I caught up with Danielle Oliver, second year law student at Hild Bede who has the great responsibility of directing this year’s Hild Bede Theatre musical, ‘Into The Woods’. I chatted to her about her experiences so far and how she feels about approaching such a big task, particularly after the success of the Blockbuster version last month.
How many shows have you been involved with during your time in Durham?
Eleven! My degree has suffered… I performed in five, stage managed one, costumed one, produced three and am currently directing one.
ITW is a big project to take on. How are you feeling with 3 weeks to go?
Really excited! It’s quite an intimidating task, considering the complexities of Sondheim’s work, but we have an exceptional production team and cast, which instils a great deal of faith in me. I just can’t wait to see the whole thing come together.
What did you think of the film version?
The film was excellent, but I still prefer the stage original. The film script was significantly simplified so it lost some of the subplots, which is a shame. On the other hand, I’m a sucker for anything with Meryl Streep in.
Obviously having seen the film, it’s inevitable that you’ll have some ideas; but are there any things from the film, which you definitely want to steer clear of?
The characterisation of Cinderella didn’t feel believable to me. She was a pretty, normal girl who was apparently just ‘indecisive’ and therefore kept running away from the ball. We’ve created a clumsier, more socially awkward Cinderella who I feel a lot of people will relate to, and therefore understand her fleeing from the festival. Plus it’s nice to see the dorky girl get the prince for once.
What do you think your biggest challenge will be?
Keeping the humour in the more ridiculous parts of the show without making them ‘panto’, which has become a banned word amongst the cast and crew. We are growing beanstalks and battles with Giants, girls having their eyes pecked out by birds and two people climbing out of a wolf’s stomach… I’m very lucky, again, to have a great professionalism in the cast and tech team to pull it all off.
How would you describe the show in three words?
In three words, the show is simply a ‘disturbed fairy tale’. No character has the fairy tale ending that they should, and that’s exactly what makes it relatable and relevant to the audience, and why the show’s message is so important.
You’ve utilised some arguably controversial characterisation techniques – what can you tell us about that.
Oh god, yes – I think some of the cast may have hated me for that. We had a week of accessing past experiences and emotions of the actors in order to give them something real to draw upon for their performances. This ranged from simulating deaths of loved ones, to sharing intimate and graphic details of sexual experiences, to not being allowed to leave a rehearsal until cast members had slapped me convincingly. It was gruelling and quite intense at times, but is definitely reflected now in the actors’ willingness to bare their souls on stage. Again, I’m very proud of the cast for approaching the tasks given to them with such professionalism and maturity. The result is definitely something worth seeing.
Into the Woods will be performed in Caedmon Hall 25th-28th February, 2015.