Birdland

By Simon Stephens
Background Pack

CONTENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

About the Production

About the Writer
Synopsis of Birdland
About the Design
Interview with the Assistant Director
Assistant Directors Rehearsal Diary
Practical Exercises
Useful Links and Research
About Royal Court Education

These resources are intended to give teachers and students a detailed insight into the creative
process behind developing and staging Birdland. Through interviews, production notes and
rehearsal techniques, they demonstrate how the writer, director and cast worked in
collaboration to create the show. We aim to provide useful information and opportunities to help
students discover the unique world of the play for themselves.

1. About the Production

Birdland was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, Jerwood Theatre
Downstairs, Sloane Square, on Thursday 3rd April.

Creative team
Writer

Simon Stephens

Director

Carrie Cracknell

Set Designer

Ian MacNeil

Costume Designer

Holly Waddington

Lighting Designer

Neil Austin

Composer
Designer

and

Sound Tom Mills

Stage Managers

Sarah Hopkins
Sarah Tryfan

Deputy Stage Manager

Ian Andlaw

Assistant Stage Manager

Greg Sharman

SM Intern

Ellie Felicien

Assistant Director

Debbie Hannan

Production Manager

Niall Black

Costume Supervisor

Lucy Walshaw

Movement Director

Ann Yee

Dialect Coach

William Conacher

Cast
Jenny/DC Evans

Nikki Amuka-Bird

David/Louis/Marc/Martin/
Alistair

Daniel Cerqueria

Marnie/Nicola/Lucy/Sophie

Yolanda Kettle

Johnny

Alex Price

Annalisa / Madelaine / DC Charlotte Randle

Richer / Luc / Claudie
Paul

Andrew Scott

2. About the Writer

Simon Stephens has a long standing
relationship with the Royal Court. He
was part of the Young Writers'
Programme in the 1990s and has had
several plays produced at the Royal
Court. He is currently Artistic Associate
at the Lyric Hammersmith.
THEATRE:
For the Royal Court:
Wastwater (Theater Heutes annual poll
voted him Best Foreign Playwright of the
Year, 2011), Motortown (Theater Heutes
annual poll voted him Best Foreign
Playwright of the Year, 2007), Country
Music, Herons (Nomination for Olivier
Award for Most Promising Playwright,
2001), Bluebird.
Simon Kane

Other Theatre: Blindsided (premiering 2014 at the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre,)
London (incorporating Sea
Wall and T5;
premiered
at Salisbury
Playhouse)
Morning (premiered at the Traverse Theatre) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime (premiered at the National Theatre, adapted from the Mark Haddon novel of the
same name, then had a West End transfer to the Shaftesbury Apollo), A Doll's
House (premiered at the Young Vic, then had a West End transfer to the Duke of York
theatre), Three Kingdoms (premiered at Theatre NO99 in Tallinn, Estonia. English
premiere at the Lyric Hammersmith), I am the Wind (Young Vic. Adaptation, originally by
Jon Fosse), T5 (Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Traverse Theatre), A Thousand
Stars Explode In The Sky (Lyric Hammersmith, co -written with Robert Holman and David
Eldridge), Marine Parade (a play with music co-written with Animalink/Brighton Festival/
Mark Eitzel), The Trial of Ubu (premiered at the Toneelgroep in Amsterdam, (2010)
English premiere at the Hampstead Theatre (2012)), Canopy of Stars (Tricycle Theatre as
part of the Great Game series), Punk Rock (Lyric Hammersmith/Royal Exchange
Manchester, Manchester Evening News Award, Best Production, 2009), Heaven
(Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Traverse Theatre), Seawall (Bush Theatre/Traverse
Theatre), Harper Regan (National Theatre), Pornography (Tricycle Theatre (2009),
Edinburgh Festival / Birmingham Rep (2008), Deutsches Schauspielhaus (2007),
Hannover Theater Heutes annual poll voted him Best Foreign Playwright of the Year,
2008), On The Shore of The Big Wide World (Royal Exchange Manchester/National
Theatre, 2006 Olivier Award for Best New Play), Christmas (Bush Theatre), One Minute
(Crucible Theatre, Sheffield), Port (Royal Exchange, Manchester. Pearson Award for Best
Play, 2001), Bring Me Sunshine (premiered at the Edinburgh Festival).
RADIO:
Digging (BBC Radio 4), Fiver Letters Home to Elizabeth (BBC Radio 4)
TELEVISION:
Dive (with Dominic Savage, Granada/ BBC)
Pornography (as part of COMING UP (Channel 4))

http://www.qthemusic.com/1407/guest-column-royal-court-theatre-new-play-birdland/

Guest Column Bringing rockn'roll to the Royal

Court Theatre in new play Birdland
MARCH 27, 2014

New play Birdland is set to open at Londons Royal Court Theatre next week (running form 3
April to 31 May). About a rock star (played by Andrew Scott, Sherlocks Moriarty) losing his
mind, playwright Simon Stephens (recent winner of an Olivier Award-winning for his
adaptation of Mark Haddons The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time for the
National Theatre) in this guest column explains the challenges of bringing rockn'roll and
theatre together, and why hell always be a failed rock star
At the beginning of April my new play Birdland opens at the most important theatre for new
writing in the world, The Royal Court. It will be my sixth play at that theatre. In many ways this
is something I am immensely proud of. In some ways, though, opening a new play will always
be a little bit of a disappointment. Because I never wanted to be a playwright. Not until I was
about 21. I only ever wanted to be a rock star. I was just never quite good enough.
I grew up in Stockport, a suburb to the South of Manchester in the eighties. It was a drab town
at a drab time in a country that was castrated by the iron grip of the Iron lady. A country that
feared thought and creativity was coming to celebrate the dignity of buying things. It was in
rock and roll music more than anything that my sense of self was crystallised. I came to
understand myself by listening to Elvis Costello and The Smiths. I came to want to write
because of Tom Waits and Nick Cave. I learnt about sex and loneliness and fear and anger
through Prince and Sonic Youth and the Stone Roses and Public Enemy.
As Ive grown older it is rockn'roll music that has informed my work more than any other art
form. I learnt more about dramatic structure from years of listening to Pixies than from
anything else. I learnt more about theatricality from watching Mark E Smith on stage than from

anything else. I learnt about the musicality of narrative from listening to album after album
after album.
Birdland is a play about all those things.
It is a play about a rock star losing his mind. The central character is known only as Paul. Hell
be played by the astonishing Andrew Scott. We watch the last four gigs of a 15-month world
tour as his sense of what is real and not real, sane and insane, right and wrong erodes
completely. Its a play about sex and money and living in hotels. Its entirely fictional. Its
based on nobody but in its very essence its about Kurt Cobain and Thom Yorke and Jerry
Lee Lewis and Lou Reed and Bo Diddley and Kristinn Hersh and Kim Gordon and PJ Harvey
and everybody else who all my life has kind of made me feel a little bit less alone.
Its an angry play and a dark play but, because I think all theatre is in its very form optimistic, it
is ultimately an optimistic play. I sometimes think that its the play Ive been waiting to write all
my life.

Simon Stephens

3. Synopsis of Birdland
Birdland focuses on the story of Paul. A rock star whose fame and status have warped how
he sees the world and how he behaves.
In the first scene Paul and his band are in Moscow. They are at the end of a 200 gig tour and
Paul and his bandmate, Johnny are preparing to go onstage. Johnny sends for some food for
Paul as he hasnt eaten anything. The waitress, Jenny, brings Paul a peach but Johnny
quickly sends her away as he doesnt want Paul to be distracted. Later on, Paul is interviewed
by Annalisa at his hotel, the Ararat Park Hyatt, a five star hotel. He flirts with her and claims
that the world has been made better by money. After their next gig in Moscow, Paul and
Johnny lie by the poolside and smoke cannabis.
Johnny says that later that day he is meeting his
girlfriend, Marnie, who he is deeply in love with. Paul
wants to meet her, and asks if he can bring Annalisa
who he says begged him to take her out. Johnny
agrees and at midnight Paul, Marnie, Johnny and
Annalisa go to Caf Pushkin, a famous caf in
Moscow. Paul is still running on adrenaline from the
gig, and suggests that Annalisa and Johnny kiss. She
says no and he offers her 100,000 to kiss him but
she declines and leaves.
In the morning Paul and Marnie are talking alone in his
room, having just slept together. Paul threatens to tell
Johnny about their night together. Marnie asks him not
to and says she doesnt know what she would do if
Johnny found out. A few days later Paul visits a
brothel where he meets two sisters, Madeline and
Lucy. They have light banter with Paul, but then
change pace and ask about Marnie, who jumped off
the hotel roof the day after sleeping with Paul. They
ask Paul how he feels about her death, as he saw her
land, and he replies he felt fascinated. Back at the hotel Paul has asked Jenny to come to his
room. He asks her if she would go travelling with him, and if Marnies death is his fault. He
tells her that they slept together and that he was going to tell Johnny. He asks her if she would
forgive him if she were Marnie and she says no.
At an office on the Kurfurstendamm (a luxury avenue in Berlin), Paul and David (his manager)
are taking pharmaceutical cocaine via eye drops. They discuss the consequences of Marnies
death, particularly if there was a media backlash, which upsets Paul. Later on at the bar in the
Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin, Paul and Jenny meet for a drink. Jenny and Johnny went
window shopping earlier in the day, which makes Paul jealous. This angers Jenny as she
feels like Paul is trying to own her. He tells her he loves her but then says he doesnt really
mean it. In the lobby of the hotel, Paul meets one of his fans, Louis, who has come from
Scotland to see him. Paul offers to get him a room at the hotel if he sings for him. Louis sings
What a Wonderful World by Sam Cooke, but Paul says he doesnt remember making the offer
and leaves.
At 3am Paul goes into Johnnys room and wakes him up. He tells him hes sorry Marnie has
then died but then goes on to say he found her slightly annoying. He suggests going to visit
her parents when they play in Paris but Johnny is reluctant. In the Paris Ritz Paul is
interviewed by Luc. Despite Lucs best efforts Paul doesnt answer any of his questions. Jenny
and Paul go to see Marnies parents, Marc and Sophie. Paul pretends that Jenny is his wife,
who also called Marnie. Paul tells them that Johnny didnt want to come because he wasnt
interested. They talk about Marnie and Paul reveals he saw Marnie on the morning of her
death. Her parents ask if there was anything either of them couldve done to prevent it, but
they both say no. Paul offers Marc and Sophie some money but they decline.

