| Old Bags |
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| Culture | |
| Friday, 08 October 2010 | |
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actors Martin Aukland & Suni La in rehearsal British born Chinese theatre director Jonathan Man will be directing Old Bags, a new play by Mary Mazzilli, at the New Wimbledon Studio from 12th to the 16th October.
The play tells the journeys of two people who both experiencing emotional difficulties in life discover more about themselves as they meet each other. Vivian, an old lady in her 70s is a proud woman, trying to keep control of her life and while memory and regrets from her past come back to haunt her. She is suffering from dementia, and is losing more and more her capacities. Dorian is a man in his 40s with a reputable job and a good salary but feels that something in life is missing. He feels lost and he wants to change, yet it is by meeting Vivian that he discovers the importance of forgiving and compassion for others.
“What I like is that the ending has no resolution, for that it is up to the audience to imagine for themselves where both characters end up,” Jonathan explains. The complex and interesting personalities of the two leading characters fascinates him. “I see both as having symbolic representations as well as being flesh and blood characters. Vivian represents older people in society who are both cared for and ignored. Likewise the play’s title Old Bags has two meanings, one representing old suitcases full of affectionate memories and the other is an insult toward elderly people. Dorian, on the other hand, represents the younger generation at the peak of their careers, who are financially fulfilled but are losing themselves in the world of materialism.”
Jonathan felt an immediate passion for the play upon first reading the script, and has since then injected much of his enthusiasm, dedication and hard work into the project. As director he has given the original script a detailed personal interpretation. “I see the writer as the play’s creator and the director as its interpreter; the two have to work closely to create the final product.” The play touched Jonathan because one of his grandfathers also had dementia so he felt moved by Vivian’s story. With help of the creative team he also looked deeper into the background story of Vivian’s migration from Ireland to London and her British Chinese friend Gloria, who shows the toughness typical of a first generation migrant. The team has researched Britain’s immigrant history from 1940 - 2010 and weaved this history into the two old ladies’ stories. “This immigrant history can definitely be found in the original script, but I’ve placed more emphasis on it by adding a few sentences or changing a few words in certain places. Perhaps this is due to the influence of my own history.”
Jonathan’s next task was casting the characters. Although the play has eight characters, it was Jonathan’s idea to reduce the cast to only four actors, allowing each actor to have a deeper involvement in the play as an ensemble. Instead of auditioning the candidates one by one, he auditioned them in groups so that he could watch them interacting with one another. In fact, interaction has been a key part in the entire rehearsal process; he often encouraged the group to improvise by placing themselves in situation of “crisis”, such as introducing the experience of a character being suddenly being knocked over during an improvisation to explore character reaction and relationships. He explained: “This will help the play feel more alive. And also if anything does go wrong during the actual performance, the other characters are more prepared to react to this coherently.”
The style of the play is both naturalistic and surreal. Mary is a fan of Tennessee Williams, and Old Bags shares the dreamlike quality of Williams’ play The Glass Menagerie. Like The Glass Menagerie, Jonathan has given Old Bags a heightened atmosphere through the use of electroacoustic music, symbolic props and contrasting lighting to show the characters’ inner thoughts. One example is when Dorian takes out many religious objects from his professional looking briefcase, demonstrating his Christian faith behind his material life.
A challenge that Jonathan found is the difficulty of balancing the surreal, dream-like moments with naturalistic ones, between presentations of the characters’ inner and outer selves, as well as moments of laughter and tears. “Those are things I am still working on,” he admits. But on the whole he is more than optimistic about the play. He hopes that the play will be able to prompt his audience into questioning what really makes them happy. “But there is a second thing I want my audience to take from the play, and that is just to be a bit more aware of our elders. This society is so obsessed with youth, and this play shows what happens when we don't respect our elders.”
Directing is a busy job, but Jonathan handles it well. He devotes his day helping his actors individually and in group and completes the necessary admin works in the early morning and late evenings. “There are so many details I have to keep under control, and when everyone is asking me different questions I have to think and act fast, a bit like an octopus”, he laughs. But anyone who has watched the passionate director busying about the place will undoubtedly agree that he is proud and satisfied with his work. He has already directed a handful of plays at well known London theatres and last year his A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Southwark Playhouse won the Better Bankside Shakespeare Award.
Jonathan is one who followed his dreams with dedication and courage. He believes that while his Chinese culture allowed him to contribute with a unique perspective, ultimately all perspectives in London’s multicultural landscape share the same human condition. His career as a theatre director is breaking the British Chinese stereotype yet allowing him to be true to himself. He encourages others to do the same.
Cecily Liu
For more information about Old Bags visit Dimsum what’s on article: http://www.dimsum.co.uk/whats-on/old-bags.html
Also all Dimsum readers can access the promo offer below for the opening night and press night:
£10 ticket offer
Valid: Online only | Tue 12 & Wed 13 Oct only
Online promo code: LUMENIS
left to right, actor Suni La, actor Sibeal McGuinne, director Jonathan Man, actor Lilia Vara, writer Mary Mazzilli, actor Martin Aukland. |
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