Adapting a novella into a play is never an easy task; particularly when you’re so obsessed with the source material that you read it twice on a plane journey because you absolutely did not want it to end. There’s the natural concerns of taking a leap of faith which may disrespect the very work which you admire, as well as the logistics of edits, edits and more edits. And let’s not forget the fact that if no one likes what you put on the stage, it is absolutely your responsibility: a terrifying prospect. However for me, creating After Seymour wasn’t about pulling in as many people as possible, and I have to praise the Pembroke Players for the freedom they gave me when they told me not to worry about ticket sales. What I really wanted to do was try to recreate the feeling of being completely absorbed in the lives of the Glass family, a dysfunctional family of geniuses who are far from being constantly lovable. 

Being an avid theatre goer as well as acting and directing in the world of Cambridge drama made me slowly realise that neither the ADC nor Corpus would give me the flexibility or the intimacy that I craved. I love these spaces and have seen incredible plays performed in both (Terminus particularly stands out as a play which managed to utterly captivate me using minimal yet innovative staging) but was overjoyed to receive a slot to perform in Pembroke New Cellars. 

In truth, it has always puzzled me that the ADC and Corpus are so oversubscribed with applicants and yet New Cellars and the Fitzpatrick Hall in Queens are comparatively overlooked as performance spaces. There seems to be a sort of unwritten hierarchy between these four venues when in actual fact they are just all completely different places which are suited to different styles of theatre. As a director and an actor, I believe that variety is key to challenging and enjoying yourself creatively. 

With this in mind I created a piece of theatre that is a bit different to a lot of productions I’ve seen in Cambridge. Having performed at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer, where experimentation is the norm, I knew that there was definitely scope for the vision I had in my head. With only 20 seats, and an intimate promenade design which lets the audience journey around the space with the characters as they seek their own kind of personal Enlightenment, After Seymour aims to completely immerse the audience in the messy lives of the Glasses. Aided by a fantastic cast, the play allows people to enjoy something charmingly unorthodox in Cambridge, whilst hopefully acknowledging that certain spaces should be recognised more for their wonderful theatrical potential. 

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