Theatre Writing South West asked
Martine to reflect on their most recent production and explain why exploratory
and experimental work of this nature is important to the theatre landscape.
Brechtian-style
theatre is based on Bertolt
Brecht’s theoretical work. Our plays are issue-led, exploring themes of
reality and questioning different perceptions of the world view. The plays with
their constantly changing perspectives encourage the audience to question their
own understanding of the issues being presented.
Using
archetypal characters in self-sustaining scenes which can be staged separately,
minimal sets and strong visual imagery, the plays are accessible to a wide
range of audiences. Emphasis is placed on comedy, satire and absurdity,
providing entertainment and thoughtful productions. The actors demonstrate
roles through their physicality, creating visual pictures which allow the
audience to concentrate on the issue being explored.
The writing
actively encourages interaction between audience and actors in a thoughtful
exploration, rather than seeking an emotional response. Although each scene
stands alone they are connected by the issue. There is no particular structure
of time or place, with actors playing both female and male roles as determined
by the script.
In the late nineteen
sixties I studied improvisation with ‘The Committee’ under the directorship of
Del Close in San Francisco. Working on stage and interacting with audiences exploring
issues resonated with me. Back in London I worked with different theatre groups,
including one in West Hampstead under the directorship of John Elsom.
Appearing in
two highly successful plays where people were talking about acting rather than
the issues prompted me to work on new areas of theatre. Performing with my
Improvisation Theatre Company Thin Air in festivals, clubs, pubs and streets
for twelve years gave me a good insight into what worked on stage.
Feminist
Theatre influenced my style of writing, with their plays incorporating scenes
with no historical accuracy and changing gender to explore issues more deeply.
The emerging male dance groups in the eighties that influenced physical theatre
also helped me develop my own creative style. Probably the playwright who has
had the most influence on me was Samuel Beckett. Having left school at fifteen
with no qualifications and been barely literate, his pared down language
resonated with me, as did the absurd situations he created for his characters.
No
contemporary playwright unfortunately has created the same stimulation I have
had in watching plays by Pinter, Arden, Adamov, Simpson, Ionesco and Dario Fo. In
my experience most of the modern playwrights I encounter are not seeking to
develop new art forms but to achieve popular success. It seems such a narrow
objective for any artist.
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My interest
in Brecht had deepened over the years, especially as I was contracted to teach
‘A’ level Theatre Studies and train young actors. In 1999 I formed Bristol Experimental
Theatre and my first two plays Sex Games and
Matching Outfit about identity,
followed by Politica Erotica concerning
censorship were first performed at The Alma Tavern and later at The Edinburgh
Fringe Festival. They were acclaimed by national papers as radical new plays
which stimulated me to develop this form. The
following year Tomboys and Sex Objects, exploring issues of female
violence and Naked Lies and Violent Messages exploring lesbian relationships went
to Edinburgh. They were criticised by some press as setting
feminism back thirty years, which helped me to put my writing into perspective: my approach was not readily accessible to individuals who want
plot and character development.
Over the
next few years I wrote and staged twenty three plays and two satirical revues, Madhouse and Messabout. The issues have been varied but have included
Paedophilia, Domestic Violence, Object Relationship, Idol Worship, Transvestism,
Bureaucracy, Bisexuality, Class, Culture and Integration.
Our most
recent play Twitching Curtains explores
the issues of secrets. It has nine scenes with seven commentaries between them,
reflecting on what each situation has explored. Each scene stands alone and is
linked by certain events and names. They all could be the same person in
different roles or representative of everyman/woman.
The opening
scene begins with a man and woman on a train discovering that they live on the
same road and both have a wife called Margaret, who is very secretive. This
ambiguity of their relationship lays the foundation of the play.
Next we are
introduced to MI5 with two status-seeking individuals who have a bizarre method
of finding terrorists – the scene ends when they both ring up their partner
Margaret. We are then introduced to Margaret in a toilet which, unknown to her,
is monitored by CCTV cameras. With direct dialogue to the audience and through
a conversation on her mobile to her friend Angela she feels she is being watched.
The next
scene has an MI5 interrogation officer bring in a suspect who is a
transgendered male called Margaret; the next few scenes explore personal and
government secrets revealing how they are manipulated and used by individuals,
for emotional satisfaction, power and money.
The final
scene brings the male and female back to the opening scene where, this time,
they reveal that both their wives have been arrested on terrorist charges, with
the final realisation that they have been married to the same women for eight
years which she has kept a secret from both of them. Because the play has no
story line and each scene is independent from the others - but linked by the issue
and key words which reoccur - the audience has to concentrate, changing their
perceptions constantly to make sense of what they are watching.
The audience
response has been interesting, which is the word they most often use to
describe what they have witnessed. A great deal of the lively conversations
post-performance have been about what the plays have stimulated in the
individual, many having different perceptions of what they have seen. A few
individuals who have had difficulty with the pieces were those who wanted a
straight-forward plot with character development.
I personally
find modern theatre tedious, especially the resurrection of old
classics and musicals. Many modern plays follow social realism which, to my
mind, are barely distinguishable from soaps. With the lack of real discussion
about issues in the popular media and politicians' catchy sound-bites replacing thoughtful debate, there is a vacuum which I think theatre can
adequately fill. The current
mind-set of those in power urgently needs to be challenged as they take us into
dangerous unchartered waters. Unless we can stimulate real debate, bring
thinking back on the agenda and question ourselves about what society should
value and shape our own lives, then the destruction being done on our planet
may be irretrievable.
