A play I really wish I’d got the chance to see when it was on a few years ago was Lucy Prebble’s Enron. It was play which explored the infamous financial scandal through the use of physical theatre, fantastical elements (men with velociraptor heads spring to mind) and also musical numbers. Not the obvious way one might stage a production on something of this topic! I read the play whilst studying creative writing and it was fascinating just how specific the writer had been with her stage directions, from reading it you had an incredibly clear picture of how it should be staged and what the ‘feel’ of the show should be. Here is a clip from the original West End production.

Interestingly, whilst is was a massive hit in the West End it closed after only 15 shows on Broadway! This video goes some way in explaining why – interestingly in the video, a critic who reviewed the show put the early closing down to the topic being ‘too close to home’. He also suggests that a British show satirising one of America’s biggest banking scandals could be seen as a form of ‘mocking’ the American culture. Both are interesting points yet I wonder if there are any American stage shows mocking British events? And if so, would they get the same reaction from the native audience? As always, answers on a postcard (or a comment)!

I just read a great interview with Maxine Peake about playing Hamlet – click here for link to The Guardian article. The interview offers an interesting perspective on what it is like to perform one of Shakespeare’s most famous male roles and how she approached this part from the perspective of a female performer.

She also rightly points out that there seems to have been a significant increase in female actors getting the chance to play some of Shakespeares more iconic male roles –

“It feels like there’s going to be a real sea change in theatre… I never thought I was going to be a fantastic Hamlet, I just thought, “What an opportunity!” … There aren’t that many great female roles in Shakespeare – none that I’d be desperate to play.” – Maxine Peake

This is an exciting time for female performers and I really hope productions like Peake’s Hamlet continue to pave the way for other female actors to experience performing not only some of Shakespeare’s famous male roles, but other classic parts that have been set aside exclusively for men.

Peake’s version of Hamlet, directed by Sarah Frankom, is going to be shown in cinemas from the 23rd March, I’m definitely going to check it out and would be really interested to know if anyone else is planning on doing the same 🙂  Perhaps an excursion could be organised??

How do you measure success? It’s a question that the entertainment industry forces you to ask yourself many times.

Is success directing/acting in a play at the National Theatre? Is it writing a hit musical? Is it having the opportunity to actually turn down work? Is it getting your foot in the door at a large venue? Is it getting a review in The Guardian? Is it earning more than minimum wage? Is it earning anything at all? Or is it simply finding the motivation to keep dreaming big when haven’t worked in six months?

We all measure success in different ways, for some you’re either making it big or you’re not making it at all. For others it’s the smaller things that give us success. And for some it’s measuring yourself against your peers. The latter one is the dangerous way of doing it – it usually leads to the Royal Court/NT/Donmar/Young Vic website, CV stalking, a bottle of wine and a drunken cry of “WHY NOT ME??” *

At the moment I’m trying to re-evaluate the way I measure my success (or lack thereof at certain times). It’s far too easy to look back five years ago and scold yourself for not seeing an opportunity that could have sky rocketed your career or forever anguish over that time you said something really stupid to someone really important. Likewise it’s all too easy to dismiss all of your hard work, moments of inspiration and praise from those you respect because for whatever reason it didn’t immediately propel you to instant stardom.

But you know what? Maybe the key to measuring your success is just being, well, realistic. Burns a bit to say that, even for me. Always dream big, and aim for the best but don’t diminish your own successes, however small, by comparing them to others who seem higher up the career ladder.

* Personal experience? Noooo. Never. Not at all. AS IF. Nervous laughing etc etc.