Laura Turner
Laura Turner caught up with co-Artistic Director of Invertigo theatre company, Sion Alun Davies, ahead of the company’s residency at HighTide Festival the weekend of 7 – 8 May. Davies talks new writing, audiences and getting to grip with the power of the senses…
Who are Invertigo?
Invertigo was set up by four actor graduates – Steffan [Donnelly], Paapa [Essiedu], Tim [Bowie] and me – during our final year at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2012. As actors we felt very aware that we were entering in to a profession where many decisions would be out of our hands, deciding that rather than waiting for the phone to ring, we would be proactive! That’s how our first piece, Freefall, came about. Since then, we have ventured to the George Tavern in Shadwell with an exciting evening of new writing, Seven, and most recently a sell-out run of the English premiere of Welsh classic Saer Doliau at the Finborough Theatre in February.
Tell us about your residency at HighTide festival this summer.
Invertigo’s HighTide take-over presents an eclectic programme of work over two days 7 and 8 May. We are thrilled to be given this opportunity and we’ve been quite ambitious, working with a grand total of 54 bright emerging talents across the board – from actors, directors, playwrights to designers, dancers – there’s even some food involved! Our first day at HighTide, 7 May, will be a rehearsed reading of Gabriela Preissova’s Czech classic Eva which will use live music and dance to bring this fantastic story to British audiences. This will be followed by Senses, a night of new writing based on the five senses written by five award-winning playwrights and directed by five of the finest up and coming directors. Both productions will be performed by our highly talented take-over ensemble. 8 May kicks off with Heritage by innovative dance company Sounding Motion, which will explore Suffolk’s vast musical heritage on an intimate scale. At 5pm, NewsFeed will guide our audiences on a blazing culinary journey of current affairs by 70’s cook show host Greta Bretagne. We finish the Take-Over with A Marked Man by Ben Norton Davies, a work in progress performance where three men fight for survival in a post revolution London, a future not too distant from our own.
What was the idea behind the work you’re producing?
One of the main aims for the take-over is to work as part of a larger collaboration. We want to showcase emerging talents by coming together to create theatre that will raise questions and leave an audience wanting more. There’s something really exciting about being in a room with 54 creatives all working towards a common goal. It’s an amalgamation of all these personalities, from different parts of the country all ready to create pieces of theatre from which their voices can be heard and that thrills us. We purposefully have given the artists less time to rehearse than would be expected as we feel that sometimes your best work can be created whilst working under a time pressure! Bold, and exciting at the same time.
You worked with IdeasTap to find a new writer to work on Senses.
We’re always looking for new writers to collaborate with on projects and felt that the Take-Over was a fantastic opportunity to make the most of IdeasTap’s fantastic network of writers. We received over a hundred applicants and read some amazing work, which made it even harder to judge the brief! Invertigo aims to bring the lesser known to the British stage, whether that is an unknown European drama or exciting new writing. There’s a buzz when you work on a new play as it’s a constant collaboration between the actors, writers and directors, working and developing the script which gives the group a sense of ownership which is exactly why we set up Invertigo in the first place.
What made you choose the senses as a theme?
Senses came directly from the success of our night Seven at the George Tavern which was based on the seven sins. The structure for Senses was to draw from a bowl the names of actors, directors, writers and a sense, pairing everyone at random which added excitement to the project. The writers then had a week to develop their play based on their assigned sense, with the actors going in to rehearsals this week. We’ve already had a look at what’s been written and can’t wait to see them up on their feet!
You describe yourself as “audience-centric”. What does this mean to you?
The idea of audience-centricity came from our hunger to place the audience at the core of our work. We want the audience to feel directly involved in the plays and create a similar sense of immediacy to when you watch a football or boxing match.
What can audiences expect from an Invertigo performance?
Unpredictability, enjoyment and a chat in the bar afterwards!
And what’s next for the company?
We have just won the Charlie Hartill Special Reserve award by the Pleasance and the Commendation Award by the Scottish Daily Mail, to take our next production, Outside on the Street, to Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Written in 1946 in just six days after escaping from a prisoner of war camp and walking 370 miles back to Hamburg, Borchert’s vivid interpretation of his own story shines a light on the aftermath of war. We invite you to throw yourself into Sargeant Beckmann’s world of darkly comic and grotesque characters. We are very excited to be directed by Owen Horsley, Artistic Director of Eyestrings Theatre and Associate Director of Cheek by Jowl for our first Edinburgh adventure. We’ll be on at Jack Dome at the Pleasance Dome at 13:30, 31st July – 26th August. Can’t wait to see you there!
Invertigo’s takeover at HighTide takes place on 7 and 8 May. For tickets and more information, visit http://www.hightide.org.uk/shows and find out more about the company on twitter @invertigo2012 #invertigotakeover.
Image credit: Invertigo