Johnny and Paul are waiting to go onstage at the Bercy, a famous music and sports venue.
Johnny is annoyed at Paul for going to visit Marnies parents without him. Paul tells him, that
they didnt want to see him because they blame him for what happened. Paul says hes not
going to play any of the songs that Johnny has written. Jenny comes in and Paul takes his
anger out on her, and then proceeds to call her Marnie. Back at the hotel Jenny packs her
bags whilst Paul watches. Paul becomes very agitated and tries various methods of
persuasion to make her stay but she still leaves. He goes to a backstage party at the Veuve
Clicqout Hospitality Suite, at the Bercy with Johnny to distract himself. He meets Claudie and
Martin, who is on the board of Veuve Cliquot. At first Paul is civil but ends up embarrassing
himself. On their way back to their hotel, Johnny and Paul visit the banks of the Seine, and
Pauls tells him what happened between him and Marnie. Johnny decides to leave the band
because he cant bear to be around Paul
anymore.
Back in London, at the St Pancras Hotel, Paul
meets Nicola, who is looking for Johnny. Paul
begins to hallucinate, thinking that Nicola is
missing a finger and has bruises on her face.
Johnny doesnt turn up so she suggests they
wait for him in Pauls suite.
Backstage at the O2 Arena, Paul is preparing
for the gig whilst talking to his dad, Alistair.
Alistair reveals he has got himself into debt
and asks Paul for some money. Before leaving
to take his seat, Alistair tells Paul he hasnt
changed which his dad thinks is important. The
next morning Paul is at a police station. He is
being questioned by DC Laura Evans and DC
Clare Richer about his relationship with Nicola.
It is revealed that Paul slept with Nicola who is
14. Paul claims he didnt know her age but the
evidence is against him.
Paul goes to see David for support. David says
it is unlikely he will go to prison, as they will be
using one of the record companys best
lawyers. David tells Paul that Johnny will be testifying against him, and Paul suspects that
Johnny set him up. David then tells Paul he owes the record company 9.7 million pounds
because of a clause in his contract. In the last scene Paul is on an empty stage with the dead
Marnie. She forgives him for what he did, but tells him there isnt an afterlife only emptiness.
Paul tells her that everyone has left him, and eventually Marnie leaves too. The play ends with
Paul telling the audience that he doesnt think hell die.

4. About the Design

The design of Birdland was influenced by the 20:50 an artwork by Richard Wilson that
currently resides in the Saatchi Gallery. A room in the gallery is filled with sump oil to create a
mirror effect. The audience enters via a walkway so that they are entirely surrounded by oil.
Wilson created 20:50 because he was interested in the way perceptions of an architectural
room could be changed, to alter the way someone sees it.

Copyright Richard Wilson and the Saatchi Gallery 1987

During the course of the show, the actors will be covered in oil to show that they have been
physically tainted. The oil in the set acts as a way of hermetically sealing the play from the real
world. The idea behind this is that they are cannibalising popular culture and cool imagery,
within their own world.
Design activity
On the 3rd page of Birdland Simon Stephens gives an instruction about the design.
The stage should be spare and abstract rather than mimetic or naturalistic. It is clear that through this
instruction Simon wants the play to focus on the action as opposed to outside influences.

1. Imagine you are the designer for Birdland and have just read the script. What would your

initial reaction to this be? List a few initial ideas and see if you can create a design for the set,
based on your ideas. Think about:
Where the action will take place?
Will there be any props? If so, what will they be and why?
Where would you place the entrances and exits, and how many would there be?

2. Imagine the director didnt give you a brief, and you had to create your own. What brief would
you set yourself? Think about:
Where would the audience be?
What would the set design say about the play?
What effect would you like your design for the play to have on the audience?

5.

Interview with the Assistant Director, Debbie Hannan

What were your initial thoughts when you first read the play?
I thought it was so exciting and I loved the fact that it broke down time and space. And that it
flowed from one scene into another, and that affords a director so many opportunities to
create a world and an experience for an audience. I got really excited because I love rock
bands! And I think that aspect of our culture is one of the most extreme and yet were all
invested in it. Because we really idolise these people, who live these almost alien, foreign,
money saturated lifestyles. But we love them, and we obsesses over them and we read about
them getting married and divorced and their tweets of their own faces! Its such a strange
world but is our reality, so I thought that was quite thrilling. And Paul broke my heart a little bit
because someone whos that cruel definitely has a deep sadness or a lack of self-esteem. But
also I thought he was really funny! And I was just was so excited by the idea of Andrew Scott
playing him because hes got the energy and the speed of thought to do it as he does, hes
amazing. And I was so shocked by Marnie dying because it happened so quickly. And I like
David because hes a proper villain, hes so manipulative. And just developing an opportunity
to be part of making it 3D, because you do get plays like that where suddenly you have 15
ideas about what could happen with it, and that was one of those plays. Because he
deliberately leaves space for a director, and Simon said at one point This is Carries
production of my play, she knows more about it than me. She should do what she needs to
do, its her word. And I think that generosity of handing the text over to be wrought by the
company is really important.

Birdland raises a lot of interesting questions about fame. Why do you think it is people
who manage celebrities encourage them to be so reckless?
I think because theres a system which encourages, based on profit, people to behave a
certain way because theres more profit to be gained from it. Which is essentially a kind of
microcosmic structure of capitalism, but being enacted on one person. So, for instance, if its
useful to you that your celebrity charge does something outrageous, so that it sells the film
that theyre in then you will organise them to do something outrageous. And because of that
they become a bit dehumanised, rather like a product they become a thing that youve got to
sell or advertise or manage. Its just that the way that you manage them might not be the best
for them as a human being. So you see that in, for instance, in the parents of celebrity children
like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. And you see it publicity, like people who happen to
have affairs on set just as the films getting released. Im not sure theyre always encouraged

