Brightest and Best
We Were Here < in association with pilotLIGHT
15 February – 10 March 2012
Wednesday - Saturday, 20:00
Sunday, 17:00
Tickets: £12/£8
Natalie asked the cast to bring in photos, newspaper articles and any other bits of research they could find to help us build up a fuller picture of the world of the play. We have been arranging them on our research wall:
We’ve just finished our first week of rehearsals for Brightest and Best, (mostly in sub-zero temperatures in a somewhat under-heated garage!) but what we are lacking in warmth has certainly been made up for in passion and hard work. With numerous scarves, home-made biscuits and instant coffee as our fuel, we have made an exciting start on creating the world of the play.
We’ve been gathering research into the two main environments portrayed in Brightest and Best: careers in city firms (investment banking and management consultancy), and independent sixth form colleges, like the school where Rob begins teaching. Set in early 2009, the play has a very specific timeline, and although only a few years ago, we have been rediscovering exactly what was happening in the UK at that time. The banker’s apology in February 2009 sets the scene for the beginning of the play; in a time of financial instability, it is appraisals week at Rob’s management consultancy firm, while post-mock-exam-anxiety is striking the more conscientious students at Herne Hill Sixth Form College.
We’ve also been using improvisation and creative research tasks to explore the reality of these environments more thoroughly. Malcolm brought in some appraisal forms from a consultancy firm to help us explore how some of the characters are assessed at work. Will wrote a letter to an imaginary independent school persuading them of his transferrable skills from consultancy in becoming a teacher. Nadia, Anna and Jack wrote yearbook profiles for their own characters and the rest of their classmates to help build up a clearer idea of the sixth-form college environment. We’ve also been scribbling down any relevant phrases, ideas or facts about the characters’ daily lives.
All in all, we are beginning to get some interesting insights into two different social cultures of work, popularity and achievement – the classroom and the city.
