We are now halfway through Nottingham New Theatre’s 2014 autumn season. Impact Arts joins Charlotte Van Rhee and Molly McGhee, director and co-producer of this week’s play, ‘Bent’ by Martin Sherman.
Firstly, what is ‘Bent’ about?
Charlotte: ‘Bent’ is set in Berlin in the 1930s and follows a promiscuous, gay man called Max, whose life consists of cocaine, alcohol and sex. After he and his boyfriend are betrayed, they go on the run but are eventually captured and sent to Dachau concentration camp. Here Max meets Horst, and we see them fight for their dignity and humanity within a truly horrific context.
What was it about the play that made you choose it for the New Theatre season?
Charlotte: My A-level drama teacher introduced me to it and it’s kind of haunted me ever since, so I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to do something with it. At the time of its initial production in 1979 ‘Bent’ was somewhat of a history lesson to its audience: many people were unaware that homosexuals received similar maltreatment to the Jews during this period. Even today the play still maintains this pedagogic purpose. On more than one occasion, people have looked at our poster and asked about the significance of the pink triangle, so it’s still teaching audiences 35 years later.
The play is rife with controversy and risqué moments; was there anything about the script that you found challenging?
Charlotte: The whole script is immensely challenging. There is absolutely no way of sugar-coating any material that deals with such sensitive issues, nor is there any point in shying away from it. The script has these ‘risqué’ moments in because they are true historical events that did happen. I am continuously impressed with the way the actors have applied such delicacy and maturity in their handling of these moments. So much of our rehearsal process was spent talking over the script and raising questions before we even attempted to bring it to life. It’s been an incredibly emotional process.
Molly: The only way these ‘risqué’ moments were ever going to be possible was if we confronted them head on. Whilst it would have been easy for us to all to rush through and emotionally distance ourselves from the more explicit moments, it was vital that these scenes maintained their potency and jarring energy. One of the hardest things we’ve all had to work with is how best to present the more subtle, quiet moments of the play as these are equally vital and resounding.
Many adaptations have been done in the past; did you draw on any of these for your interpretation?
Charlotte: Most of the cast members watched the film version with Clive Owen, which I personally could not watch the whole way through. It isn’t necessarily a ‘bad’ film, but film is an entirely different medium to theatre; you can do a lot of very different things, and so it is important to treat the two as entirely separate entities and appreciate them for what they can achieve distinctly.
Molly: I watched the film adaptation with a degree of hesitancy. I was reluctant about seeing an adaptation in case someone else’s interpretation infringed on my own understanding and relationship with the play. We actually found other sources helpful for our interpretation. We watched various documentaries and read real life accounts of the events depicted in Bent. It allowed the actors to capture and internalise the emotions they initially felt when watching these allowing them to manifest through their performances in a far more honest and natural way.
Finally, if you could describe your version of ‘Bent’ in one sentence, what would that be?
Charlotte: Immensely powerful and thought-provoking; not to be missed.
Molly: It is a moving, crucial piece of work that will leave a resounding impression.
Jessica Millott
‘Bent’ runs from Wednesday 19th-Saturday 22nd November at 7:30pm at the Nottingham New Theatre, with a 2:30pm matinee on Saturday. For more information, see here.
