Madeleine Farnhill and Helen Denning have been close friends since they met through SUTCo (Sheffield University Theatre Company). When the pandemic struck, both needed a project to occupy themselves during lockdown. Madeleine thrives in scriptwriting and asked Helen to produce her work. Thus, Black Bright Theatre was born.
I had the opportunity to chat with Black Bright Theatre about their upcoming northern England tour of their first play, The Hunger. Originally, Helen and Madeleine sought to fill the void of complex female characters in horror on stage:
Madeleine: “I think that film and television are catching up with feminism and female-led stories but theatre seems to be lagging a bit […] so we wanted to create something that answers to that”.
Both Madeleine and Helen say they have seen many underwhelming productions that underwrote women in horror. The age-old issue of using women as a plot device, rather than autonomous characters, is at the centre of Black Bright Theatre.
Helen: “We want to see people who seem like realistic human beings, not just the hot bombshell who has to go through all sorts of trauma just to follow along the male writer’s fantasy”.
So, what makes good horror?
Madeleine already observed an influx of female-led stories but wanted to bring that new ground for exploration to the stage. Notoriously, horror is a genre that either ignores or needlessly tortures its female characters. Madeleine and Helen both agreed that they wanted to avoid pure shock factor. In exploring folk horror, their aim is not to scare audiences for the sake of it.
Madeleine: “It’s not just about scaring people, because what we’re scared of says a lot about us as people, and how do we explore that on stage […] I’m so against doing something just because it’s shocking.”
Helen: “It’s more about how we can push the actors and audience in whatever direction, without it just being for the sake of shock […] The Hunger has definitely stuck with people whether they loved it or didn’t really like it. That’s something I think is really good. You want to make an impact […] I think when you watch it you can pick up on what you’re afraid of. Not being able to escape, becoming somebody you really don’t want to be, that’s on the face of this production.”
The Hunger
The Hunger stars Angela Rose and Ellen Trevaskiss as mother and daughter, Deborah and Megan. The play is set on their Yorkshire Dales farm in 1986 following a plague based on the BSE epidemic. At the heart of the play is a criticism of factory farming and our relationship with animals. Disgust towards others and our own bodies is also at the forefront. Madeleine shared that the main inspiration of her writing was The Abject, an essay by Julia Kristeva:
Madeleine: “It talks about the maternal body being the site of original horror. We all have an innate repulsion to bodily fluids because in order to grow up, we detach ourselves from it. I thought ‘how can I bring that out on stage and make people uncomfortable?’ That was definitely a big influence but I think the commentary is more about factory farming and environmentalism”.
However, the play itself isn’t the only thing about Black Bright Theatre that sparks interest. Their entire ethos breaks from the mould of other companies in their distinctly democratic approach. Open communication is what drives Helen and Madeleine; it has enabled them to organise their tour from Sheffield to Newcastle. Helen expressed a particular emphasis on the importance of giving everyone a voice in the production of a play.
Open Ethos
The solid partnership between Madeleine and Helen is palpable. From pauses to let each other speak, to their stories of spending one month together in a tiny flat for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, clarity of communication is something they have brought out in each other.
Helen: “I do not understand the lack of togetherness in the most collaborative ventures you could be doing. We’ve both experienced it in theatre where the director is over there, the actors here, and the techies there, and they don’t get to share their perspectives with each other. Even in our rehearsals, we have that open dialogue with the actors. We went through all the backstories from scratch. It takes a lot of time but it’s so much better that way”.
Madeleine: “I feel really strongly about building the characters with the actors, being sensitive, and letting people cry if they need. We were open and allowed to express ourselves. If something is making someone uncomfortable, they should absolutely be able to say”.
On the Road
The theatre Green Book is a brand new initiative that pulls production under the microscope and asks how we can make theatre more environmentally friendly. This is a refreshing new model designed to reduce the carbon footprint of theatre companies across the countries. Black Bright Theatre has marked sustainability as a top priority and is working under the Green Book’s model. From calculating carbon emissions from tour vans and recycling props, Helen and Madeleine are relaying the results of this new venture back to Green Book to improve their model.
Helen: “Apart from the obvious ‘let’s use less paper’ type of thing, I’d never really thought about it until I’d found the green books. Especially with hiring and driving vans. We’re also letting venues know that we’re following this model. It’s good to look into because all theatres are going to have to go that way eventually […] we’re reusing all the set and as much costume as we can. We have a carbon calculator as well so that we can feedback information to the Green Book. We’re also using reusable flyers instead of paper that just gets thrown away.
“I think a lot of people are getting into it now [sustainability in theatre] which is good. Obviously, because we’re so small and new (we rely on our own funds and donations) we have to find ways that are realistic for us. We’re definitely doing as much as we can.”
The Hunger northern tour will be between the 5th and the 15th of April in Sheffield, Salford, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool, and York. Updates regarding the company’s tour and upcoming ventures can be found on their Twitter.
Words by Elizabeth Sorrell
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