Growing the Magic: Watching Theatre Come to Life

What a fascinating couple of evenings at Hull Truck’s Grow Festival to observe how two very different shows are progressing! People I spoke to afterwards who were not previously familiar with the process were stunned to get at least some insight into the sheer amount of hard work on the part of authors, actors and producers in ‘growing’ the shows.

This was real, practical, down to earth graft underpinning artistic and creative support and it’s very powerful for the public to see the development process in action. A former aero engineer with no particular theatrical experience likened it to going to a factory to see how your car is made or your food is produced – “you see the end product differently,” she said, “once you understand the process”. 

Many of us who hadn’t experienced Grow before were uncertain what to expect.  Initially we were surprised that there was no attempt at movement in the reading of Can We Be Friends? and that there were just three actors sitting at a desk. It worked beautifully though – a bit like sitting in on a play being recorded for radio.

In the case of This Damp Won’t Burn one audience member commented that she’d never been to the Adelphi but the performance made her feel as though she had.  Even as a rehearsed reading rather than a full production it captured the excitement of a club superbly. 

Both plays were praised for authenticity. Can We Be Friends? was seen as particularly strong in looking at the story from a six-year old’s perspective although all three viewpoints came over very clearly. What might seem inconsequential to adults can be crucially important when you’re six, as summed up by Orla’s clear conviction that ice cream is more important than the chaos of divorce and moving house.

This Damp Won’t Burn beautifully balanced the ups and downs of Sammy and Meera’s relationship with the highs and lows of the Adelphi itself, and Josh Overton – the playwright – commented that the performance given by skilled actors showed him clearly what was too long or wordy or what simply didn’t feel right.

It was particularly interesting that it was originally intended to perform only the first act of Can We Be Friends?, the second act being added because development work had gone well during the preceding week.

Act 1 was inevitably more polished, but seeing Act 2 as well helped us gain a better insight into the overall direction of the play and aspects which may need some tightening up. Both shows were immersive and gripping evenings, poignant and moving in different ways and at times very funny.

The night after seeing This Damp Won’t Burn my wife and I went to see a stunning amateur production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the University. An elderly couple sitting next to me were wiping away tears at the end, so proud of having just seen their grandson give a superb performance as Jesus. They had just experienced what Josh calls ‘the magic.’ 

Add a bit of magic to both the Grow Festival shows in development with the addition of appropriate movement, dance, lighting, and so on and Truck could not only have two winners on its hands but also a whole lot more tears that will need wiping away!