I'm currently getting to work with some terrific people on some wonderfully rough shows. I've come on as Fight Director for Dance of Death, directed by Candice Edmunds for the Citizen's Theatre, and This Restless House, a trilogy of the Greek Oresteia tragedy adapted by Zinnie Harris and produced by the Citizen's Theatre and The National Theatre of Scotland.
starring Lucianne McEvoy, Tam Dean Burns and Andy Clark (not pictured)
Dance of Death is a Strindberg adaptation, full of tension between the married Captain and Alice. They are trapped, both by their location and their own doing, and it has been a great experience getting messy and gritty with these very talented actors. I love any chance I get to work with Candice Edmunds, and this is no exception.
This Restless House comes in three parts. Part 1: Agamemnon's Return; Part 2: The Bough Breaks; and Part 3: Electra and her Shadow. On so many levels, this has been a thrill to work on. This has been my first opportunity to work with Zinnie Harris, acclaimed playwright, and her adaptation is very exciting. For any fight director, Greek tragedy comes with plenty of epic violence. Tongues cut out, throats cut, bellies sliced, all with blood to go with it. But the only way the work can be successful is with a company committed to bringing it to life. TRH has gifted me the chance to work with a handful of actors I've met before: George Anton (Titus Andronicus), Keith Flemming and Lorn Macdonald (Macbeth), and the always exciting Itxaso Moreno. The ensemble is rounded out by the incredibly talented Pauline Knowles and Anita Vettesse, two actresses I am delighted to be in a room with, as well as Adam Best, George Costigan, Cliff Burnett and Olivia Morgan.
And the added bonus is getting to work with Emily-Jane Boyle, an immensely talented Movement Director whose choreography blows me away. EJ and I first met on Ben Hur Live and I always relish the chance to work with her.
Within these two shows, family relations and marriages are not particularly shown in a great light. But they are epic and engaging pieces of theatre. I'm proud to have been a part of them.