English society through playground politics
Playground
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| Photo Credit: Roman Berry |
“When you
see characters who are mothers, that’s not an essential part of their role,”
explained to me Karen Morash, playwright and producer of Playground.
4 mothers negotiating,
encountering misunderstandings, dealing with each other, though not really the
kind of people who would normally be friends: and it all comes because their
children attend the same school, same year.
These the pivot
around which Playground, on the scene at the London Theatre from the 28th
April to the 1st May, turns. On the
stage, there will be the daily struggles of single mothers, the busy agendas of
career women, the challenges posed by today’s kids.
‘Why can’t we all just be friends?’
is Karen’s question: as simple as a children’s quiz,
but at the moment with not currently a better answer than a shrug.
“It think it’s
just not knowing how to communicate with each other. In the play, there is a
lot about social rules, those unspoken things that are piled unto us since we
were born.”
Sound Credit: Sepy Baghaei
Sound Credit: Sepy Baghaei
Karen
Morash, Canadian mother currently living in a village not far from London, is
completing a PhD in Theatre and Performance at Goldsmiths. Playground came as
part of her research.
Her studies
look at playwrights engaging with devising. Although devising has not been used
specifically in this play, Karen has been particularly influenced by this form
in the script writing.
She is also
a producer with Head for Heights Theatre Company, where the focus is mostly on marginalized people, discover and explore voices
mainly from Latin America, that are not typically heard in Britain.
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| Photo Credit: Roman Berry |
Taking from
her commitment, during our conversation a couple of days before the first show,
I asked Karen whether then theatre could be the right place for talking about
integration, social changes, and cultural issues.
“The lyrics of the story is the most important thing,” she stated. “I do not think people come to the theatre for a lecture. They come to be stimulated, and inspired, or made angry sometimes."
“The lyrics of the story is the most important thing,” she stated. “I do not think people come to the theatre for a lecture. They come to be stimulated, and inspired, or made angry sometimes."
The story –
the human matter – comes first. From there, you can get the many or few
questions you are trying to ask.
That is to say, there are not disembodied questions marks, but all the doubts and issues our frantic society could prompt us are caused by the intricate social webs and multi-layered personalities.
That is to say, there are not disembodied questions marks, but all the doubts and issues our frantic society could prompt us are caused by the intricate social webs and multi-layered personalities.
As
Playground is set in district outside London, and talking about community
relations, not so subtle is the reference to gentrification.
What is it, for you?
“Especially
being a Canadian, I am endlessly fascinated by issue with class in Britain. We
do have classes in Canada, but it is a much more flexible system than it is in
here,” Karen further explained to me.
Among the expectations, there is certainly the
curiosity for the outcome and success of the many stage movements performed.
“I do not
see dialogue as the only method of creating meaning. It will be interesting to
see all these ideas I had about storytelling through the body how they
translate into the stage”
28th April – 1st May at The London Theatre
Produced
with the support of the Goldsmiths Annual Fund, the Goldsmiths Department of
Theatre and Performance, and the Goldsmiths Graduate School.
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