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[0:07] John Schwab: Hi, John Schwab here from Curtain Call, and welcome to episode seventy of the Curtain Call Theatre Podcast, the podcast that brings you backstage as close as you possibly can be, often while the shows are happening, to meet the people that make theater happen.

[0:21] John Schwab: If you are a theater professional or you know of any, make sure you or they go to curtaincallonline.com and sign up for a free theater professional profile with just an email address. It's absolutely free and absolutely easy.

[0:34] John Schwab: Just go to www.curtaincallonline.com and sign up today. And now for this week's podcast.

[0:40] John Schwab: And I'm gonna have to start by saying I'm sorry for the way I sound, but I have a little bit of a plane cold, and you'll find out why in just a second. What a week it has been.

[0:52] John Schwab: Matt Humphrey and I had the opportunity to fly over to New York and catch People, Places & Things at the St. Anne's Warehouse in Brooklyn. With both Matt and I having seen the show a couple of times before, we got to watch it again before heading backstage last Friday night, and I cannot begin to tell you how phenomenal this production was.

[1:14] John Schwab: I mean the company have grown in stature, taking Jeremy Herrin’s production of Duncan Macmillan’s play to absolute new heights. I mean, I sound like I'm gushing but because I am. I just I'm unapologetically gushing.

[1:31] John Schwab: It's been an absolute pleasure getting to meet this company, getting to know them over the last year or so, and Matt and I were overwhelmed by the welcome we got, both when we watched the show at the St. Anne's Warehouse and also when we went backstage. Matt and I realized what a privileged position we are in.

[1:48] John Schwab: And it's something that we never forget, and this visit was truly unforgettable. Now I sat down and talked to the company while Matt was around backstage during the show taking photographs, and I talked to them about them taking the play from London, both at the National and the Wyndham's Theatre, to New York, and how they themselves thought the audience in New York received the play. Have a listen.

[2:17] Company Member: It's been glorious. I mean, there is nothing I can ever say about this whole experience from three years ago to now, except that it has been a spiritual experience of my life. Like it is beyond anything I could have ever imagined, hopeful.

[2:32] Company Member: The reaction here has been beautiful, much the same as in the West End, but kind of more effusive in its like people are prepared to go deeper. Like I have all these letters everywhere from people, and they share some pretty intense stuff. You know, a lot of people die of this. So here I'm really aware of that. It's been amazing personally and creatively.

[2:55] Company Member: It's been really interesting bringing it to a place where it was kind of born and where people are a lot more aware of it as an institution and more and more aware of kind of higher power and that talk of God. And I think it's been amazing personally, just to be able to come to America and to act and to live and to live in New York and to see New York.

[3:29] Company Member: And I think it hits people in New York harder because they're just more aware of the culture of it. Listen, it was a bit of hype with the show because it was so successful. Was there any pressure or whatever to kind of get it right here or to present something that was the pride of the UK last year?

[3:52] Company Member: I mean it won the Olivier's, it won that you know it came with such weight. Did you guys feel any pressure to bring it? I think Jeremy was really good at bringing us back to the beginning all the time and keeping things specific.

[4:06] Company Member: But the only changes that we had to make were just things like do the dishes instead of do the washing up. Oh, yeah, that changed them words so that it could be understood by American audiences. And for me, I think that there is a different sense of humour here, so they tend to laugh differently and sometimes at different points, and sometimes they're a bit more vocal than the British audience would be.

[4:32] Company Member: But every night it's exactly the same as it was at the Dorset. Not that much different at all. I mean, I think in terms of pressure, I felt like there was huge pressure on Denise to be able to bring it, but of course she did. And she does, but because it's her performance as much as the play that has kind of sold it.

[4:55] Company Member: So but I think then it was kind of like Jackie said, taking it back to base, so that we were just doing the play again. We were just finding the play again and the realities in the play, and then when our final dress rehearsal in London before we flew over here, we did it to a recovery centre that we've been in touch with right from the beginning.

[5:13] Company Member: They came in and they were our audience, and that is one of the things that Jeremy's done over and over again. And it's so much more detailed now, and everyone's so much more comfortable in the group that actually it's just a joy.