10

to be reckless, and its certainly changed since the phone hacking scandal, but definitely its
from a point of view of profit. It keeps them happy, it keeps them spending money.
Theres an interesting thing in the music industry that we found through a documentary called
Artifact, and its about 30 Seconds to Mars, that Jared Leto is in. And its basically about the
system of debt that the music industry works on. And so, at any given moment, if youre in a
big band youre in a lot of debt to the record company, and so in a way it benefits them for you
to be in debt to them, because it means that they have control over your creative output. So
again theres that element of it, by making sure that you go further down the slide of spending
and owing them money so that they have a tighter control over you. So theres a range of
reasons but the umbrella thing of it is that its more money for them. And that happens to Paul.
So is that something that you did a lot of research into?
Yeah it was, because it was something that was new to Simon as well. And so Paul in the play
owes the company over 9million and we were like Could that be possible? How can that be
possible that he owes that? What is the business structure that allows that? And is it
exceptional to Paul in our play, or is that how the music industry works? And so Simon did a
lot of research into it, and found out that you could add appendices to a contract which free up
more funds but theyre based on future earnings, as in the company predicts youll earn that
much so they give you that much to go and spend, but you have to earn it back and thats
debt essentially. So youre constantly working on a system of debt, its like spending your
money before youve been paid except thats how the whole system works. So we did have to
research that because we had to locate how Paul got so far in, in a real situation. And we
thought 9million was excessive, it turns out with 30 Seconds to Mars it was about $30million
[18million] that they were being sued for by their company, because thats what they were
indebted to. That wasnt even that much, that was a very normal amount for a big band
actually.
So we did research into that and how management structures work in music as well. Because
theres a single manager character, like David, and we had to work out what his role was. And
so he does that thing in the previous question of enabling all the time. And we had to work out
who he was working for; in our imagined world of it we had him signed to Sony. So if David
works for Sony then is it of benefit to him to get Paul further into debt or does David work for
Paul and Johnny? But actually hes really working for the company and for himself, Paul and
Johnny are secondary concerns to him. He has to keep them happy to keep the band going
but he doesnt have to keep them safe and not in debt.
Did you do a lot of work to bring the actors into the world of the play?
Its an interesting thing, because the design is so abstracted, theres an instruction at the start
of the play that says it should be non-mimetic and non-representational. And as a cast and a
company, we kind of (in a positive way) struggled with that instruction because its a real
challenge to throw that out. And in terms of our thinking about how we make theatre, we think
in terms of naturalism and in terms of realism, whereas from the start this was Simon going,
blow that out of the water; do something more interesting! Because theres a version of this
play where it could have lots of flight cases and guitars, hotel lobbies and airports. But that
play means its about a rock star, its about fame whereas because its so abstracted its about
a bigger world and themes of loneliness and grief and mortality and fame, but also more like
how you position yourself in a position of money. And so because of that, the world that we
were trying to get the actors into, we didnt know what it was from the start. The thing that I
really loved about working with Carrie is that she really held her nerve about discovering what
the world of the play was. We knew it wasnt representational but obviously it had to be rooted
in truth and we knew it took place on this gold rake in this moat of oil, but then we had to still
play the differences of energy and relationships with each character. And then there was a lot
of doubling up in it as well, people playing multiple characters. And were not really giving an
audience much help to work out whos who, theres little signs but theres no costume
changes or anything like that. So in a way, the way that we got into the world of the play was
making it altogether as an ensemble. There were quite a few debates at certain points,
debates both in terms of actively acting it in certain ways and about what it is that were

11

making. And a real turning point was when we decided not to have accents, to de-alienate the
characters. And that was a real eureka moment in the room because it meant that we were
committing to not just doing naturalism and representational acting.
So in getting into the world of it, in terms of the genre of the style, was actually the more
complicated bit. Accessing the fame part of it and the rock band thing, the major thing we did
was watch a documentary about Radiohead called Meeting People is Easy, which is listed at
the start of the playtext. And its absolutely amazing, and it shows Radiohead at the end of
their massive world tour, just as OK Computer is getting huge and Thom Yorke is having a bit
of mental breakdown essentially, because of his increasing fame and peoples interest in him
and the relentless interviewing; so that was really
useful. We also drew upon the experiences of the
actors because its not a dissimilar industry in terms of
how people relate to you. And obviously Andrew has
found himself in a position of fame fairly recently, as
someone who has been a stage actor all his life and is
now in a cult television show so he himself is dealing
with that. And the strange trappings of people trying to
photograph you on your IPhones subtlety whilst youre
just in a caf. And actually one of the actors
personally knew a band manager, and so she had a
lot to talk about the experience of being on tour with
them and what that meant, so we drew upon that. And
alongside that a lot of research into the bands that
Simon knew because Simons a real music lover, and
hes got a really specific taste. He banned Coldplay
from the rehearsal room! He hates Coldplay!
So we had lots of different ways of getting into it. We
have a movement director who is a choreographer
called Ann Yee. She is amazing, and she did a lot of
physical work and I think that was one of the big
access points for the world of the play because she
got us into that heightened energy for everybody,
even though its Andrew who mainly does the extreme
movement. So it was quite a steady, rigorous process of building the world through all the
different building blocks that make it what it is. By no means did anyone arrive with a finished
idea, which was really cool.
I feel like the play also raises questions about mortality as well, because Paul says he
doesnt want to die. Do you think that Pauls behaviour has something to do with
people not forgetting him?
Thats very true, and its sort of the whole impulse behind making art in some way, of
somehow impacting enough on the world that you affect it in a way thats memorable or
important, and I think definitely thats a part of Pauls impulse. And also, Simon talked about
Paul being part of the enthusiasm club, so theres a bit where he says he has a chaotic level
of enthusiasm and a massive amount of joie de vivre. And I think thats completely true, the
thing about Paul is that he is absolutely fascinated and intrigued about everything there is to
be found in the world. And because of that, it obviously links to mortality because everythings
really transient. The other thing about that is, we had a big debate about whether hes afraid to
die or afraid to keep living. He oscillates between the two in that I feel like, theres a lot about
him not wanting to be forgotten or how scary it is to die or what is heaven like? Questions that
come up over and over again. But there are a few things where you think actually hes sort of
terrified of his own fame, that thing about the photographs capturing his soul and what it
means to possibly not die. As in maybe hes going to be stuck in this eternal hell, so we came
at it from that other angle. And now theres quite a strange element of Andrew playing that
Paul is afraid to keep living because actually that would be so much worse than the situation
that he ends up in. So it kind of goes from one extreme to the other, and fame in a way does

12

play with your conception of your own mortality, because at any given moment you are the
photo that someone took of you ten years ago. Theres a saying that says Die young. Stay
beautiful. because the image everyone will have of you, is you dying young so I think Paul
maybe comes from that line of thinking. I have a lot of empathy for him.
That really comes across. Reading it you feel like hes a terrible person, but then seeing
it on stage you feel a lot of empathy for him, because he doesnt have anyone taking
care of him.
He has no boundaries. And Simon was saying how if drama is the action that someone takes
to get over an obstacle in front of them what happens when they have no obstacles? So thats
Paul, because people are constantly removing all his obstacles, he can just get what he wants
and thats it. And actually its kind of abusive, I remember Carrie saying one day that if you
treated a child like people treat Paul it would be abusive; so you wouldnt give them any
boundaries, youd give them anything they ask for; let them eat whatever they want, go
wherever they want; not let them sleep all night, do loads of drugs and actually thats not
setting someone up to feel loved. Love is partially not letting someone hurt themselves and
laying boundaries for them. It is interesting the difference between reading it and performing
it. Because when you read it, I think it can be really simple to just think hes a tosser.
Everyone thinks that, and there was a journalist who interviewed Andrew and was like So,
hes a wanker, how are you going to play him? and Andrew got really bothered by that
because he worked so hard to find every intention in it that is really human; and actually is
about someone trying to connect but just failing, or not being allowed to. Because at one
minute hes on stage in front of 100,000 people being a rock star and then the next minute he
goes to a restaurant, and everyones like Oh youre a bit loud but its like Yeah of course
hes a bit loud! People demand so much from him one second and they change it the next. It
is interesting because Simon spoke about the erosion of empathy through money. So you
have so much money that you can no longer have compassion for other people because its
destabilised your ability to relate to people. And there is an element of that in the play, its sort
of interesting that his communication has broken down in a way. He cant read people as
clearly because no-ones making him.

Did you do any work to establish relationships between the characters?

In the first week we did intentions and events, which is where you work through the text and
you say what each character is trying to do at any given moment to the other characters, and
then an event is when that changes for everyone in the room. So for instance your intention is
to interview me; my intention is to provide information. And an event would be if the
Dictaphone caught on fire because that would change what we were trying to do. Because our
intention would be to put the fire out (and to run)! So thats how you then break down all the

13

scenes, so from that you start to question why a characters intentions are a certain way. And
then using the detail from the play you think about what events in their past have made them
get here. Obviously the key relationship here is Paul and Johnny, and the dad [Alistair], so we
did a couple of improvisations around that. And theres a really great one where Paul and
Johnny are 14 and they get a gig in London (they come from just outside London) and theyre
trying to convince Alistair, to drive them to London with their kit but hes working the next day.
So he ends up driving them there at 4 in the morning and leaving them all day, and they do
their gig at night and then they come home. And that was the impro, and it was really good
and it really placed the relationship between Paul and Johnny, and Johnny actually being a
little bit more in control and a little bit more sorted; and Paul being a bit more renegade even
as a teenager. And then the dad being this really caring, warm person that related to both of
them. So that was part of the work we did on relationships, and the other thing was just mining
the scenes. We worked really hard on every single scene to understand what the dynamic
was. So theres quite a few abstract theatrical ideas in it, for instance, the moment where
Louis sings into the microphone, moments that are very heightened, but even those started as
just scenes being acted as if they were in reality. And then we added the theatrical idea, and
that helps you get the relationship; you have to test out what the dynamic is before you throw
in the weird stuff. The actors did a lot of individual research as well. Its mostly using the text,
we didnt stray too far from just doing a lot of text work and a lot of acting.
Did Simons influences (that he lists at the beginning of the text) have a big impact on
the play itself?
Yeah because I did a lot of the research into those influences, and its such a strange industry
that not many people have a real insight into. And the extremity of the everyday existence in it,
that those influences were vital to us even beginning to understand it. So theres a book called
The Dark Stuff by Nick Kent, whos a brilliant writer. He used to work for NME, and he details
the self-destructive, self-sabotaging male rock star and some of the stories were so extreme
that they were quite shocking. So we had to have that influence otherwise we wouldnt access
the world, and Simons really knowledgeable about that, so we had to gen up to get on board
with him. The biggest one is definitely the Radiohead documentary. Because there are
different kinds of rock stars; theres the 70s rock star thats maybe a bit more metal and then
theres the rock stars of the 90s and Paul and Johnny are the modern rock stars, theyre
actually quite middle class and fairly educated. And thats a really specific world that we had to
understand.
You mentioned the phone hacking scandal, do you think that has some relevance in the
play?
I think its so contemporary because weve chosen really contemporary images and impulses
that exist in our present society and heightened them and really distilled them in the play. For
instance, tiny moments like people photographing on IPhones, or just the way the way fans
behave now has changed.

