Q&A with Helen Tennison

Director – Much Ado About Nothing

Produced by: OVO and Creation Theatre.

Shakespeare, as the sun sets over not one but two beautiful venues. OVO is working in collaboration with Creation Theatre to bring you Much Ado About Nothing at The Roman Theatre Open Air Festival, St Albans and South Oxford Adventure Playground, Oxford.

We had a chat with Helen Tennison, who’s directing Much Ado About Nothing at two stunning settings this summer.

When did you first read or see Much Ado About Nothing?

I remember watching the Kenneth Branagh film version and loving how feisty, funny and vulnerable Emma Thompson was as Beatrice.

What are you most looking forward to about the co-production with OVO at The Roman Theatre and the production at South Oxford Adventure Playground?

The Roman Open Air Theatre in St Albans is a spectacular venue, it’s a setting that will bring out the beauty and lyricism that lies just beyond the immediate humour of Much Ado About Nothing.

The South Oxford Adventure Playground  really is a gift of a location and offers so many opportunities to bring out the humour and fun of Much Ado.

Tell us a bit about the style of your production/what era it’s set in/what music you’re using.

Much like its witty central characters, Much Ado About Nothing is a playful, boisterous show with hidden depths. War and jealousy form the backdrop to love and romance. So, I’ve set this Much Ado in the 1980s, a time of outrageous fashion, yuppie optimism and underlying political instability.  We have a fabulous cast of six actors playing Beatrice, Benedick and the other four actors play a madcap whirlwind of twelve roles between them.  So expect slapstick, shoulder pads and banging 80s tracks with a sensitive soul.

Alongside some classic 80s tracks, composer Matt Eaton will be creating some 80s style synthesiser music, especially for this production. We also decided that Hero’s perfect wedding was officiated by an Elvis impersonator, Las Vegas style, so look out for some classic crooning.

What do you think audiences will love most about this production?

It’s a laugh-out-loud fun night out in a gorgeous setting with some of Shakespeare’s most beautiful language and hidden depth.  The extraordinary actors are impressive in their multi-rolling and adept switches between humour and pathos. There’s some great slapstick humour, and the battle of wits between Benedick and Beatrice is a joy to behold. But beyond that, Much Ado About Nothing has a deeper edge. Life feels precarious; the play begins and ends with references to war, and all the characters struggle with the challenge of keeping up appearances. This is an aspect we can all relate to and give the play its depth. As with all Shakespeare’s plays there is an empathy for this aspect of human frailty and a call to dance while you can.

What 3 words would you use to sum up your Much Ado About Nothing?

In 5 words! Fun, funky with hidden depth.

For more information:

5 – 8 JULY 2023 AT THE ROMAN OPEN AIR THEATRE, ST ALBANS AS PART OF THE ROMAN THEATRE FESTIVAL 2023.  TICKETS – Much Ado About Nothing – OVO – Theatre | Bold Imaginative Surprising

12 JULY – 19 AUGUST AT SOUTH OXFORD ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND, OXFORD. TICKETS – Much Ado About Nothing – Creation Theatre

🎭 “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo…” ✨
With less than a month until Romeo and Juliet opens at the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival, we are so excited to share with you this little sneak peak of what to expect with these photos taken with our wonderful cast at the Roman Theatre site itself!
Tickets for this high paced, modern take on a timeless classic are selling fast, so what are you waiting for!? BOOK TODAY!
📸 Elliot Franks
🎭 Ryan Downey plays Romeo, Francesca Eldred plays Juliet
📅 5th June – 29th July 2023
🤩 Produced by OVO
🎬 Directed by Stephanie Allison and Amy Connery
🎼 Musically Directed by Tom Cagnoni

An interview with Simon Nicholas, our Associate Artist & Set Designer gives a compelling, honest and humbling insight into the world of theatre and set design.

How long have you been working in theatre for, and can you tell us about the first production you did the set design for?

 

I have been involved with theatre from when I left school, but for years it was a hobby. Things stepped up later in life when I quit my corporate working life and went off to drama school as a mature student. Since completing my MA Acting at East 15 Acting School in 2009, I have been a professional actor. In between acting roles I found myself picking up work on the creative or technical side of theatre.

To start with this was mainly working on the integration of film projection within live stage events. One of these shows was a production of A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. On this show I found myself for the first time designing and then building a small complicated stage structure that could be manipulated by the performers during the show and then easily dismantled for transporting to the next venue.

From then on I added set design and construction to my many job roles. It is fair to say I have far more opportunities to express myself creatively as a set designer than as an actor these days.

 

What is your favourite thing about set design?

 

For me set design is also set build. I enjoy the whole process from the early discussions exploring a director’s vision for a production, to the creation of ideas, then on right through to physically constructing a world in which the actors will inhabit.

