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"I think there was a time when the Fringe was genuinely counter-cultural, presenting a radically different world view from the theatre establishment. Now, despite some excellent work, it seems largely to consist of young artists waiting to be recognised by the establishment and taken into it. This saddens me as I think it makes our culture poorer."
Biography
Dan Barnard is artistic director of Fanshen Theatre Company. For Fanshen he has directed Meetings by Mustapha Matura at the Arcola Theatre. Dan’s freelance directing work includes Three Way by Yusra Warsama (Birmingham Rep), and Begin Again by Elinor Cook (Old Vic New Voices 24 Hour Plays). He also teaches on the acting course at Trinity College, Carmarthen. Dan read English Literature at Cambridge University and trained as a director with Living Pictures, attending workshops with Ian Rickson, Rufus Norris, Paul Hunter, Dominic Cooke, Indhu Rubasingham and Katie Mitchell. As an assistant director, Dan has worked with Bill Gaskill, Annie Castledine and Orla O’Loughlin.
In 2008 Dan was one of four directors selected to participate in the Cheek by Jowl Summer School which resulted in an exhibition at the Barbican in January 2009. In 2008 he was a runner up for both the JMK and Jerwood directors’ awards.
What first attracted you to the theatre?
I loved going to the theatre as a child – it was my favourite thing to do. I remember being thrilled, amused and terrified in the theatre. I think it was the combination of story telling and the live presence of the actors that I loved so much – the sense that something was actually happening right now in front of me. I used to want to be an actor but then I discovered I could help people be better actors than I would ever be.
If you could pick any one person or company to work with on your next project, who/which would it be?
It would have to be Rachel Briscoe, with whom I’m co-directing at the moment. It’s relatively unusual for directors to work together but we are passionate about the same things in the world and in the theatre. We have different skills (she has a strong movement background and I have a lot of psychological training) which complement each other well. We are both tired of naturalistic plays which lack a heightened theatricality or movement-based pieces which are flashy but lack believable people at the heart of them. We are hoping to work together again in 2010.
I’d also love to work with companies who do highly visual work in enormous spaces, like Vesturport or Fuerza Bruta. Working with a company like that to create work that was visually stunning and yet harnessed those dazzling qualities to the telling of an important and gripping story would be exhilarating.
What is your opinion of off west end theatre in general?
I think there was a time when the Fringe was genuinely counter-cultural, presenting a radically different world view from the theatre establishment. Now, despite some excellent work, it seems largely to consist of young artists waiting to be recognised by the establishment and taken into it. This saddens me as I think it makes our culture poorer.
What was the most inspiring production you have ever seen? Why?
I was blown away by the first Maly Theatre production I ever saw, which was their Uncle Vanya. The acting was rich, detailed, nuanced, large enough to fill the Barbican space and yet never forced. I was inspired by the quality of Russian acting again when I saw Cheek by Jowl’s poignant and subtle all male Russian production of Twelfth Night.
What piece of work are you most proud of?
It’s a little too early to say, but I think it is my current production, Shooting Rats. We’ve been working on it for eighteen months, longer than any other project. The writer, Peter Turrini, is Austrian and suggests that the play be relocated and adapted to wherever you are putting it on. We’ve done workshops with both actors and young people to discover who the characters in the play are in London, 2009 and we spent six months looking for the perfect space for this play, which is set on a rubbish dump, before we found the cavernous Octagon Hall at the Lilian Baylis Old School Site.
What things in your personal life do you draw on when you direct?
Everything. I’m endlessly curious about human behaviour and always asking myself what my objective is in a given situation, what the main event was in a scene from real life, looking at how different circumstances are affecting behaviour. I remember Rufus Norris saying that you should always ask yourself ‘why me?” when you are thinking of directing something and not do something you don’t have a strong personal connection with. It’s a good ideal to strive for.
Are there any actors/actresses you would like to direct?
I find Ben Whishaw’s acting very exciting. His exterior reflects his inner life spontaneously, which seems a characteristic of great actors. I loved Cate Blanchett’s performance in I’m Not There. I’ve also wanted to work with Jude Akuwudike ever since I first saw him in a reading at the Royal Court years ago. One day…
Which director do you most respect on OffWestEnd at the moment?
I know he moves between West End and Off West End, but I really admire Rufus Norris’ use of space and the clarity and wit of his story telling. Bijan Sheibani draws excellent work from actors and is passionate about the stories he tells.
Can you tell our readers what you’re doing now?
I’m co-directing Shooting Rats by Peter Turrini for my company, Fanshen. It’s a play by maverick Austrian writer Peter Turrini that we’ve adapted and relocated to London, 2009. It’s a story about a boy and a girl who are out on their first date. She wants to be wined and dined but he takes her to a rubbish dump. It’s an amazing piece about two people’s attempts to break free of all the pressures they face; including the modern obsession with image and the emotional baggage of their past to find a new way of living. It’s told through a fusion of text and movement in an epic found space near Waterloo. I’m thrilled to be working in such an enormous space for the first time in my career.
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