In the lead up to ‘Strikes Across the Ages’, Vision spoke to the Second Year theatre students currently working on a unique project for their political theatre module. Creating three vastly different plays in an attempt to learn how to work as mini theatre companies, the students’ created stories span Ancient Rome, France and a modern day school, as they create unique interpretations of the theme ‘Strikes’.
The project is the culmination of four weeks of work, including dramaturgical research, the writing of the play, the rehearsal stages, the design of the set, light and costume and piecing the production together.
Through this process the students have been creating three distinct half-hour shows, namely Glue, Plebs on a Hill and Au Guillotine!
It was fascinating to see the stark ways in which each group interpreted the ‘Stikes’ theme differently, and hear about their experiences throughout the process of creating such unique pieces of theatre.
Glue
It has been four weeks of close-knit collaboration and has simulated the intensity of a working theatre company’s rehearsal process
Eliza Brown, Glue
The first group I spoke to were creating a piece entitled Glue, with lead writer Eliza Brown commenting on the creative process.
Asking about the core ideas for their take on the brief, Eliza told me, “Glue is very much inspired by the current situation in schools. Many of our cast and crew have experienced teachers’ strikes or have siblings currently off school due to striking, even during exam season.
We wanted to create a piece that focuses on those who are least often asked for their opinion, despite the fact that they are the most affected: the students.”
“It has been four weeks of close-knit collaboration and has simulated the intensity of a working theatre company’s rehearsal process. “
Wanting to delve a little deeper into what we can expect from Glue, I asked Eliza for a brief summary:
“Glue is about five students who have been forced to stay in school during the strikes for various reasons. They all come from very different backgrounds and have been drip-fed information by their parents, some of whom have fairly polarising views. Whilst going through the absent teacher’s drawers, one student finds emails from their parents, explaining why they need to remain in school rather than being at home. For some students, this is a good chance to boast about their family. For others, this means embarrassment.”
“Our piece is a look into how financial, social and personal situations can change what a strike fundamentally means.”
Plebs on a Hill
Our skilled writers added many hilarious and nuanced moments … which give an exciting underlying conflict in the midst of the strike.
Riannon Jorden, Plebs on a Hill
Next up I spoke with Riannon Jorden, the head writer of Plebs on a Hill.
“The idea was to make a piece of theatre showing the first ever recorded strike and what impacts it had at the time. As a group of creators we were very drawn to comedy and wondered how we could intertwine that with politics in theatre. Especially today, when our learning, health and jobs are being impacted by strikes daily.
It’s easy to scroll through funny memes or videos to get away from that, and that’s just a little bit of what we wanted to add to this piece. How, like our generation, the plebs struggled with politics, and exploring how they coped with it.”
Interested in the creative process behind a project like this, I asked Riannon how you would go about starting to create a piece of theatre.
“Beginning with writing we were determined to have a full draft within a week or two and we found a lot of the historical factors really lended themselves to the making of this story. It wasn’t as challenging because we already had characters and the general story. What we didn’t have was the comedy or the fun that we now have in this piece.
Our skilled writers added many hilarious moments such as a game of charades, Servilius’ entire character and also fun character relationships such as Menenius and Luna (Patrician and pleb). Which gives an exciting underlying conflict in the midst of the strike.”
Au Guillotine!
“1968. The city of love… and strikes? The Colbert Household attends to an uninvited guest. What will they do?”
Ethan Tyler, Au Guillotine!
Finally, Ethan Tyler talked to me about the final piece, Au Guillotine!
“As a group we all thought of the different types of strikes as well as different strikes throughout history. We were thinking of strikes such as modern rail and postal strikes, strikes in America in the 70s against the Vietnam War, strikes in Ancient Greece, and even the idea of AI’s going on strike. We eventually decided to focus on the Paris strikes of 1968, as this involved students, teachers, and union workers, and was a city-wide event. Our play in past Paris allows the audience to consider the links to Modern day Paris and the strikes happening there.”
‘1968. The city of love… and strikes? The Colbert Household attends to an uninvited guest. What will they do?’ The play aims to show a range of different views about strikes as well as explore the themes of class and wealth. The genre is a mix of drama and comedy.”
Finally, I asked all three students: Why do you think people should come and see your show?
“Come and see the show for some high-speed political back and forth, some beautiful set design, and some pretty angry students!”
‘Strikes Across the Ages’ is playing from the 12th – 13th May at 7pm in the TFTI building on Campus East.
Free tickets are avaliable through the School of Arts and Creative Technologies section of the University of York website ( https://www.york.ac.uk/arts-creative-technologies/about/events/strikesacrosstheages-saturday/ ) and on the door. And don’t forget to follow the three play’s on Instagram (@glue_ptp2023 @plebsonahill_ptp2023 @ptp_auguillotine) to gain exclusive sneak peaks of the performances before opening night!