How To Fall In Love Review

Created by Tim Jeeves, Graham Hicks and RAWD
Unity Theatre, Liverpool
6th – 7th August 2013

Review and Interview by jjSchaer

On the 6th and 7th of August, the Unity Theatre hosted How To Fall In Love, the latest production from the disability theatre group RAWD, with a story spanning across Liverpool’s city centre.

Arriving at the Unity Theatre with a friend, we were given a quick briefing then issued with a small blue bag full of small presents and a laminated map. For the performance, we were to assume the role of a couple on a date (mine being a bald man with a ginger beard), a series of clues in our bag would help lead us on our date and set the tone for the evening. Along the way we would bump into some actors giving performances centred on romance. Map and clues in hand we made our way out into town.

As we plodded around the city, our cards guided us and encouraged us to play out scenarios from our date. We were advised to engage in various topics to help better acquaint us as we made our way to one of several points throughout the city. Arriving at the locations, we were greeted by performers acting out scenes of love and, as we walked towards the Bombed Out Church the MP3 player in our bag played a soliloquy. There, on the steps out front, we were greeted by two actors dressed as a bride and groom playing out a scene of love blooming in the Blitz. A councillor helped us through a lull in our relationship, encouraging us to dance and then issuing us with stitched together gloves to help strengthen our bond in a very literal way. Later, two artists made us hug and then painted our picture beneath the Chinese Arch before we finally ended up at 81 Renshaw Street where we were sat down and given a glass of wine, and finally treated to a performance piece about love, marriage, family and beyond.

I have to say that the whole night was a unique experience. It completely immersed us in the production and utilised some of the more scenic parts of town for the stage. There was a general upbeat feeling to the night and seemed to leave all involved with a smile on their face.

Interview with Graham Hicks, founder of RAWD

What follows is a short interview with Graham Hicks, the director of the piece and founder of RAWD:

So just to start if you could say a little about RAWD itself?

Yeah, well RAWD started basically… well I’ve got a sister with Downs Syndrome. So basically she was quite bored and wanted something to do and she loves dancing and stuff like that. I’ve got a theatre background and have being doing theatre for about fifteen years. I’ve done a lot of directing, street theatre, all sorts of physical theatre, acrobatics and stuff like that, and clowning and bits of clown school. And I just thought it was the right thing to do. So I’ve got a theatre company which is called Random Acts of Wildness which is a double act. It’s a comedy clown company. A lot of ways that we funded the clown company was we did a lot of workshops with adults with learning difficulties which just sort of took over that company and RAWD was born. So Random Acts of Wildness Drama was born out of that and we’ve been running for about two years on the Wirral. There is a group based on the Wirral and we’re in talks to open another one in Liverpool. So it’s sort of grown from there really. This is the first project that we’ve actually had funding for.

Where did you get the funding?

We got our funding from The Arts Council and Comic Relief. They were really kind. How the project actually came about was the artist I’m working with, Tim Jeeves, he came on the Anfield Home Tour, which was a tour I did last year with the Biennial, and his partner was the director of that and he was really interested in working with the group that I had. He had this idea that he’s already done in Brighton and he wanted to kind of do it again. So he was really pleased with it and we decided to sit around a table and try and thrash out and write something. We were successful and it was born out of that really.

So how many previous productions have you done?

This is our eighth project. The opening of this project was a flash mob at Williamson Square which happened last Saturday and went really well. Then we’ve done two pantomimes: Cinderella and Snow White and The Seven Ds. And we’ve done a couple of devised pieces and a radio play as well. We did a piece that was half in Welsh and half in English called The Mabinogion, which is Welsh folk tales and there was a girl directing the piece, Grace, she is half Welsh and half English. She was working with a school in Wales and she decided to bring the groups together. So we did a performance over here in Liverpool and a performance in Wales as well.

So about tonight’s performance, it’s quite different from the last ones you’ve done?

Yeah, completely! This is probably the biggest and most ambitious project that we’ve done to date really.

Have all the other ones been theatre based?

