Matthew Jameson
Deputy Director at The Space
Interviewed – April 2020
Hi, please tell us a bit about yourself. What attracted you to the theatre, and what keeps you coming back?
Itās such a clichĆ©, but I was a really shy kid brought out my shell by supportive teachers, drama at school and then amateur dramatic groups. I was dead set on being just a professional actor, then ended up writing short bits and bobs for drama classes. I wrote my first full length play at 19, fell into directing my own shorts, then got a job in theatre management/production, and gradually learned to balance a mixture of all four. I call myself a jack of all trades, but theatre-maker sounds more official.
Theatre has always been the most accessible storytelling medium to me. With film and video thereās so much equipment, training, pre and post production etc. needed to tell your story properlyāyou donāt have that with theatre, itās a great leveller creatively. I love the immediacy and intimacy of a live audience, the adrenaline of a buzzing house and the irreplaceable nature of nightly performances. Itās sharing a moment with a room that may never be repeated or replicated. Now more than ever, itās the communality of the theatrical experience that I miss.
You trained at the East 15 Acting School. What was special or unique about your training there? Any teachers who were particularly inspirational?
I applied for the Acting BA but was auditioned by the head of the World Performance BA and offered a place, which I jumped at. Best decision I could have made! It was a fusion course, so we had traditional western training, as well as masterclasses in International theatre styles (Beijing Opera, Balinese Temple Dance, Shadow Puppetry for example) and modules in other disciplines like Political Theatre, Script-Writing and Stand-up. Having so many different influences helped broaden my skill set and set me up as a theatre-maker. It also taught me some fun party tricks.
We made a lot of devised work and there was independent study time for our own practice. There was also a focus on the academic study of theatre, which has really helped to inform my craft and contextual skills. East 15 has a great track record for producing well-rounded, self-starting theatre-makers and companies. I think thatās where the future of the industry is. For teachers, there were many greats, but I have to give a shout out to Dr. MJ āJiggsā Coldiron, who gives constant encouragement, besides being the smartest person Iāve met. Iām happy to say that sheās still a frequent collaborator.
You founded a company called The Heretical Historians in 2014. Itās an intriguing name for a company. Please tell us how you chose the name, and how it reflects the work youāve created for it. Who else is involved?
I wrote my first script based on a true story for Edinburgh 2014 with the Hour Lot Theatre. Dear Mister Kaiser is the true story of Captain Robert Campbell, a British P.O.W. in the First World War. He wrote a letter to Kaiser Wilhelm II asking for compassionate leave to visit his dying mother. He was granted leave on the sole condition that he promised to return after two weeks. It was such a joy to research the historical context of the show and to make all the pieces and characters fit together realistically. From that point, I knew that I wanted to tell true stories above all else. It seems redundant to try and create a new fiction when there are so many great untold stories out there.
The mission of the Heretical Historians is to tell ridiculous, untold, TRUE stories from history. This mission hasnāt changed and our style has stayed pretty similar too. Because of my devotion to Brecht, we were always going to be an Epic Theatre company. The word āHereticalā came from our friend Niall, the smartest person in the room at the meeting where we got started, and itās been a great fit. Itās a mature enough word to distinguish us from the silliness of Horrible Histories (which I love, by the way) and lets audiences know that weāre going to be challenging the expectations and conventions of history. We also like a nice bit of alliteration.
We have a pool of recurring actors, techs, designers and producers, but the core of the Historians team are co-director/company ādo-erā Lloyd McDonagh, and I. Lloyd and I are best mates from East 15. He joined us for our first show at Edinburgh 2015 (The Greatest Stories Never Told), and since then weāve developed a symbiotic directing relationship. Iāll focus on text, sound and tech stuff, while Lloyd does our set, visuals and blocking. I tend to restrict myself to cameos on stage these days, but Lloyd is too great a character actor to lose, so we give him a good weighty part together with all his other roles.
Whatās your process in creating work for The Heretical Historians? Do you create the script as an ensemble, or is there one person in charge of creating the script?
Before each project begins, Lloyd and I will sit down and chat about all the stories, ideas or fragments that we are considering. Weāll ask ourselves āare they relevant, is there enough material, can we do it?ā When we pick one, Iāll dive into research mode for a few months and write a first draft for a reading and a workshop. By the time weāve cast the show, Iām another few drafts in and weāll work it in the room as an ensemble. Itās important for us to work with a team that is honest and willing to have conversations about making everything right. We do a lot of text work with the actors before we fully block a piece and we always save our bigger set pieces/sequences to be devised as an ensemble. Weāre usually tinkering with the show until the run is over. We encourage ad-libbing (within reason), so we never have a show that is āsetāāitās always organic and changing, which helps keep it fresh and exciting.