[5:26] Company Member: Yeah, actually, doing it with the Catford people, yeah. They've seen us and been with us all along. And you can't lie to them because they're really living it. You know, so that really roots us back down there as well.

[5:40] Company Member: And their feedback is just great because they tell you whether that's real or not. You know, mostly they go they say how did he know that, the guy who wrote this? Yeah. So yeah, it was fantastic. That's a great endorsement and makes us feel like we're being real.

[5:57] Company Member: That's the most important thing, isn't it? That we feel like we're being real and we're being authentic. It felt you know, it really does feel like an event for Senator Anne's you know. I mean, regardless of it's like one of the fastest selling shows here and stuff, I think it just feels like everybody in a building is caught up in that feeling.

[6:16] Company Member: Yeah, which is just like wow, you know, this is a one-time event. And you know, like Denise, you know, is just a phenomenal kind of captain and heroine, you know, and so she kind of each time we do it, she ups the bar and we all gotta go, all right. That's where we're going this time, you know.

[6:35] Company Member: So it's been an honor and New York audiences are amazing. Well then I was my next question was like is it can you is there a difference? I mean I can I was saying to the Georgia audiences are different than the windows audiences. So you can you feel that?

[6:50] Company Member: They laugh more. Shh. They love more man. They love they love the laugh. I think they love to be switched on to the humour. I think they like to let the performers know yeah that they're getting it.

[7:01] Company Member: I really like to know how it's felt coming, bringing the show back. Like first of all, revisiting it. And like the kind of what was it like knowing that you were gonna be able to do the show again?

[7:14] Company Member: My god. So a bit of a unique kind of angle on this is from my point of view because I was at the West End I was understudying. Right. And I played a double M at the West End as well. So coming to New York I've kind of stepped into group.

[7:30] Company Member: Oh wow. So I'm a new character, so when the group, you know, in rehearsals it was really great because I was introducing myself as a new character, so that created just a new tone to the group, really exciting.

[7:44] Company Member: And so that it just in it did it feel like it just kind of I guess added a bit of bubbly kind of newness or whatever. I think so, yeah. And another actor, Himesh, he's playing Sean. So there were two new faces to the group world.

[8:02] Company Member: So I think yeah, I think that just changes the fit of everything. You have experienced the British audience to then come and play to an American audience. Yeah. Could you tell the difference between?

[8:10] Company Member: No, I don't think I could really for my 'cause the thing with this play is if you if you've never seen it before and you go to see it, you're just gonna spend the whole time in awe of the whole thing, which is what I did when I saw it last year.

[8:24] John Schwab: So I wasn't really gauging what the audience were thinking around me. Because I was just in awe of this play, I'd never seen anything like it. But I have heard from the others that you know that the audience is quite different. The way they react to things is different. Um because I think this the context of this play has a different social meaning here.

[8:46] John Schwab: Yeah. I think Americans are slightly more open about therapy, about looking off at yourself in that way. Whereas I think we have maybe a slight slightly more of a cynicism towards it. Yeah. I think it's changing, but a place like this and what's helping it. Well yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh feeling was how was would it have the same effect with an American audience as it did with a UK audience? And then we didn't know whether it was um gonna get the same response. Mm because the response in the UK was amazing. And we were just um interested I suppose as to how the how everybody would respond over here. And um it's been amazing. I mean the audience we've had here have been amazing.

[9:32] John Schwab: We talked about the different culture of um how addiction and um mental health is is is the culture of it the way it's talked about is very different different over here to how it is in the UK. Is it more open? I think so yeah. A lot more people are openly talking about it or have a therapist or it's quite a normal conversation for simply to say well I spoke to my therapist last week whereas in the UK it seems to be a weakness to say that you've had therapy or you need help whereas in the US it's much more open about it.

[10:08] John Schwab: Yeah. Also that um the recovery program they get so a lot of the lines in the play they they react to much more. They get a lot of it they're they're more vocal um at the certain certain things that in the UK, the UK audiences you you could feel them get it and you could feel that kind of them nodding and the understanding but here they they vocalize it. They're not afraid to vocalize it. It's like when you go to the cinema here. Complete British. They get up and shout and scream. Um so they're much more open to being vocal about what they see. Which is great for us because we get to um react to it on stage as well.

