Theatre - Lewes Rep

Lewes Repertory Theatre launches with its Gala opening tonight at the old Market-Lane-Garage-turned-performance-space in Phoenix Industrial estate. On the bill are three short plays - two Chekhov 'farces' and an original companion piece to Dickens’ The Signalman, written by Lewes Rep founder, Sean O'Kane. I meet Rikki Tarascas, director of The Bear (and last year's The Caretaker) and ask him what drew him to the play. "When I first saw the script, I wanted to take it apart and laugh at it", he tells me, "It seemed so archaic - but then I realised there is so much more to be found." Although Chekhov writes about a very particular type of man and woman in a very particular class of society, I am told there are several universal themes that can be applied to today. "The way that relationships work on degrees of control and different needs, for example", "I usually prefer to take something and deconstruct it", he adds, "but I haven't done that with this play. I've tried to work with the mood and bring out the underlying darkness in the humour."
As to his involvement with the launch of the company, "I've seen more exciting things happening in small non-theatre venues than in the main ones. There’s a certain conservatism that can exist in mainstream theatre - that just talking about it makes me feel uncomfortable", says Rikki, "I admire small-scale things that are driven by people who have an intense desire to make something happen." ER

See April's handbook for more info about the rest of the bill.