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So I think something like the phone hacking scandal, was a big societal jolt about how we
relate to famous people and how we dehumanise them so much that we considered getting
into their personal lives as public property, even worse is the families of victims. So I think
thats part of it, because its about the way we put someone on a pedestal and idolise them,
and how that actually takes away from their ability to be human. And with the operation
Yewtree at the BBC, (the Jimmy Saville investigation) that thing of sexual power being a huge
part of the play. Because Paul just goes from woman to woman, its through this desperate
urge to try and relate to somebody. I remember Carrie saying its a play about someone trying
to find a life partner and just not getting anywhere because he cant relate to people in the
same way. This sexual power thing, is kind of this unspoken reality thats under all of it, in
every industry. And young women suffer the worst from it, which is really disturbing.
I feel the reason Paul sleeps with Marnie has more to do with Johnny, because he is
jealous of their relationship. What are your thoughts about that?
Its certainly a lot more about Johnny than it is about Marnie. Because its that moment where
Johnny says hes never met anyone he trusts so much in his life, and it really hurts Paul.
Because Paul and Johnny are in love in that friends way, where its your best friend for your
whole life youre kind of co-dependent with them. Hes the only other person that he can
experience life the way Johnny does, the only other person in the band that understands. And
so he sees Johnnys connection to Marnie as almost a form of betrayal. And because he is so
impulsive and emotionally hurt, that is why he does it. Theres some element of connection
between them but it is more about Johnny.
And why do you think she does it?
Im not sure. Its really difficult to work out Marnies motivations but, we talked a lot about her
back story. And we did a really great improvisation about her and her parents, and her parents
were kind of neglectful rich Parisians living in a very fancy house. And she was one of these
slightly lost children of the rich that has so much money that they dont have limits, not unlike
Paul really. And she ends up travelling a lot, and doing degree after degree because she
doesnt really know what she wants to do with her life. And so theres a real element of mental
health vulnerability there, because she wasnt completely stable. So theres something about
that instability; often if you dont have that sense of self, your self-esteem is quite low so
youre attracted to someone who is a bit more confident or a bit more arrogant. And so a lot to
do with that and a self-sabotage element as well. For someone to kill themselvesits not
Pauls fault, he doesnt help and he doesnt recognise that its going to happen which is
actually the bigger problem. He doesnt see that in her, but actually if someone kills
themselves its very much their decision, and there must have been some sadness in her that
was there already to have made her have done that. Maybe its like black and white thinking,
where people think it has to be all or nothing and they end up making really extreme
decisions.
I feel like that comes across in that shes trying to do something reckless and
spontaneous but it goes wrong.
He is really attractive, hes funny and hes in control and hes exciting to be around, he has an
appeal to him. But part of the joy of the play, of not showing you the development of the story
so you then get these little snapshots, is that the motivations of the people in it are so much
more complicated and shrouded and opaque, which makes it more interesting. But its true,
with things like that weve never really 100% landed on, Yolanda knows because shes playing
her. But its so complicated it changes every time we do it which is quite exciting.
What do you think the design says about the play?
I think the design is amazing, it uses the visuals of pop culture and music videos and turns it
into this heightened other world. Theres a few key things of taking what is a cool aesthetic
and then ruining it. And theres the thing of exposing the mechanisms of theatre; theres a
sound effect at one point where someone drops a sweet into a bowl and we just show them
doing it. And when Johnny exits, he exits through the doors of the theatre and so were
acknowledging the nature of performance all the time. For instance, at one point Paul comes

15

and flirts with the audience. And so the design builds in that element of performance and meta
theatricality. The main thing in it is the oil, which isnt real oil, again thats something in the
world of the play that we had to discover through rehearsal; what did that mean? Is it
something coming from Paul or something coming to Paul? And we discovered that it was the
corruption of the industry and the things that are around him that sneak up on him and get
inside him. Theres a lot of consumption in it, he consumes a lot of food, he consumes a lot of
drink and the oil ends up being the corruption that overtakes him and ends up inside him. Its a
really big design metaphor and its present there. It references, very subtlely, a lot of key rock
and pop images. Theres a moment where the dad is sitting next to a lamp, and I dont think it
was deliberate but, its straight out of Pink Floyds The Wall (their famous live performance).
And theres a sequinned cape at the end which really makes me think of Freddie Mercury.
And I think Yolanda really looks like Marianne Faithful. Its trying to locate you in that world
without giving it to you simply or realistically, its trying to stretch it and make it a bit stranger.
The chairs are such a great asset to the staging of the play. What inspired their use?
It came from that original challenge to be non-mimetic. We were trying to work out how far Ian
and Carrie could go to really remove you from any obvious symbols of where we were.
Because theres a thing about time in plays, where time is represented really chronologically.
And actually the rules of time and space in this play are really broken down, its just as you
experience it. And also having an element that had a bit of an industrial feel to them.
Its interesting, because you wouldnt know where they were without the stage
directions Simon included.
I had to do the timeline for it and its really complicated. Some of it doesnt really work and
Simon was like Oh yeah sorry thats probably an extra day there! but it is complicated and
detailed. And then of course in reality we abandon all that for the representation of the energy
going through the play. At one point were in Berlin and Im pretty sure no ones going to know
that, but it does work. You do have to keep up and they make reference to lots of locations.
What was it like having Simon Stephens in the room?
It was great! Hes the most intelligent, exciting, insightful human being. Hes got loads of
enthusiasm, endless enthusiasm! Hes obviously just got huge insight into the play. But also
he was really on-board with the rehearsal techniques that Carrie was using, so he could really
feed in, giving us real insight into why people were doing things. And he kept bringing us back
to the root of the play. For instance, Paul asks loads of questions, all the way through actually!
And its easy for that to become flippant and a little bit passive. And Simon said just kept
saying No, hes interested in life and the world. And hes really, really asking these questions.
And whenever a scene starts to get sticky or stuck or a little bit deadened for some reason,
just that bit of rehearsal where you hit a wall, Simon kept bringing us back to just asking the
questions truthfully. And it really worked. It always worked. And hes really exciting because
hes written some of the best plays in the world! So its quite thrilling to have him there, talking.
And he knows a ton about music and rock music is his great passion and he spoke about with
a huge amount of knowledge and insight. And he said he wanted to be a rock star originally!
Ive got a great respect for him and his amazing ability with words and psychology.

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6.

