Nothing To Perform on bringing the story of Helen Sharman to the stage
The story of Helen Sharman, Britain’s first astronaut, is an unbelievable one. From working for Mars to turning into an astronaut, her story ought to be one everyone knows. And but it’s most likely protected to say it isn’t.
Nothing To Perform (N2P), made up of author Scott Howland, director Harriet Taylor, and a bunch of proficient affiliate artists are actually hoping to alter that with their present Helen, which is coming to VAULT Festival quickly (14 – 17 March, tickets right here). And while our dream is that they someway flip the Vault’s Cavern venue right into a zero-gravity area and we are able to all float across the room is unlikely, we nonetheless needed to know simply what they do have deliberate. So, we caught up with the workforce to speak all issues Helen.
A pleasure to satisfy you, lets begin with introductions?
We’re Harriet and Scott, co-ADs of N2P! We met at RADA in 2016 and shaped Nothing to Perform, a theatre collective that produces new theatre/ movie and hosts free month-to-month occasions known as Networkshops. We additionally collaborate with London’s high movie colleges to supply paid work for actors.
Harriet’s an American director/ producer who studied musical theatre at NYU Tisch and is at present working as a Staff Director on the Royal Opera House. Scott is a playwright/actor/motion director from the North East who has obtained commissions from The Royal Opera House and Battersea Arts Centre. He is also an Associate/Course Director with the National Youth Theatre.
Helen is a present about Helen Sharman, what made her story attraction to you?
Well, initially – the story. It’s simply loopy, isn’t it? Equal components inspiring, unbelievable and but it has its disappointment and positively even parts of frustration in direction of the tip. Secondly, it’s barely recognized in any respect which baffled us. Why doesn’t the world know this story? And then in fact there’s the injustice of all of it…
For years I (Scott) slept with an annotated copy of Stephen Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time’ on my bedside desk. (Pretty unhappy, I do know…) So I’ve at all times had a eager curiosity in science. I got here from Newcastle to London to review at RADA. The course I did was an MA in Text and Performance along with Birkbeck University. It was whereas I used to be finding out within the Birkbeck library that I found Helen’s story. Not solely was she from the north (Sheffield) however she additionally got here to London to review. She earned a PHD in Chemistry, and the place did she examine? Birkbeck University. That appeared like a little bit of an indication.
And you’ve gone for a quite simple title in Helen, by no means thought of calling it The Girl From Mars then?
The puns had been sturdy with this one! But we just like the ‘single word’ title, so we’re sticking to it as a little bit of a calling card. So far we’ve received: ‘N2P’ (the title of our first play and firm.) ‘Grip’ (our second play) ‘Helen’ (third play), ‘Cold’ (a TV pilot we’ve produced)and ‘Nacht’ is our newest, an opera commissioned by The Royal Opera House.
There appears rather a lot to inform about Helen, so what do you give attention to?
Helen is someplace between Interstellar and your favorite Simon Stephens play – otherworldly and but all the way down to earth. It’s pacy and it packs a punch, it covers legacy and making a mark on the world, but it surely’s finally about household and determining what actually issues. The play is a dramatization of Helen’s life main as much as listening to that fateful advert – ‘Astronaut wanted, no experience necessary.’ Because earlier than she was a nationwide hero, Helen was only a younger lass discovering her approach in life. And that describes lots of people we all know!
Considering she was our nation’s first astronaut, why do you’re feeling she has by no means turn out to be the family title in an analogous approach that Tim Peakes has?
Helen Sharman was largely written out of historical past when the UK Space Agency known as Tim Peake “the UK’s first official astronaut.” They attribute this to the truth that Helen’s mission was funded by the Soviet Union area programme – the UK didn’t even have one till 2010. The semantics of this by no means sat nicely with us, although. She was the primary Briton in area full cease. And we expect she deserves credit score for boldly going the place no British individuals had gone earlier than.
The present is described as utilizing bodily theatre, which does counsel a lot of floating round within the air contemplating the astronaut theme, however with out the finances required, what do you actually have deliberate as a substitute?
In Helen a way of weightlessness is created utilizing lifts, sluggish movement, lighting and sound results. We use these instruments and the ‘zero gravity’ of her cosmonaut coaching as a metaphor for the moments when Helen is anxious, or nervous. When issues are spiralling out of her management, objects (and folks!) start to flee earth’s gravity. I feel we’ve all felt that approach at occasions; briefly ungrounded, or like we aren’t tethered to actuality when our ideas run away with us. The piece reveals how, over time, Helen is ready to embrace her ideas and feelings and turn out to be extra conscious.
As for the promised Northern humour, how does that translate to American ears then?
Well there have been a number of ‘translations’ required at first, but it surely finally lands very well. It’s pleasant and filled with quips and idioms however we’ve received it to a spot the place it may be understood and loved by anybody. This is the third time we’ve been able to carry out this piece because it was cancelled twice as a result of covid! And it’s gone via a rigorous edit every time, so now we’ve actually honed it.
Have you reached out to Helen Sharman to let her know you’re making her a star of your present?
You’re not going to imagine this, however one winter’s day between lockdowns we actually bumped into Helen Sharman herself! She was out for a jog alongside the river and after a second of being fully starstruck (excuse the pun) we regained our composure for lengthy sufficient to inform her all in regards to the piece that we had been creating and that towards the chances, we’d managed to pay money for a uncommon and now discontinued copy of her autobiography. We exchanged particulars and she or he has learn the piece and desires us all the perfect with it, and we’re nonetheless in contact! We weren’t large believers in destiny earlier than, however we’re having to rethink some issues in mild of those occasions!
The present is commissioned by Battersea Arts Centre, how did you become involved with them? And how a lot has that helped you in getting the present to the stage?
The piece was initially commissioned for BAC’s ‘Wild Times’ season throughout COVID as a VR movie. We noticed that they had been searching for teams to work with on creating digital efficiency and we utilized! We had already been ruminating on the thought of Helen, even R&D’ing it with N2P associates, however the piece wasn’t completed as a result of we had day jobs! The fee allowed us the time to get it accomplished. Tarek (Iskander, BAC’s Artistic Director) and the workforce at BAC had been so affected person and supportive; the play definitely wouldn’t be the place it’s right now with out them.
Since then, because the reside model of the play has developed, Battersea Arts Centre have continued to be wonderful. They’ve even agreed to increase their assist to this VAULT Festival outing, so it’s nonetheless a BAC manufacturing at coronary heart!
Thanks to Scott and Harriet for locating time to talk. You can catch Helen when it performs at VAULT Festival between 14 and 17 March, 6.40pm every day. Further informtion and tickets out there right here.