[10:59] John Schwab: Yeah. And I suppose because of that example, the show has has grown. Yeah. Um what's it been like coming to uh this you know institution of off-Broadway place? I'd heard about it before 'cause I've I've got a friend who'd works here and she um she just said the audiences here are amazing. They really like interesting stuff. Um and you're really looked after at St. Anne's and that's exactly what we felt when we walked in. It's just like a real family. We're really looked after.

[11:31] John Schwab: Do you find a different sensibilities with the audiences? I mean, do they laugh at different things? They I mean you guys have changed the show ever so ever so slightly. They're less I feel like they're a little bit less cynical. Um the religious references just they they land differently on American audiences um than they do in England. Um they don't like the C word over here. They don't laugh. No, no, no, they they did they laugh at the first one and go, I can't believe she said it. And then after she cursed says it the third, fourth time in the in the first when she's at reception, you kind of see them going, Oh, it's just going to do Yeah. I love it.

[12:14] John Schwab: Yeah, so they're uncomfortable with that, but um I I just think they really I think they're quite positive and they really celebrate Emma's recovery. And um Denise says that she feels like Emma will actually survive in recovery and she won't relapse you know and she didn't always be like that at the West End. I mean it's been quite extraordinary because I think the West End instalment, it was such a kind of cult following, such a frenzy that it was good having a year off so that when we came back to it for the New York run, it felt like we'd kind of that had settled and then we're starting again in a way.

[12:50] John Schwab: But I feel on a personal level that the show has deepened, the work has deepened, and so there's a funny thing where you know I've always wanted to play on New York stage. And the irony is that in in a way you think that you you'd send it up in some way or try and like you know bolster it out, but in a way it feels like we've resisted that and um over here it's become something even more deep, I think even more rooted. So it's been great.

[13:17] John Schwab: Yeah, it's been great. I sort of always thought that it would do well here because of that because people are kind of aware of it. I think the thing that has been different here is people are a lot more, it feels a lot more the ending feels a lot more hopeful, and the ending feels a lot more kind of maybe euphoric. I feel like Americans are a little bit more able to give over to the hopefulness of the end.

[13:47] John Schwab: Yeah. Um whereas in England I think it I think the great thing about this play is the ending can satisfy somebody who is cynical and can also satisfy somebody who is really optimistic. But I think here it is always it always feels really optimistic. I think they're very happy and proud of Emma at the end of the play.

[14:08] John Schwab: Yeah. I am. I am too. When she goes, I know she's never gone long, like she's not gonna be gone forever. Like I I don't think this is the end for this play. I really don't. I don't know what's next for it, but I I don't know, like I've done over 220 performances of this, and every night something is different. Every night. And that means she's not really done.

[14:41] John Schwab: The company of People, Places and Things in their temporary home at the St. Anne's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. And later this week, we're gonna bring you a podcast extra with the three American actresses that joined the company as Super Emmas. Um you can listen to them as they relate their stories on what it was like joining a company in production that came with such big hopes and justifiably big hype. That episode will drop this Friday.

[15:06] John Schwab: Uh now before we wrap up here, if you are a theater professional and you uh want to join the network built by theater professionals for theater professionals, a network that grows every day, then head on over to curtaincallonline.com and sign up for a free curtain call pro profile with just an email address. You can also follow us on all the socials Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at Curtain Call.

[15:28] John Schwab: We'd love to hear from you if you have any suggestions or feedback for the podcast. Just get in touch with us via any of the social media platforms I just mentioned, or write to me at John, that's John with an H at curtaincallonline.com. Now it just leaves me to say a huge, huge thank you to the company of People, Places, and Things, the team at St. Anne's Warehouse, Brooklyn, and to the city of New York for making our trip one that I will look back on extremely fondly for a long, long, long time.

[15:59] John Schwab: Uh and I don't think we've heard the end of People, Places, and Things. Watch this space. Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the Curtain Call Theatre Podcast, and I will catch you all next week. Bye.