Yeah, normal theatre kind of stuff. We’ve pushed the boat out a little bit and kind of done things in the round and just changed things up. I do a lot of street theatre and directing and stuff so it just felt like the right thing to do to try and teach them and push them in that direction. To actually put the group live on the street. As I said, Tim Jeeves the artist I’ve been working closely with has done the project in Brighton, but never with a group of adults with learning disabilities. It is really ambitious, we didn’t know whether it would work or wouldn’t. I think that’s the beauty of the theatre really. I think it’s really important to do something that really scares you and I think that’s how we make good art. In my opinion anyway. I think if we play things really safe all the time then, you know, we just get bored and end up stuck in a rut. So in terms of art I think it’s important to frighten yourself. (Laughs.)

Why did you pick the theme of love and relationships?

Well as I said Tim’s sort of done the project before but, with this group particularly, because I’ve been working so closely with them, it’s like a soap: every week someone’s going out with someone else or they’ve finished with someone else and they’re going out with someone else. So it felt right that we needed to, not tackle relationships, but really have an exploration of what it’s like to fall in love or how people do fall in love. It’s more of a drama therapy thing for them as well because they learn a lot about relationships about themselves and you know. And it’s kind of a feel-good thing. I feel there’s a lot of bitterness in the world with recessions and things. Everyone’s skint and everyone’s got no money. So I just thought make a really nice feel good show and make everyone feel nice at end of it you know?

How do you get actors coming along?

It’s been slow, it’s been really slow to be honest. Because I started two years ago with seven people and it’s slowly, slowly growing.

How big is the group now?

We’ve got about fifteen people. It doesn’t seem a lot, but it is a lot you know. But off the back of this project I think we might be pushing about twenty, twenty-five people which is amazing really. And then I’m looking to open one up in Liverpool as well, because half of the group are from Liverpool and they’ve never really worked with each other before.

How do you publicise yourself and get the actors coming along?

Well as I said we’ve had no money, the reason the company makes money is the people who come to the group, they pay to come to the group so that’s the only reason why it funds itself really, so that’s given us money to fund the other projects. But this was the first time that we applied for funding and got funding. It’s been nice to actually finish the website and get that up and running. Having proper flyers made. It’s been a nice process, the Arts Council and Comic Relief have really helped us establish ourselves a little bit. We’re always looking for new projects. We’re always looking to collaborate. I’m a big believer in collaborating with other companies, other projects, other people who’ve got really brilliant innovative ideas. My idea for the group is I really want to push them as far as possible. Just because they’ve got a disability doesn’t mean they can’t do it and I want to treat them as professionals. And really push the group to do stand-up comedy and run a course with the group. I’d like to maybe make a band. You know the possibilities are endless. And get them regular gigs or whatever. But it’s not just about the drama and the dance. So we’re open to collaborate with more and more people. And if anyone wants to invest then obviously by all means do that, that’s perfect because obviously money is the key to all roots really I suppose. But it’s not about money it’s more about what we’re doing I suppose.

So if anyone wants to collaborate or fund just get in touch with the website?

Yeah, just get in touch. And if anyone wants to volunteer or just wants to come down and see what the group is about. Or even just if you want to gain experiences working with people with learning disabilities. There’s never a dull moment, there’s always something going on or some sort of scenario that needs sorting out. But it’s always a good laugh and you always come away feeling so positive. But it’s anyone really who wants to volunteer or anything like that.

Do you find it easy to get use of the spaces with the likes of The Unity and Hope Street?

I do and I think it’s good to try and keep hold of those people. Not to use the use them for your benefit, but to actually work with the people. I mean some of the costumes used tonight were borrowed from Hope Street and in return I’m going to work with an emerging artist to head their work and help them develop a street theatre piece so it’s kind of like giving time for time for other things. So I think that’s really important really. I mean you can make art without money, and it’s nice that we’ve been given the money, but I think it’s important to make theatre use what’s around you as well. You know, organisations: ask them and in return if you can’t give them money give them something else, you know, whatever that is, your skills or what you’re about really.

That’s a really nice way of putting it; I’ve got to say.

No, no, but that’s what I think it’s all about. It’s the beauty of art really.

For more information on RAWD see their website @ www.rawdproject.co.uk

Printer friendly page

Sorry Comments Closed