m easily distracted and it takes concentration.

Dan: There are so many ways for this to be achieved and I think I’m still figuring it out myself to be honest. There’s not one correct way; I suppose it’s finding what works best for you. A good warm up and some physical exercise (run, gym or yoga) before a performance helps to clear my mind before a show, so I can be as much in the moment as possible and not over think stuff too much, and just let it happen to me.

Q: “How does an actor transition from being his cheery self backstage into a sad character on stage in limited time?”

Rosie: For me, having explored a character’s physicality really helps, and costume helps too. If I change how I move, that makes me a different person, or at least body memory reminds me to be a different person in a different situation. Lighter or more tense, slower or more jagged. I’m not a very intellectual actor. I’d rather my body did the work, and I can just try and be available to the other actors and immediate situation. That’s where repetition and rehearsal come in.

Dan: For this I think it’s just a case of giving yourself enough time to focus and relax, and doing whatever is necessary to allow you to do this whether that’s a warm up, or a cup of tea and a sit down. Different things work for different actors so I suppose it’s just a case of trial and error until you land on something that fits. It also depends on what you’re doing in the show and what the role requires of you, so adapt and change what works for you accordingly.

The RSC runs a £5 ticket scheme for 16 – 25 year olds. Find out more here.

Images: Daniel and Rosie in rehearsals for Hamlet. By Keith Pattison.

The buzzing in my ears is dying down. Finally. My two lovely aunts have just left from inspecting my Ferry House room (very much like larger student digs – though a lot quieter). They made their respective ways all the way from London and Norwich just to see me, so they deserve a backstage tour. My mother came down the other week, also very proud, and bought me new bedding. I was way more excited about that than about press night, but people say I am a strange girl.

Everyone, from the dressers to the actors says: “Ohhh, Ferry House, the party house!”, with a wicked twinkle in their eye, as if they knew something we newbies didn’t, but so far it’s been a haven of tranquility to which I gratefully escape in between calls. As You Like It rehearsals have started back today and with them comes the desperate need for discipline: packed lunches. (We use bread in the show, and I take it home every night because where I come from, wasting bread is a sin. Maybe I’ll have marmite on toast, or a cheese sandwich? The options are endless… In fact I’m nibblng it as I write, but the freezer is full of it and there is only so much bread one woman can stomach. I suppose I could share it with the Stratford swans?)

Anyway, a lot of understudy lines to learn as well as my Audrey to remember, and any number of dances and Laura Marling songs. She was in rehearsals today, flown in especially from America (at least that’s what I tell myself) and we all hoped she wasn‘t really listening when we did our first musical recap after three weeks. Hamlet press night was last night and some of us were more battered than others, shall we say. But Maria (Aberg) and Ayse (Taskiran) were bouncing about and soon had us whirling around in a wedding dance at ten in the morning. No rest for the wicked, and that is certainly true at the RSC. But somehow – is it the bread or the adrenaline? – I seem to have loads of energy still. Let’s hope it lasts the next eight months.

The RSC runs a £5 ticket scheme for 16 – 25 year olds. Find out more here.

Image: Keith Pattison