SCAFFOLDING – AN INTERVIEW WITH LUCY BELL
Published July 8, 2024
Award-winning local playwright Lucy Bell presents a work-in-progress performance of her new play - Scaffolding - at Exeter Phoenix on Monday 15th July.
Led by Lucy Bell and producer Naomi Turner, Documental is a Devon-based theatre company that documents British life in all its variety through playful, thought-provoking audio, theatre and musical productions.
Scaffolding is an explosive show about strength, love and community. The darkly hilarious piece centres on Sheridan who is having a bad day, taking on the adult social care system and seeking to set the world to rights.
What was your creative process for this piece?
The rules I set myself when writing the script were to see how much I could reveal about the main character (and her daughter) through the questions she asked. There are a lot of questions and the things she wants to know the answers to are funny and radically honest.
What is the importance of showing work-in-progress performance (for your practice, and for the audience)?
It is a great way for an actor (Suzanna Hamilton) and director (Lillian Waddington) to feel which bits the audience are responding to. We had an R&D sharing several months ago, when the script was very different, which the wonderful Katy Danbury came to, and the feedback was genuinely so so helpful and inspiring.
What do you enjoy most about the creative scene in the South West?
I like the way most of us know each other and have really got each others' backs because it is harder getting commissions and a national platform for your work down this way. We share resources and come to each others' shows and it really does feel like a bit of a family (except for when you are going for the same opportunities ha ha!) The other advantage is, when you are getting stressed about your freelance life you can go jump in the sea!
SCAFFOLDING BY LUCY BELL
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Mon 15 Jul 2024 | 7pm
Sheridan is having a bad day. Her church is closing, Adult Social Care are on her case and she can’t work out what ingredients she needs from Homebase to make a bomb. With no one else to turn to, she climbs the scaffolding around the leaking church steeple with a few questions for Whoever Is In Charge.