Describe one or two productions for The Heretical Historians. Do you have any future projects in the works?
We do a lot of work with genre parody, which makes the worlds of the show immediately accessible to audiences. It gives the stories a focus, a style and a set of tropes to play with, plus it saves us having to fork out for accurate period costumes. As an example, in The Trial of Le Singe (2017), we told the true story of The Hartlepool Monkey. In the Napoleonic Wars, a shipwrecked monkey washed ashore in North-East England, was mistaken for a Frenchman, put on trial of espionage, found guilty and hung. Because of the recurring themes of nationalism, class warfare and mob justice, we set it as a āYoung Onesā style punk farce, which gave us license for a lot of anarchic humour and chaos. To balance out all the low humour, and to reinforce the national identity theme, the monkey (Le Singe) delivered his own defence in faux Shakespearian iambic pentameter, which naturally fell on deaf ears.
In We Own Everything (2018), we really hit our Epic Theatre stride. It was a financial thriller based on the rise of the Rothschild banking dynasty and the discrimination they faced as Jews in Regency England. It was also partly a 1920s ācoming to Americaā story with the second half channelling 80s Wall Street. We had a cast of 9, including Napoleon and a scaled down battle of Waterloo; a stock market crash; Mad King George III and the Prince Regent; pigeons ziplining over the audience; and we gave out fizz to the audience on entry. Holy sh*t we went to town on that one! It went up two weeks before The Lehman Trilogy began at The National, so our legacy was a bit swamped by the competition.
Weāre currently working on the true story of historyās worst actor, Robert āRomeoā Coates, and the catastrophic production of Romeo and Juliet that he put on in the West End. An aristocratic amateur, he starred as Romeo (in his 40s!), directed, produced and re-wrote the script creating a perfect disaster. But it sold out nightly and went on to tour the country. Weāre giving it the Tommy Wiseau/Disaster Artist treatment. Itās an underdog story and a lot of fun. But it also says a lot about privilege and the abuse of status within the arts, as well as theatreās capacity to unite the nation (albeit for the wrong reasons). We are due to perform it in June 2020, although that seems increasingly unlikely. Watch this space.
Youāve brought work by The Heretical Historians to The Space, in Londonās Isle of Dogs. What makes The Space such a great venue for companies like yours?
The hardest thing for a new company is getting your foot in the door without having stacks of cash to spend on hiring a venue. For a venue to offer you a split on box office and help share your risk was unimaginable when we started. The fact The Space still programmes like this is testament to the work they support. We swiftly became part of the furniture at the Space with all the marketing and production support we received, as well as being welcomed into the fold by everyone. As the Historians, we loved the performance space because it has so much character. Itās such an epic, unique building, with plenty of entrances, exits and levels that we can play with, to make immersive 360° productions. Itās a world away from the black boxes that struggle to get two actors on stage at once.
The Space is the real deal in terms of having an ethos of giving, supporting and nurturing their artists and the local community. Everyone they attract has a generous, passionate and ambitious vision. I was very grateful for the support that they gave me, so I started volunteering for them. When youāve worked at The Space once, you never really leave, you just fall into orbit.
Youāre currently Deputy Director at The Space. Tell us about your role there. What did a typical working day look like before all the theatres had to shut down?
The Space is a team of three, with a huge amount of support from volunteers and interns. With such a small staff, my job has quite a broad remit and thereās a lot of different strands required to run the venue, so thereās a lot of variety! The main constant is drinking lots of coffee.
I live fairly nearby so Iām usually the first one in. Iāll start off by opening up the building, by checking emails/voicemails and sorting our social media for the day. Depending whatās happening that day, I may have to reset from the previous nightās show, set up for rehearsals/auditions or assist a get-in. Thereās usually programming work or fundraising applications to crack on with, and I have meetings with all incoming companies to help with their marketing. If weāre working on an in-house production, I may have to source props/costume or make/decorate the set. If we have new volunteers or interns, Iāll show them the ropes and induct them, and if weāre quiet, Iāll try and do some DIY around the venue or do some rearranging and Marie Kondo-ing of our offices. Because I arrive early, I donāt usually work box office in the evening, but Iāll always do a shift to make sure I see each show we have at least once. I also get invited to see shows and companies at other theatres, which is a nice cap to a day at the office.
Now that weāre all working from home, describe your working day at the moment. Do you stay in regular touch with your colleagues at The Space? Whatās your favourite way of doing that?
