Christopher Chen‘s new play, Caught, presented as part of the Arcola‘s VOLTA International Festival is a thick, false-bottomed guillotine of a play, that betrays its audience again and again, sweeping legs out from underneath everyone at every turn.
Christopher Chen‘s new play, Caught, presented as part of the Arcola‘s VOLTA International Festival is a thick, false-bottomed guillotine of a play, that betrays its audience again and again, sweeping legs out from underneath everyone at every turn.
The VOLTA International Festival is well and truly underway; an exciting initiative spearheaded by acclaimed director Andrea Ferran, the festival’s aim is to bridge the gap between international playwrights and UK based directors. This year welcomes award winning playwright, Ewald Palmetshofer, who hails from Linz, Austria with his dark comedy, hamlet is dead. no gravity. Ahead of the production’s showing at the festival, Theatrefullstop was lucky enough to speak with the playwright about his inspirations for the play, why he wanted to take part in this year’s festival, and whether he’s driven by a mission statement with his works!
Hi Ewald, Your work, hamlet is dead. no gravity will be showcased at this year’s VOLTA International Festival. How are you feeling ahead of the festival?
I am very exited that my play is staged at the festival and I really do appreciate this opportunity to introduce my work to the english audience. Besides I think that Neil Blackadder has done a truly beautiful translation into English and I am very curious how the actresses and actors of the production will interpret the play, its language and of course both its tragedy and humour.
Absent belongs to that rare kind of performance that subtly, but very firmly, refuses to let you go. Though you step out of the doors and onto the streets, the atmosphere conjured in the play lingers; it discreetly impregnates itself onto the buildings, people and movements you observe on your way home. It is the pulsating innovation and sharp theatrical vision I observed in this show that keeps our theatre industry on its toes and warmly welcomes new audiences to its stalls. It is shows like this that remind me why I prefer the dynamics of the theatre rather than idly staying at home and staring at the screen of my laptop.
For a fortnight, the Arcola Theatre will welcome a range of collaborations, as four established international playwrights join forces with four esteemed UK directors. Award winning playwright Christopher Chen is accustomed to having his productions staged in the U.S., however the UK will witness his work for the very first time. Ahead of Chen’s play, Caught, debuting at VOLTA, Theatrefullstop were lucky enough to speak to him about working with Offstage Theatre’s Artistic Director, Cressida Brown, whether being an award winner adds pressure to his creation of future works and why he was drawn to take part in this year’s festival!
Answer this… where else can you dance the along to hip hop legend, Missy Elliot‘s greatest hits? Grab a dose of the toe tapping Upton Funk courtesy of Mark Ronson? Forget about all of your worries whilst jamming along to the high octane spirits of Rudimental? Just when you thought the festival season was drawing to a close… Any idea?