When social distancing guidelines mean that only a handful of people are able to be in the theatre at one time, I was fearful that the intense atmosphere that was clearly intended to emulate from the outset of the show, with rap music and a deep blue lighting when the audience entered, would be dissipated. I need not have feared, Integrity Theatre’s production of F**k Off succeeded in creating an all-encompassing atmosphere of rage and regret.
This was not a show filled with revelry, instead, immense tension was built through hope and a clear vision of redemption. Henry M’Gill (played by Michael Dunbar) is desperately trying to win back the favour that he used to carry as a boxing star, whilst struggling with his past failures as a son and boyfriend. The show centres itself around a climactic boxing match against an American up and coming boxer, who thinks that a win against M’Gill will be his ticket to make a name for himself across the pond. It was the American Dream setting of the show, coupled with a raw and gentle emotion, that allowed it to entirely captivate the audience for the full sixty minutes.
Michael Dunbar, who wrote and starred in the piece was electric. His troubled demeanour was made endearing through a raw goodness which was saturated within his character. This juxtaposition of emotion led us to care about him and his journey a huge deal. M’Gill struggles with the rage from his past, as well as the lack of support in his present, in order to create a brighter future. Arieta Visoka, who played Karolina, gave depth to our care for M’Gill as she portrayed the selfish lover, who only wished to use M’Gill for his money. Visoka’s performance was strong, not fearing to shy away from the clear villain that she portrayed in the story.
Hayley Mitchell, who played Jess, gave a standout performance in a physical scene where Jess and M’Gill share their past intimacy with the audience. The tension in this scene was rife and beautifully directed by Taoana Tsiki and Christopher Lowry as they switch between looking out at the audience and sharing physical moments with each other; the chemistry between the two was intangible.
Dunbar’s writing was excellent and proved to be a masterclass in subtext. The final scene allowed for a rhythmic explosion of emotion by which his poetic writing collided expertly with his final expression. There was a slight lack of clarity over what had happened previously to put M’Gill in the position that we see him in at the beginning of the show; there was a great deal of rage centred around his past with his father and ex-girlfriend Jess. A clearer understanding or revelation of this would have been welcome. However, on one level, these twisted and incomplete secrets make the discovery of the subtext all the more gripping, it just needed to give a little more.
The tech in this show was outstanding. With dramatic lighting and music portrayed expertly throughout the production. A shining moment was after the climactic boxing match, where M’Gill struggles to regain his mental strength. Will Hunt’s jittery exploration of the space between the conscious and unconscious mind was fantastic and gave the audience a real entry into M’Gill’s headspace.This show was brave and bold, not fearing of a total expression of rage; this, coupled with the gentle and almost childlike hopefulness of a bright future made F**k Off a hopeful return to theatre. The bar has been set extremely high.
James, you manage to juggle careers in both acting and composing, do you find they compliment each other? Or do you find it challenging to balance the two?
They have their moments! Its definitely opened my eyes more to both sides of the production table, especially when I might start writing six months before the first rehearsal. So my appreciation for all the pre-production work has really grown. The main problem I’ve found has been that composing and arranging takes up so much more time. A self-tape can take an hour, or a morning, but I’ve had days where I’ve only managed to progress a couple of seconds with a composition, which can be maddening at times and when I’m spending that much time writing, altering, re-writing, rendering etc it can leave me little time to pursue other activities. Not that I’m complaining – at last year’s Fringe I appeared in two shows and had written music for a third, all of which happened to be performed in the same venue!
Am I right in thinking, that you have trained to be an actor, but not in composition? How have you found entering both of these fields with different levels of qualifications?
Yes – although I set out to be an actor, I sort of fell into composing by accident. During my studying at East 15, my housemate Robyn Grant asked me to write the music for a piece she was writing, which then became Fat Rascal Theatre’s first show ‘Buzz: A New Musical’. I’ve since composed three musicals with Fat Rascal, and after that, two composing jobs with the Vaults in London and various arranging work for Capital Theatres in Edinburgh and other fringe shows. I’d say getting into composing is harder for me not having a real insight into that side of the industry, especially as I’m coming into it ‘late’.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My girlfriend – especially recently with everything Covid-related. We live together and I don’t know quite how I would have stayed sane otherwise. She’s got an incredible drive, always pushing herself to be better. And yet somehow she’s almost always willing to listen to anything I’ve written.
Are you finding the connotations of lockdown creatively helpful, or draining?
As with anything, there’s good days and bad days. I’ve personally found it more difficult. There has been a wonderful push of creativity from all corners of the arts, and an equal number of tweets and Facebook posts either saying ‘be productive’ or ‘don’t feel pressured to be productive’. It can feel like there’s a pressure to supply this increased demand which I don’t think is necessarily helpful. Creating art, like the lockdown, is a marathon, not a sprint, and so for artists, I think it’s important to remember that if you don’t feel like creating something, that’s not a failure on your part, it’s just today is not a day for creating.
What is the piece of work that you are most proud of?
Last year I wrote music for a staged production of ‘Alien 3 – The Unfilmed Script’, which is probably about as out there as you could get. It was the first time I was able to create a musical world entirely from scratch and on top of that, was able to create an album of my work.
If you could perform one role, what would it be?
I would love to play Robin in ‘A History of Falling Things’ by James Graham. It’s a beautiful script about two people suffering from keraunothnetophobia – a fear of satellites falling from the sky – who start a relationship despite not being able to leave their houses. The whole script is uplifting and well-written and I fell in love with it the first time I read it.
What piece of advice would you give to people just starting out in their careers in the arts?
Make time for yourself. It can be very easy to spend all your time working to make money to support your artistic career and sometimes, self-care makes all the difference, and makes sure you can actually function as a human being.
What is next for you?
I’m due to be in Blowfish Theatre’s next show, ‘Now That’s What I Call… Getting Brexit Done!’, reprising my role as Boris Johnson. It’s going to be a follow-up to previous satirical musicals ‘Boris the Musical 2: Brexit Harder’ and ‘Now That’s What I Call Brexit’, both of which followed the lead-up and aftermath of the 2016 Brexit referendum. The next show looks to cover the 2019 General Election up to the Coronavirus. Now we just need to be allowed outside to rehearse…
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Stay safe and keep well.