Sadly, as Iāve been furloughed, Iām doing a lot less for The Space than Iād like to. Iām still contributing artistically, sitting on committees, and helping with script reading/development, but as part of the conditions of furlough, Iām not allowed to carry out my usual day to day duties. Iāve been told to use this time for āpersonal developmentā, so Iām taking online courses, reading a lot, and writing passion projects out of my system. Iām trying to act as an ambassador for anyone who wants to know more about The Space and what we do. I am, of course, extremely lucky to be in this position, so Iām offering my skills as a script reader/editor and producer gratis for anyone who is looking for feedback or advice until the lockdown is lifted. Gimme a shout if you need it!
We still speak a lot as friends at The Space. Weāll have a weekly Zoom catch up and thereās been some cracking memes on the group Whatsapp. We all show up to support any digital events The Space runs as well. Iām really glad to be part of such a supportive team.
Are you working on new projects for The Space? Care to share?
Now that we have dealt with the immediate issues of closing, such as re-programming shows, contacting bookers etc. weāve been focusing on making sure that we are still staying active and engaged throughout the lockdown. Iām really proud of the solutions weāve found, such as taking our script development readings and community theatre group onto Zoom, for example. Weāre also hosting a weekly theatre club, where we watch a streamed production then discuss it together. We are also hosting frequent playwright and director meet-ups.
Of course weāre also looking to the future. Weāre excited to bring back Two Fest, our duologue festival, after a successful first year. There may also be a blockbuster Christmas production in the works that I canāt say too much about yet.
Other than theatre, whatās your favourite way to deal with boredom while staying at home? Any advice you can give the rest of us?
Thereās been a LOT of comfort TV to shake off the existential dread. Wallace and Gromit; classic Simpsons; This Country; Tiger King (of course). Iām also trying to spruce up the gaff with some DIY/gardening; pick up the guitar again, and be a better father to my cats.
My top tips are:
ā Try and find a way to create a routine/variety to your week, such as Tuesdays for deep cleaning; a special meal on Fridays; take Sundays off.
ā If youāre at a loss for something to do, Twitter has got some amazing digital opportunities. Iād highly recommend looking into Drunk Plays and Coronavirus Theatre Club for a start.
ā Have things to look forward to, such as make a list of 10 people, places or things youāre going to see when lockdown lifts. Alternatively, get drunk and order something online. Itāll take a while to arrive and give you a pleasant surprise!
ā Donāt feel bad if youāre not as productive as you want to be. You havenāt been handed a holiday or a sabbaticalāyouāre living through Doomsday, so give yourself a break.
āThereās also no shame in only consuming during this period. There are so many great free courses, resources, apps, podcasts, programmes and theatre streams out there to learn from.
ā If you really arenāt feeling good, please reach out! Friends, family, neighbours, professionals, whoever it may be. You donāt need to suffer alone. This crisis has shown just how much compassion and care we as a species have for each other.
And finally, Theatre post COVID-19. Will we go back to creating theatre the way we did before? If not, what do you think might change?
I donāt think we can go back from this, as an industry or as a society. The pandemic has highlighted how broken many of our systems and practices are. I especially fear for fringe theatre. So many venues and emerging/mid-career companies were hanging on by a thread already, and they are going to be decimated by the economic impact of the pandemic. Itās gutting. So if you are able, consider donating to your favourite local theatres, or booking for future performances or joining membership schemes. These are the easiest and most effective ways to help venues at the moment.
However, we are in for a new wave of punk across the arts. Not safety pins and mohawks, but of people creating and engaging with the arts outside traditional structures, and with raw, unfiltered voices (especially underrepresented voices!). I want to see people doing theatre in unconventional venues, with low/no budget or homemade production values; with fierce satire, and passion, passion, passion. Iām hoping that this energy could also be the creative and constructive outlet for the build-up of anger that has been stewing in many people for a while now, as well as being a catalyst for change.
Whatever happens, the desire to create and share stories is immutable. Theatre folk are incredibly resilient and they are used to tough times. Theyāre just going to be even tougher for a while. But weāll find a way to carry on developing work, making magic and holding up a mirror where we need to. Theatre always finds a way.
Thank you for speaking to us and keep safe.
Interviewed by Dominica Plummer
Photography courtesy of Matthew Jameson
Find out more about Matthew, The Space and The Heretical Historians from the links here:
Instagram – @MJamesonOhYes @SpaceArtsCentre @TheHereticalHistorians
Twitter – @MJamesonOhYes @SpaceArtsCentre @HistoriansHere
Facebook – @MJamesonOhYes @TheSpace @HistoriansHere
Websites ā www.space.org.uk www.hereticalhistorians.co.uk
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