One of the greatest joys for me is solving a problem and creating a little bit of theatrical magic in the solution. In our open air production of Christmas Carol at the Roman Theatre last December, our Scrooge, played by Jilly Bond, was forced into her coffin by the Ghost of Christmas’s to Come, and then moments later had to be found waking up in her bed on Christmas morning.

This was a promenade production so all this action was in full sight of the audience standing only a few metres away. The solution was in the end very low tech; the backdrop to the graveyard scene was the up-ended bed frame which was simply hinged down on top of Scrooge laying in her coffin, seconds later all Jilly had to do was sit and ask everyone “what day is this?” I loved the way the audience reacted to this moment every time.

 

How would you describe your process from the planning stages to the stage?

 

Different designers work in different ways.

For me it always starts with director’s vision. If the director doesn’t have a view, and sometimes they don’t, then I know I won’t work so well with them. The same can be said of directors who are locked into one view and not open to expand. I will find myself shaping or challenging what they are looking for from a balance between practically through to creating something that compliments the production and excites the audience.

I have worked on designs that have ended up removing any form of set except but for a timber floor. The production needed nothing beyond the characters framed within the floored area. Simple can be beautiful.

Other times where a piece is set within a time period the set more often becomes a character, helping the audience understand the context of the play. With The Importance of Being Earnest in last year’s festival, the 1920s gave a strong need to signal that time period, with Art Nouveau patterns and shapes.

Set Design for me is always an iterative process, the design can never be fixed before the show starts to rehearse.

As a show grows in shape during this period so does the set need to continue to improve. There are always limits in this, especially with budgets in theatre being tight, however solutions and creativity doesn’t have to be expensive.

Our 2017 production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream was primarily built of over 60 recycled pallets and old scrap fence panels donated to us by people in and around St Albans.

 

How would you describe your personal creative style/niche/approach?

 

I am not sure I can label my personal creative style. Say no first. Moan about how ridiculous the idea might be. Then be unable to leave it with that no. Wake up at 3am over several nights until a solution comes to mind. Then start a process of pretending you know what you are doing until the show has got what it needs.

 

What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful theatre creative?

 

Have the attitude where you won’t stop improving the idea. Be willing to have an opinion and challenge opinions around you. Share ideas and listen to other suggestions. Be up for a change in direction of an idea, even if it’s in the last minute. Recognise that theatre has an audience and has performers, the set has to engage and support both.

 

How do you continue to learn and expand your knowledge? How do you stay up to date in your industry or field?

 

I have no idea if I am up to date and I wish I went to more theatre so I could be exposed to more ideas and creative expression. My main route for development comes from the people I work with. Hearing about their shows (sometimes I even able to go and see them) and just talking about who is doing what helps me learn. The main way I learn is thankfully provided by the projects I get to work on. There are so many lovely (stressful at times) curve balls thrown at me that learning through doing seems to work for me.

 

What do you think are some of the biggest barriers set designers face?

 

Probably the biggest barrier is opportunity.

I am so lucky that I have been able to take the lead on some very creative and challenging projects, working with people who also want to do more than some would think is possible.

Across the years working here with Adam Nichols at OVO and the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival I have been thrown into so many ‘deep ends’. These crazy ideas have allowed me to expand my skills and build my approach.

These ‘deep ends’ are not always easy, they do require resilience on my part plus a few ‘life guards’ around to help you get through the challenge. I have been close to drowning a few times. Thankfully I am not in it alone.

 

Is there anything that you thought was impossible before, but were eventually able to achieve? If so, how did you make it happen?

 

Twenty years ago, when I was working in my corporate life in HR and Management Development, suited and booted, commuting into windowless offices in West London, if you’d said to me one day you will be standing in the grounds of the only known Roman Theatre in Britain, it will be 2:30am on a moon lit night, you are four hours into a shift of heavy work packing away equipment and set after a successful run of a show you designed, and there you are with a bunch like minded theatre people still smiling and laughing, and thinking you are lucky to have this opportunity.

Well you know what I would have said. How did I make it happen? I think mostly by accident and by being there. I did said yes a lot, maybe after saying no at first!

 

Do you have any advice for young people who are starting their careers in theatre?

 

There is more than one job in theatre. Learn how to do more than one of them. Find like minded people, make friends and create theatre for yourself, and remember you will be at your most creative when you have no budget.

Ultimately most of your work will come from or through people you already work with, so stay in touch and support each other. Use the the idea that it is often easier to apologise than get permission.

Finally and most importantly, ignore old farts like me, what do I know?

 

How would you describe your design for this year’s festival stage?

 

Top secret and all will be ready by the day the shows open, probably.

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