Assistant Directors Rehearsal Diary

Pre-Rehearsal Prep
The work for Birdland begins well before rehearsals. Director Carrie Cracknell has been meeting designer Ian MacNeil for months
beforehand to converse, swap images and collaborate on making a vibrant, expressive visual world which nails the themes of Simon
Stephens writing. The Front of House department at the Royal Court has been preparing to sell tickets, the Communications and
Marketing department has been preparing to tell the public why they should come watch and the production team have already
began to plan building sections of the set. Simon Stephens, with Carries notes, has been tweaking his script to reach rehearsal stage.
The actors have been reading their parts, researching and attempting some early line learning. As assistant director, I spend the three
weeks previous to rehearsals running lines with lead actor Andrew Scott. Andrew is playing Paul, so is on stage from beginning to end,
with a huge amount of lines in every scene. We meet every day at the National Theatre to run lines in the cafe. It meant, between us,
we ended up reading the play tens of times before rehearsal began. Whilst its typical to read a play multiple times before you begin
rehearsal, the act of hearing the play over and over through reading it aloud with Andrew revealed layers which I never wouldve
reached before rehearsal without this process.
Previous to this, I was also asked by Carrie to prepare a timeline which locates the scenes in the play. This involved gathering clues
from the play about where and when each of the 23 scenes is set, and then preparing a draft of the time, day and date I thought each
scene took place in a real life scenario. A unique feature of Birdland is that the scenes run into each other quickly with little
concession to the audience to try and locate them - so a timeline in rehearsal was going to prove vital. Built around whether
characters mentioned what day it was, how long it was till a future event, and the reality of a band touring schedule, I made a first
draft. From this, I also gathered a lot of information about the prior or given circumstances of each scene, which we would use later
as well.
I also embarked on my own research - often as assistant director, your role is to anticipate what the director and actors will need to
create a scene. I went through the script and highlighted every location, music reference, reference to a brand, person or object and
created fact sheets or found several images so that in the rehearsal room, these references could be quickly gotten hold off by the
whole company. For Birdland, this included researching obscure music references such as Tom Verlaine and Michael Gira, look up
Ardbeg whisky, exchanging Russian currency to pounds, working out flight and gig times, looking up techno clubs in Moscow, finding
images of the most expensive rooms in the Paris Ritz and checking out how much liquid cocaine would cost in Berlin.
Further to this, the beginning of the playtext references several books and films which has inspired Simon when writing - I got hold of
copies of each of these, and began making my way through them, reading about the self-destruction, inflated ego and trauma of the
Icarus-like rock star figure. I also got a taster of production in this pre-rehearsal time - Zoe, the Royal Courts Production Assistant, was
tasked with making samples of fake oil, for the river of black liquid which will be a vital part of the design. We sat on the floor, mixing
molasses, soy sauce, food colouring, poster paint and cocoa in various quantities, judging stain-ability, thickness and how bearable
each smell was
Week 1
The week kicks off by everyone gathering in the rehearsal room at the Royal Court, nervous, excited and ready to get started.
Everyone in the building gathers in the rehearsal room, forms a massive circle, and introduces themselves. Artistic Director Vicky
Featherstone introduces the company to the Royal Court, wishing us joy and creativity, and asks us to come invade her office anytime
we need. The building depart off to their various sections of the building, and we begin. Stage management has prepared the room enough tea and coffee to fuel a play - and start by sitting round a massive table, introducing ourselves and then, of course, reading
the play.
Since the Royal Court is a new writing theatre, the rehearsal periods are particularly creative, often dealing with delicate, complex and
visionary writing, articulating the very edge of our present existence in a new way. The writer is in the room for rehearsals, meaning
that the text becomes a living, vital part of the creative process - and the company galvanises around realising it in the most truthful,
accurate way possible. Accurate doesnt necessarily mean realistic, nor correct, but in a way which sharply releases the potency of
the play and allows the audience into its central thesis/reason for being made. From the first read through, the companys
imaginations are already at work to work out how best, in whatever medium theyre working in, to realise the play from the page to
reality. Carrie asks the actors not to worry about performing or acting the play, to soften the expectation and pressure on them. As
the read goes on, the plays natural energy keeps the tempo quick and the characters already seem distinct and unique.
After the read-through, we have the model showing. Ian talks us through the model of his set-design - an incredibly detailed miniature
version of the set which is currently being built. The set consists of a raked gold stage, a bridge structure which can move up or
downstage, suspended glass balls (plastic, in reality), bright blue plastic wheely chairs and, most excitingly, a moat of oil which rises
like a tide throughout the show. After Ian explains the model - his and Carries thinking, a few practicalities, and the thematic
concerns of his choices. We talk about oil on skin, consumption and rubbish landing in the moat. The cast and creatives ask a few
questions about how certain elements will work - primarily what the oil really is, and how it works. Holly Waddington, the costume
designer, then talks us through a mood board of images related to her costume designs. The costumes will be a collaboration with
Carrie and the actors, but these early influences get everyone in the right visual mindset.
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From images like Lou Reed on stage, Michael Stipe smeared in glitter, David Bowie in his turquoise Life on Mars suit and the hyperreal, jewel coloured glamour-worlds of photographer Alex Prager, we are clearly in a heightened, rocknroll world of grubby
glamour. Holly describes it to the company as having the dial turned up on the TV. Everyone is thrilled - week one feels full of
potential and the strength of the design has clarified the feel and atmosphere of the production were all going to create.
After a break, we begin working on the text in a way which will become our modus operandi for the week. Carrie has given the
actors a rehearsal copy of their script, specially marked with lines to show what she calls events in the text. An event is whenever
all the characters intentions change - an intention being whatever they are doing to affect change in a scene. An event can be if
someone enters or exits, if something chance happens like something catching on fire, or a more emotional, interpersonal event,
like declaring your love for someone. All of these would change whatever the intention is for anyone in the room at the moment.
We begin, starting at scene one, to mark in an intention for every character through every beat of the play - every event and every
section around an event. Intentions are articulated in a sentence, eg To make Johnny look after me, or To playfully encourage
Annalisa to come eat with me. The process is detailed and rigorous - it gets rid of any assumptions weve made or conclusions
weve drawn that are too thin. For instance, on the first read, Paul can seem to be a cruel, horrible person, primarily committing
actions to cause others pain. Andrew, however, actively pursues an interpretation of Paul which is more complicated and human he becomes a character which is seeking communication and love, but doesnt have the ability to truly find either due to the bizarre
positions he has been put in. Andrew talks about the cruelty of idolatry - the dehumanising effect of fame. Simon Stephens is
present for the whole of the first week, adding insight about his text, discussing his fascination with the rock world, impressing us
with his extensive knowledge of obscure and avant-garde music and clarifying the drive and depth of the play. We are thrilled as a
company to have his brain in the room.
Throughout the week we work on characters backstory - gathering facts from the text, and filling in the blanks in a way which will
be most useful for the drama. We decide, for instance, that Pauls mother died when he was eleven, leaving just him and his dad for
most of his life. We decided that Jenny dropped out of her maths degree while she was in Moscow, and has just stayed working in
the hotel since. We decided Johnny and Paul had been friends since they were eleven, and in the band since they were fourteen.
We also discussed band names, and came up with: Black Champagne, Playfully Decimate, Black Fire, Cafe Pushkin and The War. We
never quite decided what the final choice was I get asked to note down all the unanswered questions we have about the
characters - the list gets long very quickly.
After getting a backstory, the actors then improvised some key moments from the characters past life. Andrew and Alex Price, who
plays Johnny, improvised a moment from the boys teenage past where they tried to convince Pauls dad to drive them to London
despite having to work the next morning. He eventually agrees to drop them off at 4am in the morning and they can wait around all
day until their gig at night. It reveals the extent of their friendship, the dynamic between Johnny and Paul and the once present
intimacy and devotion between father and son.
On Wednesday we have the first production meeting, led by Head of Production Niall Black and with various departments in
attendance, from sound and light to front of house. The headline discussion is about the oil - how its going to work, if the
costumes and shoes will be washable, if we can have oil drip from the rig, if we can flick the oil, if the oil can vibrate due to sound.
Otherwise, Niall checks in on rehearsals and updates us to the building of the bridge, affectionately called the bus shelter, and the
set.
Choreographer and movement director Ann Yee joins us on Thursday, and runs a morning of movement and exploration so that we
start to find the vocabulary of the movement in the play. Due to the play being non-naturalistic, we are allowed a more
adventurous, less realistic way of moving. After a vigorous warm-up including massage, Ann Yee gets us to copy each others
movements in minute ways, building up into stranger and more surreal shapes. We also start to use the wheely chairs - the cast try
out being in a line, rolling about on a rhythm, and at one point manage to form a train which swaps leader as it snakes round the
room. All of this play shows up in details in later moments.
Sound designer Tom Mills also joins us that day and leads a singing session, using the song What a Wonderful World by Sam
Cooke, which Paul forces his fan to sing at one point in the play. The cast learn harmonies, and try the song out. Carrie has a plan
for this song to become a big moment in the play
The biggest breakthrough of week 1 is around the style of the piece. Due to the non-mimetic nature of the piece, the acting is no
longer in an assumable naturalistic style - the cast, Simon and Carrie grapple with this all week, until the issue of accents cracks
open the whole issue. The characters are from a variety of backgrounds and should, in reality, have a range of accents - and there
are no costume changes, so who are the ensemble swapping characters throughout? Carrie and Simon encourage the cast, in the
style of the whole production, to release from this, to imagine they are a company with a performance persona who can step in and
out of characters, and stay within the field of each of their own accent. This begins a discussion about what the style of the piece is its still representative, but its up to us to decide to what degree of theatricality of stylisation we want to go to, and how we can still
let the audience in while realising the piece truthfully.

18

Abandoning the accents seems to allow a step forward in our understanding as a company - this is a related, but more distilled world,
where the dynamics of human interaction are our anchors, and the audiences imagination will have to work harder than usual to link
the abstracted moments/representations to whatever the true meaning is, thus allowing more space for their own thoughts,
projections and feelings. Through the audience meeting the play, the themes become more universal - this is more than a rock stars
sorry tale, its everyones loneliness, pride and guilt.

