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My play Whose Blood is now three weeks into its run, and yet it has taken me this long to fully understand its meaning.  Only now that the play is in the hands of the director, actors, and technicians, do I fully see its power.

All theatre is an event (the event of people coming together to witness a story) but what makes Whose Blood so unusual is that it is being performed in an actual 19^th Century Operating Theatre.  The drama is therefore a recreation of what might have occurred there.   The play tells the story of a couple in 1832 who face a difficult choice about a surgery, but what makes the play so unusual is that they are standing in the actual space where they would have made that decision.

I have come to fully realize that the play is not so much a play, as it is an event.  It is the event of witnessing a story which blurs the line between past and present, history and reality.  The actors bring to life a story that has remained hidden until now.  The play is actually a rite or a ritual.  It calls to life the stories of those whose blood lies in the floorboard on which we sit.  I am proud to be a witness.

The play has opened and we’re sold out for the entire run.  Wonderful and still terrifying.

We open tomorrow night with Whose Blood.   You can see the cast and director speak on-line about at the play

Director Karena Johnson

Candic Onyemama:  Efua Kuntu

Charlie Folorunsho:  Abakah Kuntu

John Gorrick:  Samuel Carter

Mark Hawkins:  Hugo Forester

I’m staying in Paris at a friend’s apartment and found this picture on the wall: Le Malade Imaginaire. I performed the lead when I was 17.   Michele Gregoire and Teresa Linehan bravely lead us into a world of 17th century hypochondria.  I admire and draw strength from their daring.

 

Words Not my Own

It’s a strange thing that happens to us writers sometimes: suddenly our words are no longer our own.  This is what I’ve wanted, been working towards, and yet it doesn’t feel easy.  Like a child growing up and leaving home, I suspect.

I’ve been writing my play Whose Blood for over a year now — nineteen drafts, last time I counted.  I’ve done readings, had lots of input, but up until now my words were always mine.   When I didn’t want to work on the play, the script just sat on my shelf, waiting for me — I could neglect her for weeks and even threaten to never come back.   But now that rehearsals have begun, everything has changed.

My words are no longer my own, instead they are now the contours of a universe that the director, actors, and crew inhabit.  The actors chew on the words and spit some of them back: I make changes.   The costume designer listens and then sews outfits, the sound and lighting designers create the light of candles and the sounds of a 19^th century carriage.  The director constructs dances and movement to fill out this world that she now also imagines.

I want to run away.  It was easier when the words were only my private playthings I could control.  I’m at times embarrassed: it sounded better in my head.  I’m not sure if this child was ready to got into the world.

When I leave rehearsal the actors are singing and dancing.   I go back to my quiet apartment and look at my script and try to pretend she is still mine, but it doesn’t work.  The director calls: questions about some lines and plans to move into dress rehearsal.  I look online and there is publicity “a new play by Alex Burger.”   These words are really no longer mine, they are a map to a world we construct together.   I hope the world is beautiful, but I’m still not sure I’m ready for the shock of the visit.

Whose Blood opens the 23 February at the Old Operating Theatre.  For more information and tickets go to www.whoseblood.com

I’ve just returned from 10 days in Ghana, making the same trip to London that my characters in Whose Blood made almost 200 years ago.  Although I’ve lived and worked in many parts of Central and West Africa, this way my first trip to Ghana.  It felt oddly familiar, comfortable, a part of the world and a part of me I have left but not forgotten.

Rehearsals start tomorrow, we open in three weeks.  We will see what these weeks bring.

All the best,
Alex and Jim

Dear Film Readers,

A warm thanks for participating last night in the film reading.  It was an amazing event for us to have such a group gathered, and to hear the piece out loud with such varied voices.  It has given us  much food for thought.

We’ve spent the day working on the film, thinking about such things as:

• Characters:  How can we tell the most real and complex stories
• Land Grab: how can we push the movie towards land grab, which is perhaps the most pressing and complex issue?
• Inside Africa/Inside Mexico.  What would the film look like if we really put ourselves inside these worlds and wrote from there?

The event stirred up so many thoughts and possibilities for us – you made this happen.  We welcome continued discussion.

All the best,
Alex and Jim