theatre feature
Wrights Write, Right?: Michael Flexer
ThreeWeeks meets Fringe playwrights
The most exciting thing about the Edinburgh Festival's theatre programme, for my money at least, is the high number of brand new plays that are premiered here. The fact the Scotsman's Festival awards are totally dedicated to new plays gives you an idea of just what a hive of new playwriting talent you will find in this city during August. We'll be chatting to some of the cream of that playwriting talent here in the 'Wrights Write, Right? column. This time Michael Flexer
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One of our favourite things about the Edinburgh Festival are all those shows that take place in weird locations. One such location this year is a squash court. We had to find out more, and tracked down the guy that wrote that play, Michael Flexer, only to find out he was involved in another Fringe production too.
TW: How and when did you start writing plays?
MF: Possibly everyone answers this in the same way. I've been writing since I can remember. My mum alleges that I used to write little plays and corral my younger siblings, friends, aged relatives and anyone who was passing into performing. That anecdote makes me sound like a terrible blend of bossy and precocious; I'm terrified that people who work with me now would say I'm still like that.
TW: What's your past experience of the Edinburgh Fringe, and why have you come back with two shows this year?
MF: I've had plays at Edinburgh twice before. In 2005, I was the writer on a devised adaptation of Bulgakov's 'Heart Of A Dog' and then in 2006 we staged 'My Brother's Keeper', which was based on the bizarre true story of the last two Jews of Afghanistan. Edinburgh is probably the best and worst place in the world to showcase a play. Best, as there are unrivalled opportunities. Worst, as there are unrivalled rivals. I guess it boils down to two simple things: having a great show and having great publicity to get you noticed.
TW: 'Potency' takes place on a squash court, literally. Did you have the idea of writing a site-specific piece at the outset, or did the idea develop as you wrote the play?
MF: Potency started as a 'Big Idea'. I knew I wanted to write a play about private armies in the US Total Force - and Blackwater's killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in September 2007 in particular - but I also knew that I didn't want to do a fussy play with lots of men in camo gear barking in each other's faces and waving plastic guns around. The only fighting that looks good on stage is sword fighting. So, I wanted a metaphor for the violence and I wanted to focus on the business men of the war industry who are comfortably ensconced far from the violence. A squash court seemed to fit both needs. The original idea was that the audience would sit in the court whilst the actors played and we would just give them plastic goggles to protect their eyes and make them sign some 573 page liability waiver, but after 'consulting with my legal people', we decided against that. I just wanted to keep the audience on edge and I thought that the prospect of getting a squash ball in the face would work as a metaphor for the fear and tension of a Baghdad marketplace, where an explosion might go off at any moment.
TW: Other than quirkiness value, what does the squash court setting bring to the play?
MF: The play is essentially a duel. On the one hand we have the neo-con, Christian white male CEO of a mercenary army. On the other, a liberal, secular black female journalist. It's a simple polarisation at first, but it quickly becomes apparent that neither are quite who they seem. The verbal and physical battle between them, the sexual flirtations and the fighting in Iraq, all converge on the metaphor of the squash game. If chess is a metaphor for war, then squash is a metaphor for a row, a fist fight and an angry shag.
TW: Your other show is 'Secret Agents'. What's your involvement in that?
MF: I'm basically the director. I wrote it insofar as I was the bloke who typed it all up in front of a computer but it was born out of a series of workshops and improvisations. There is still some improvisation in the show now. We're hoping to get more jazz musicians involved and we'll be interviewing people on the Royal Mile.
TW: How does working on a devised/improvised show compare to working on a scripted play?
MF: As a new(ish) dad, I'd say it's the difference between bringing up a child and booking yourself into a creche. The rehearsals and workshops for 'Secret Agents' were like a playschool for big kids. The three performers and I would bounce ideas off each other and we'd always be pushing to see how far we could go with something. I think our approach is very apparent in the finished show ... not that it is finished because we hope it will keep changing during the run.
TW: Presumably you have less control over a devised/improvised show - as a playwright who usually controls how things turn out can that be frustrating?
MF: It's been a joyous abdication of responsibility for someone who is normally an absolute control freak. Usually, I have agonising conversations with directors where I stubbornly insist upon a specific word order, phrase, action or whatever. With 'Secret Agents', everything is up for grabs. It's been liberating. Therapeutic!
TW: What's your future plans for 'Potency' and 'Secret Agents'?
MF: We're very keen to tour both. 'Secret Agents' is essentially a projector, a few hats and some musical instruments. It all gets pulled out of a suitcase at the start of the show and all gets packed up before the audience leave. In fact, we leave before them! It's designed for touring and performing in non-theatre spaces, such as bars and clubs. Similarly, 'Potency' doesn't need anything except a court, two racquets and a lot of balls.
TW: What ambitions do you now have for your playwriting career?
MF: There's always two ambitions: the next project and the big objective. Rachel Grunwald - the director of 'Potency' - and I worked on a new play for children with the Soho Theatre and Company Of Angels in May. I'd like to work on that next. I also have a play about 18th century highwaymen bubbling away. The big objective is pretty simple: to have a nice little studio theatre of my own to play around with and tell stories in.
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'Potency' was performed at the Squashcourts at Edinburgh Sports Club while 'Secret Agents' was on at the Pleasance Dome.
published: Oct-2008
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