Week 2
At the beginning of week 2, we move to Hampstead Town Hall in Belsize Park, North London. The hall is large and airy, and stage
management mark down a taped outline of the stage - the moat of oil and the size of the bridge included. We have six wheely office
chairs to start practicing our chair moments. We also have a small mockup of the rake of the stage, so that we can practice being on
an angle on wheeled chairs.
This week continues with us intentioning and eventing, and towards the latter half, beginning to stage the scenes. This involves us
reading the scene, revising the given circumstances, time and location, trying it standing up, trying it in a naturalistic set-up to access
the atmosphere and meaning of the scene, and then trying it using aspects of our design - such as the chairs, oil, props etc. We try
the first scene in a line of the chairs, sat down, with everyone who isnt in the scene with sunglasses on. Andrew feels this is too
inactive and still, so we try various versions with the company stood up. We keep working like this through each scene.
Ann Yee joins us for half the week, providing insight and suggestions on movement throughout, particularly the chairs and the
brothel scene, where, in our early draft, the two prostitutes are moving exactly in time. She also works intensively with Andrew on his
solo moment - inspired by Radioheads music video for Lotus Flower, and the fact that throughout the play we never actually hear
any of the bands music, Carrie has suggested a moment where Paul dances alone, on stage. The idea is not to have a
choreographed, shaped dance but a moment of wild, internal abandon, where we access his inner landscape through movement.
Through a series of exercises, Ann and Andrew begin to build this together. Lastly, she works with the company to form the opening
of the play - a sharp, short stylised introduction to the company, where the cast have to enter, set the scene, and get into the chairs.
We spend a whole session playing the tempo of chairs, as well as swiveling in them, which turns up in the play several times.
Simon has gone to Hamburg to work on another play - he currently has ten projects on the go - so it becomes one of my jobs to send
him updates, as well as proposed cuts and changes to the text. The changes are usually small but significant, so often there will be
some discussion with Simon about it.
Our production meeting this week moves the week along. We plan getting the mockup of the bridge into rehearsal, and start to
discuss Neil Austin, the lighting designers, plan for LED lights. Theatre Manager Rachel Dudley starts to plan around the likelihood of
some of the cast members exiting through the auditorium covered in fake oil.
Throughout the week actress Yolanda Kettle tries to learn to roller-skate. Every morning, lunch and break she dons the brightly
coloured skates and rolls, trips and spins around the rehearsal room. This is for her scene as Nicola - a young woman who Paul
seduces, to later find out that she is only fourteen years old. Shes making good progress throughout the week, and company
manager Sarah Tryfan looks into finding her a skating instructor.
A key reference which Carrie makes throughout the week is to the documentary Meeting People is Easy, about Radioheads world
tour following their globally successful 1997 album OK Computer. It shows the relentless nature of touring, the de-stabilising effect of
global press attention, and the sea-sick mixture of travelling, mundane interviews and adrenalised performances to endless faces
staring back. At one point, Thom Yorke is being photographed, and the sound of the flashes are increased and speeded up, to
disorientating effect. Carrie, Neil and Tom start to build this into the production - soon, the flashes become an indication of Pauls
mental disintegration.
On Friday, we spend half the day devising ideas to use in other scenes. We split into groups and take on various scenes,
brainstorming possible adventurous and exciting ways to stage them. Major images and moments from the final production first turn
up here - Louis being on the bridge with a magnifying glass; room service arriving on cloche plates; the game show element to the
police scene; tying Paul up. A few of the ideas that never make it in are still exciting - a fake phone ringing in the audience; Paul biting
food out of someones hand; Paul throwing up brightly coloured cereal; a panic button on stage.
It is my job to type up the creative notes from this session and send them round the creative team - this is separate from the
rehearsal notes which the Deputy Stage Manager sends round, which contain details from rehearsals and requests to the production
team. The creative notes are more like the creative direction of the piece - and prove useful in the long run.

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Week 3
Week three continues with us going through the shape of the scenes. Andrew has been previously tied into commitments
regarding several big movie releases he has coming up, but this week is completely free to focus on the play. We start running
lines in the morning to keep them locked in his head - two hours worth of lines is an achievement in itself. We start to work
through the remaining scenes. Some start from a place of naturalism, others from an image and others from a staging idea. Carrie
is deeply collaborative - she will hear ideas from anyone in the room, and see if they work. Ideas come and go until we find the
ideal draft of the scene. Even then, nothing is locked down - several scene solutions are so technical they will have to be found in
the tech rehearsal. At this point we start to understand who the chorus really are - Ann characterises them as extension of Pauls
mind. Another suggestion is they are an amoral entourage, encouraging Paul to do the most exciting thing, whether is it good for
him or not.
We start to really work through the difficult scenes. We have chair issues in scene 7, 8 and 9. After trying every range of
configuration, Carrie pursues the idea of Jenny lining the chairs up in a diagonal, the chairs exploding, and then being disappeared
during a scene change. After struggling all week, we finally start to make this work. Nikki Amuka-Bird, who plays Jenny, struggled
with moving the chairs, and it means re-rehearsing the scene to build it into the action, but is worth it in the long run. Carrie asks
Andrew and Nikki to revisit the substructure of events in the scene - this becomes useful the whole week, so we dont lose the
story engine of the play under the staging and imagery. The company and creatives all walk the fine line between inhabiting this
heightened world and keeping the story clear. This is very much week three - so close, yet so far. The cast also sharpen the
intentions and actions of the earlier text work. Carrie keeps noting temp, the specificity of relationships and the thoughts within a
scene. We work on the scene with Paul and his Dad moment by moment - the tender, fragile nature of their relationship is pinned
down as Carrie really clarifies the imagined picture of the past in the actors heads, allowing the distance between them to be
clear.
Simon also keeps confirming cuts with us - I keep the cast and stage management crew up to date with the cuts. Carrie commits
to squeezing out the pauses in the play. She warns of the play becoming systemically slow - there are so many thoughts to play,
that the risk is slowing down and playing them between the lines. Playing the thought on the line and turning the corners into
each new thought proves effective.
This weeks production meeting, again lead by Niall, checks in on wigs, washable clothes and the variety of props which our
Assistant Stage Manager, Greg, has been hunting for. This ranges from a pink moleskin to an oversized plastic brandy glass to
Fruit Loops to a waterproof suitcase to Slush Puppies.
Ann and I are sent away mid-week to work on the brothel scene. We have been through a variety of drafts and havent yet
cracked it - we prepare a version where the prostitutes seem like nurses, before we realise who they really are. Its a proposal,
and we try it out, but we know it isnt quite there yet. Ann continues to hone Andrews solo - none of us have seen it yet, so we
remain excited.
Another key moment was with the Veuve Cliquot scene. We tried this scene standing on a flight case which we had in the room,
and suddenly it made sense. Set at a fundraising event after a gig, the raised height makes the scenes tension and nauseas
atmosphere work. Production set about building a movable table which will work in the design.
We finish this week with a run-through. This proves invaluable- it becomes clear where we need to recalibrate the story. A big
realisation is that Marnies suicide isnt clear - this means that Carrie adds in a new image or Marnie looking downwards over the
edge of the hotel which she jumps off. This reoccurs throughout the show. Collectively, the company are shocked by how present
Marnie is in every scene, despite dying so early in the plot - this is a play about her, about her death, grief and Pauls unravelling
as a result. Our collective agreement on the storytelling galvanises us to move forward.

Week 4
Week four is about calibrating the show as a whole. Now that we have inventive ways of staging each scene, we return to really
sharpening the storytelling and clarifying the central message of each scene. The rehearsal room remains positive and
collaborative. Simon also re-joins us, and gives a brilliant note to Andrew to keep asking Pauls questions as real questions. The
second they become glib and cruel, or self-aware, we lose our sympathy for his journey. This really changes the game for Andrew
- he manages to settle his idea of Paul as a person whos been damaged by fame, and is trying, if badly.
We run the play in large chunks now, as the characters journeys start to stitch together in to a full tapestry. We also begin to
work out what the exits for each character are - does Paul try to escape into the auditorium? Does Marnie float through the oil at
the end? Does everyone leave through the auditorium except Paul? Thrillingly, we get a couple of the actual chairs from the show
in the room, and begin to play with them. Ian and Carrie debate over the colour. Yolanda continues to skate - her confidence isnt
strong yet, but shes definitely getting better. For the first time, Carrie and I watch Andrews solo to the track which Tom has
provided. It is stunning. We start to thread through certain motifs - Marnies death image, the oil drips, the oil stain on clothes
and Pauls obsessive eating. These start to become moments in themselves which illuminate the theme.

