GOING DARK OPENS AT THE DRUM THEATRE, PLYMOUTH
How far can you see? A mile? A hundred miles? Or to the furthest shores of the universe to a far away galaxy? These are the questions posed to us in Going Dark, a new play by devised by the Sound and Fury company. 247 spoke to writer Hattie Naylor to discuss her vision: Firstly it’s important to note that the play is a true collaboration. It may be my name being credited in the writing column but lots of aspects of the piece are a true team effort.
So, can you tell us a bit about the play?
Well, it’s concerned with a man called Max who works in a planetarium and isn’t afraid to ask himself all the big questions in terms of the universe and his place in it. Something happens to Max that causes him to rethink things and forces him to see things differently.
Would you say the play is a metaphor for life then?
In a way, Max’s situation is quite extreme but we all reach moments in our lives where we have to take a step in another direction and make sense of where we are. Max is very much in that situation. What’s happening to him has serious consequences on his real life and his role as a father. He has to question everything that he understood previously.
And his job has a bearing on what he’s going through?
Oh yes, he’s forced to look beyond his own little life and into the universe as a whole. In crisis your sense of self is heightened and you become acutely aware of who you are and where you sit in the world in addition to the lengths you can go to protect what’s important to you.
Do you feel the play is quite appropriate for this period in time then?
It certainly is. When the writing on this piece began the Brian Cox wasn’t in the public eye at all but over the last two or three years his media star has really risen. I think people are interested in people who immerse their lives in cosmos. There’s a kind of reality yet unreality to it. We’re dealing with the universe on a far more scientific scale yet is all seems like magic or illusion in comparison to our every day lives.
Are you keen for the audience to get this sense of reality vs super reality then?
Oh yes. Our staging borrows from the design of planetariums and the audience literally spend much of the time in pitch-blackness. I think it provides a unique experience though and a way to really consider your own place in the universe.
Going dark is running from Feb 8th until Feb 11h 2012 at The Drum, Plymouth
Words: Alan Butler