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The production meeting this week takes place at the Royal Court so that we can look at the set. The bridge is being built when we
arrive - whole sections being hoisted up and hammered on by technicians. Large tanks of the oil wait backstage, ready to be
pumped in. Chairs in various shades of blue can be spotted around the auditorium. Niall talks us through each area. Neil plans his
plotting session for Saturday - where the necessary lights are rigged and programmed. Tom is already working with the Courts
sound department to put the relevant speakers around the stage. The costume department has been balancing finding washable
material with realising Hollys vision, but are almost there.
For the rest of the week, we do a couple of full runs culminating in Friday. For the morning we work on a couple of the more
unloved scenes, and on Friday afternoon Simon and Artistic Director Vicky, attend a run-through. The run-through is high energy,
shaky, but proof that the play is almost there. Their notes prove invaluable - Vicky thinks that the cast should take collective
responsibility for letting the audience in, staying aware of moments where they say the location, and sharing the action out more.
Carrie asks them to remember to keep changing each other, so every scene in active.
We come in Saturday morning and do another run, leaving everyone hopeful and ready for Monday, where tech will begin. Carrie
forewarns the casts about working in the oil - being wet for long periods, and asks for patience and perseverance. Tech means long
hours, but were all ready.
Week 5
Week five begins in the auditorium, with light and sound doing some work on stage. The set is finished. Ian MacNeil walks around
his beautiful set, changing details and clarifying things with painters and technicians. Neil works through a few of the key moments
in the play, and tests the strobe lights which will later become the flashes. Tom keeps testing certain sound effects. ASM Greg lines
up his prop table sub stage. The actors will be entering from a narrow staircase hidden at the back of the stage - myself, Greg and
Ian stand in for the actors, and we dry tech the lighting before the actors arrive. In the afternoon, the cast arrive. They get their
dressing rooms, and settle in, before getting into costume. For the women, this means getting full make up, fake eyelashes and for
actress Charlotte, a red wig. There have been costume fittings throughout the previous weeks, but this is where the whole thing
comes together.
We then start from the beginning, working through each scene. This show is particularly technical, and each session, every day, is
filled with challenges and moments to solve. For instance, the moment where we show Marnies death involved a re-blocking. Ann
saves the day, and blocks the journey of the chairs. We also try throwing a chair in the sump - an extra deep hole in the moat - but it
proves too troublesome. It takes a few days to find another solution. Timing is the other key issue. The Deputy Stage Manager
marks the cue for each sound and light effect in his book, so that he can call the cue over his mic and the operators can make
them go at the right time. This is a complex process, balancing the acting, the storytelling and the tech. Nevertheless, we move
quickly. Whenever actors arent in action, they are elsewhere working. Ann and I rework the brothel scene till its much simpler they clearly play prostitutes, and their moves reflect each other. All the earlier ideas distill down to this new draft.
On Wednesday, Yolanda goes off to have her second lesson with the skate instructor. Unfortunately, she falls within the first two
minutes and sprains her ankle. Luckily the Royal Court is excellent at dealing with injuries - Yolanda is booked into a nearby doctor,
and a session with a physio the next day. As a result we have to cut the skating - the scene becomes far better as a result, and still
keeps the winding, youthful energy of the skating within the scene. Carrie is unafraid to make key changes at this point - she holds
her nerve about her decisions, but remains flexible when needed. For instance, the raised block which the Veuve Cliquot scene took
place on now causes endless trouble. Instead of panicking, she boldly decides to cut the block and instead stage the scene under
the bridge in a tight square of light, which has the same effect.
One of my jobs is to make a noting grid for Carrie, with a space per scene and a scene heading. She uses this at our dress runs on
Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon. Various Royal Court staff members attend - changes are still made throughout, with
lights shifting halfway through scenes. Suddenly, its Thursday night and its our first preview. A buzzing, mixed audience are in the
building, including several Sherlock fans. The cast are full of nerves and excitement. I visit them in their dressing rooms in the hour
before - there are still technical moments were not 100% sure on, and transitions that weve ran once, so the nerves are present,
but theyre gearing up to go on.
The show goes brilliantly, fuelled mainly by adrenaline. The audience love it - some stand to applaud. And afterwards, a massive pile
of young girls wait to catch Andrew as he leaves stage door - life imitating art.
We learn an immense amount from the preview - what moments work, what arent clear. On Friday, we work through a few scenes
which were less clear, before another preview on Friday evening. We then have a Saturday session with no preview - this stress free
day means that Carrie can work on the detail which may have otherwise been missed with the pressure of another show. The length
of Andrews solo is cut, final textual changes are made, and scenes which dont quite calibrate next to other scenes are reexamined. Simon visits us and adds his input. Everyone leaves ready for Sunday off and with press night on the horizon.

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Week 6
Week six is about press night. Wednesday night - the night when the national press and the great and good of theatre will come see
the show.
Amazingly, the cast and creatives remain flexible and open to new ideas. On Monday, we incorporate a new idea that Paul should
have black ink smeared on his hands and chest. We find places on the stage to hid ink pads, where Andrew can easily get his hands
dirty, and wipe them off later. We change the safety rails on top of the bridge, so that they are more manageable for the cast. On
Tuesday, we really examine the first four scenes, which, now that they lead in the rest of the play, need a few shifts and rethinks to
work. After weeks of standing, Carrie brings the first scene back to the original idea of sitting down throughout. It turns out her first
instinct works best - this softens the friendship between Paul and Johnny massively, setting their whole relationship off on the right
tone.
A few tweaks are made here or there, and suddenly it is Wednesday afternoon. After line running a few scenes in civilian clothing,
the cast head off to their dressing rooms and the creative team find dinner. The audience and press start arriving - the steps of the
Royal Court are filled with people. BIRDLAND by SIMON STEPHENS is lit in neon on the front of the theatre. Simon and Carrie stand
out front, clutching tickets and notebooks. At 7.30pm, the audience hush as the lights go dark and six blue chairs, lit and glowing.
Andrew Scott appears from the darkness as Paul in an aquamarine leather coat, strikes a pose to the sound effect of fans screaming,
and begins to dance. Birdland takes off.

Rehearsal diary written by Debbie Hannan, Assistant Director.

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7.

Practical Exercises

Exploring tempo warm up

This is an entire body warm up, that Ann Yee, the Movement Director did before rehearsals.
This exercise is about developing peripheral vision and a group energy. Put some music on in
the background, the music should allow the students to establish a mood, without distracting
them. When you feel the group is focused, turn the music off so they dont notice.
Pat both hands over each leg. Then over the stomach, and then the back. Then do the arms.
Stretch to the side and pat the ribs, then do the same for the other side. Then massage the
face, ensuring they massage all areas of their face. This section of the warm up is quite short,
so try not to focus too much time on it.
Then ask the group to put their feet flat on the floor with the heels and the balls of their feet
pressing into the floor. Shake the entire body, with the feet remaining firmly on the ground.
Get the group to walk around the room at a 5 (this is neutral speed). Ensure that everyone is
comfortable and focused before progressing. At a gradual pace, consecutively increase up to
a speed of 10 (which is running) then go back down to 1 (which is incredibly slow, barely
moving). Keep the group at a speed of 1 for a while, and then go back up to 10. Once the
group are comfortable, alternate between speeds e.g. start at 7 and go down to 1. When this
exercise is done for the last time and the group are comfortable with it, allow less time for
each number e.g. ten seconds for 10, then 10 seconds for 9, 10 seconds for 8 etc.
At some point during the exercise get everyone to freeze where they are standing and shut
their eyes. Ask them who is front of, next to, behind them and furthest away depending on
where they are standing. Everyone should shake out afterwards. Ask the group what they
noticed when the exercise is over.
Intentions and events

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During rehearsals the company broke down the script into intentions and events. An intention
is what each character is trying to do at any given moment to the other characters. An event is
when that changes for everyone in the room.
This can be a long exercise, so perhaps do this with the group on a scene they are struggling
with as opposed to the whole script.
Go through the script and take notes on each line, including stage directions. Note down a
characters intentions on each line. Does it change or does it stay the same? For instance, in
Birdland Paul says What's your perfume? to Annalisa, his intention is to flirt with her. An
event is when something happens to change a characters intentions. For instance, when
Marnie and Paul sleep together, their previous intentions were to travel on the tour, but this
event changes both of their intentions. Marnies intention is to hide it from Johnny; Pauls
intention is to tell Johnny the truth. Do this as a group and after the exercise is over ask them
what they found out about their characters. Why do they behave in a certain way? What have
they learnt about their characters that they didnt know before? What did they discover about
different relationships with different characters?
Use these details from the exercise to think about what events in their past have made them
get here, and who the characters are.
If you feel you would like to explore more events, or character work with the group, the
exercise below will be helpful.
Improvisation
During rehearsals the cast used improvisation to help them discover more about their
characters. They improvised key events that were mentioned in the play, as well as life
events. For instance, Debbie mentions Yolanda improvising some scenes about Marnies
upbringing which helped her better understand her character.
With the group decide what they want to improvise. Perhaps key events that are mentioned in
the play, but the audience never see them. Or a moment that isnt mentioned but they feel is
likely to have happened. Or even improvising in between scenes, for instance there may be a
gap in time between scenes (e.g. a day) and the group may want to explore what happened
during that time. Here is an example option to use from Birdland; each scene starts mid
conversation. Have the group improvise 6 lines of dialogue before each scene to establish
how the scene started.
For this exercise it will be useful to split them into groups or pairs, depending on what they are
doing. Before they start get them to think about what they discovered about their characters
during the intentions and events exercise. If the group is not particularly confident with
improvising, give them a time limit of one or two minutes for the length of the improv. Once
they have finished improvising ask them to share their improvisations with the class and then
ask them what they discovered about their characters; and what they did and didnt find
useful.

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8. Useful Links and Research

During Birdland Debbie Hannan, the Assistant Director had to research Simon Stephens
influences on the play. Below are some links to his influences and an article about the design,
as well as some research Debbie did, about self destructive rock stars.
A Guardian article about 20:50, written by Richard Wilson when it was reinstalled at the
Saatchi Gallery in 2003:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2003/apr/04/thesaatchigallery.art3
An article in Rolling Stone, about Cocksucker Blues, a documentary film following The Rolling
Stones 1972 tour of North America:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/alternate-take/the-greatest-rolling-stones-movieyouve-never-seen-cocksucker-blues-20121120
An article in the Independent about Mark E. Smiths (frontman of post-punk band, The Fall)
memoirs, Renegade:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/renegade-the-life-and-timesof-mark-e-smith-by-mark-e-smith-815125.html
An article in the Guardian, about Just Kids, Patti Smiths memoir:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/feb/13/just-kids-patti-smith-biography
A review in The Independent, of Nick Kents (musician and rock critic) book, The Dark Stuff,
detailing cases of self- destruction in male rock stars:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/book-review--in-brief-the-dark-stuff--nickkent-penguin-pounds-999-1412832.html
An article in Rolling Stone, about Artifact. A documentary made by 30 Seconds to Mars about
their law suit with their record label, EMI:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jared-letos-music-industry-documentary-artifactarrives-20131205

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Birdland Research
The Self-sabotaging Rockstar
The history of the self-sabotaging rockstar is rich, dark and surprising. Surprising, in that the
reality of their breakdowns, the hidden stories and aftermath, is often far more extreme than
the narratives that live in the public consciousness. Part of the research for Birdland was
looking at the many examples of the fallen rock musician, tracking their journey, and finding
images from their lives which we could extrapolate, make expressive and possibly use in the
play. As it turned out, the images/events were often so extreme, we often had to find ways to
abstract them. Nick Kent was a music writer in the 1970s for New Musical Express (NME) and
Detroits Creem magazine. The key people we looked at below:
SID VICIOUS - Sid Vicious, born John Simon
Ritchie, was the bass guitarist for the Sex Pistols.
Nick Kent accuses him of being the exploding
dim-wit, detailing several anecdotes which show
just how intensely stupid, juvenile and violent this
thrill-seeking leader of the punk movement could
be. He describes an instance where he wanted
another mans pair of boots so much, that a
member of the entourage on the tour bus awoke in
the night to find Sid standing over said boot-owner
with a knife. I would have woken him up before I
slit his throat he pleaded. Sid grew up in and
around East London, brought up by addict parents
and finding solace in John Lydon - his far brighter
but just as angry counterpart. Famously, in 1976,
Sid was sent to give a journalist a lesson outside
the 100 club - hitting him over and over with a bike
chain, thus earning his surname Vicious. Sids
famously sticky end began when he stabbed his
lover, 20 year old Nancy Spungen, in the Chelsea
Hotel over a disagreement, pulling out the knife
after and thus ending her life.

PRINCE - Prince was useful for Birdland in terms

of the extremity of his both his performance
persona and his ego. A musical child prodigy,
Prince mastered a phenomenal amount of
instruments at a young age, and grew into a
worldwide pop star, particularly renowned for
bringing rhythm and blues to a wider audience.
Princes disagreements with his record company
lead to him leaving the company and renaming
himself The Artist. Nick Kent described him as
too talented for his own good - and apparently
too business savvy. He has uniquely agreed a
position with several record companies regarding the release of his music whereby he
completely owns his work - he even re-recorded all his old Warner Bros albums anew so as to
fully own them. He uses the internet to release his more bizarre work. All of this comes from
his knowledge of record companies conning artists out of millions of dollars through debt, and
wanting to avoid such a fate. Prince also talks about his faith at length, as well as the medias
brutal raking over of his life when his first child died due to brain damage when it was less
than a month old. The tabloids didnt let this story go - Princes spiky hatred of the media
makes increasing sense.

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RICHEY EDWARDS - The beautiful and ethereal lyricist and

faux rhythm guitarist of the fierce, intellectual, chameleonic
and impassioned rock-politic Manic Street Preachers began a
steady descent into his own internal poetry, resulting in him
disappearing completely. Richeys lyrics wandered the pain of
existence - his own private depressions, stresses, and hurt
about human cruelty - and often called out the hollow beauty
of contemporary life. His depression, self-harm and anorexia
increased massively as the bands popularity grew during their
1994 tour following the album The Holy Bible. In February
1995, Edwards withdrew 200 a day for the two weeks
leading up the day when he was supposed to leave with the
band for their European tour. His car was later found by the
Severn Bridge. It is widely believed that he jumped into the
river to kill himself, but a body was never found, his family
and bandmates have denied the possibility of suicide and
there have been occasional sightings across the world since.
His disappearance remains a mystery.

IGGY POP - As the vocalist of the Stooges as well as a

solo artist, Iggys notoriety has sustained throughout his
career, making punk, rock, hard jazz and working with
David Bowie in Berlin. His sinewy body has become
iconic. His energy and excessive performance persona,
as well as his distinctive movement has made him a rock
icon. Heroin has also defined Pops musical journey,
along with various other drugs - stories of him snorting
lines before a gig, smashing gold watches against walls,
and screaming about his love of corruption.

Radiohead and Meeting People Is Easy

Meeting People is Easy was first released in 1998. A rockumentary by film-maker and artist
Grant Gee tracks Radiohead on their exhaustive world tour following their 1997 album OK
Computers global success. The film provides massive insight into the stress, exhaustion,
adrenaline and mundanity of a worldwide tour. Furthermore, as they tour, OK Computer
becomes more and more successful, and the once mid-level popular indie band become
stratospheric, completely
destabilizing any sense of
identity
they
were
previously clinging onto.
Radiohead were a key
band for Birdland as they
have similar background
to Paul and Johnny middle-class,
English,
educated, eccentric and

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outsiders, with music which incorporates computers and guitars.

Key images:

images of press reviews pouring across the screen

The dull tension within the band at spending day after day with each other
The thrill of the gig versus three days of interviews

camera flashes repeating, getting louder

Thom Yorke being drowned for the No Surprises video
Thom Yorkes boredom and frustration as hes being interviewed, and then apologising
The band attempting to record a sound bite for Japanese TV
An interviewer asking Colin Greenwood why he couldnt speak to Thom Yorke

The endless travelling - sitting on buses and planes, airports and stations, and how
lonely this is
Images of the road
Blank hotel rooms

Fans faces staring up at them, in every country

Key musicians in the text (i.e. Simon Stephens favourite bands)

- Damo Suzuki - singer best known for his work

with Krautrock group Can. After being found by
the two original band members busking in
Munich, he was with Can from 1970 to 1973,
recording a range of acclaimed albums. His
lyrics are often freeform and in nonsense
language.
- Tom Verlaine - singer/songwriter from the New
York band Television. His stage name is a
reference to French poet Paul Verlaine, and he
is known for dark, experimental style as well as
his range of collaborations.

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9. Education at the Royal Court

The Royal Court is a centre for excellence and innovation in theatre-making, and the
Education Department aims to stimulate and inspire students of all ages, encouraging learning
and participation in every aspect of the theatres work, from the process of writing plays to
pioneering rehearsal room techniques.
We offer a wide-ranging programme of work designed to open up and de-mystify the craft of
making theatre. Royal Court Education activities include:
Workshops for productions
INSET workshops for teachers
Post-show talks
Royal Court in a Day Study Day
Drama School in a Day Study Day
Performing Arts Business Study Day
A full description of all education events can be found on the education page of the Royal
Court web-site, www.royalcourttheatre.com if you would like more information, please e-mail
Lynne Gagliano, Education Associate, at: lynnegagliano@royalcourttheatre.com or phone
020 7565 5174.
The Birdland Education Background Pack was compiled and written by Maia Clarke,
Royal Court Education Apprentice with the kind assistance of Debbie Hannan, Carrie
Cracknell, and the creative team of Birdland.

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