We caught up with Paul Stebbings, artistic director of TNT Theatre Britain, who has been chomping on the bit to be able to get his latest production opened. All the theaters and shows are now allowed again with certain restrictions but it is great to get back to some normality.
Why did you start? What has been the inspiration?
TNT was started by actors who broke from an experimental 'physical' theatre company influenced by the Polish Director, Grotowski. We wanted to create our own style that acknowledged that the actor's body and physical training were important but aimed to be more popular and accessible to a wider audience than the usual 'experimental' theatre. We started off making our own plays, using a popular form such as Commedia dell'arte or English Music Hall and eventually moved onto classics such as Hamlet.
Have you been working on this idea forever, or was it something that came to you recently?
TNT have always been a work in progress, an ever-changing experiment. But we do keep productions in repertoire longer than most companies. The difference is to develop rather than revive a production. So this Hamlet was born almost 20 years ago but has grown since! We have had a full month rehearsal period to build on the previous incarnation. One actor was in the original production as the young Horatio and now plays the elderly Polonius. The original Laertes now plays King Claudius - we grow and age with our work.
What is the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?
The double whammy of Brexit and Covid has been a huge obstacle. But we managed a shortened outdoor Castle tour last summer with Othello and have high hopes that his year's Hamlet will be easier because of the success of vaccinations. Who knows? But if we do not try to tour we will not have a chance of success.
Where do you see your tour company going? What are your plans for the future?
We are always looking for new challenges. Before Covid we had a tour of Latin America planned which would have cemented our work there as never before. We hope to be able to return in 2022. Artistically, I am branching out into German-speaking theatre with a musical version of my Frankenstein with German text and English lyrics in a co-production with the famous Deutsches Theater Munich. I have also published a book about TNT Theatre and the American Drama Group, published by Triarchy press in the UK. This has led to more academic interest in our work in the UK and USA.
What is your favorite production?
We are artists and create art - our audience might answer Oliver Twist as it is our most performed production since it was born in 1994. It encapsulates our style and approach, is very popular but hard hitting, funny and has a live sung score by Thomas Johnson. My favourite play is usually the one I am working on...
What has the media said about TNT Theatre?
"I never knew Shakespeare could be so entertaining" CNN TV
"TNT are known as the most popular touring theatre in the world" China National TV
"World Class theatre" The Observer UK
"TNT embody all the qualities of British theatre in a single performance" Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Anything else you think our readers would like to know.
I used to go to Switzerland regularly as a child with our family caravan and my parents (now both over 90) adore Switzerland. So it's a great pleasure to have been able to develop and expand our work in the country over the last decades. I hope people come and see Hamlet and I promise you an enjoyable and exciting evening with live music and the greatest play ever written.
Thanks to TNT Theatre Britain for kindly offering 2 lucky knowitall.ch readers a pair of tickets to the June 11 or 12 performance at Château de Prangins, a Fr. 90.- value. Just fill out this form and answer this question: Which Château are the tickets good for?
Only one entry per email is allowed. The competition ends at midnight Thursday, 3 June 2021. The names of all those submitting correct answers will be placed into the digital hat and the winner's name drawn at random on Friday, 4 June 2021. The winners will be notified by email and their first names will be added to this article after the competition closes.
The tickets cannot be exchanged for cash.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
ADG-Europe presents TNT Theatre Britain
Held in the courtyards of the locations listed below.
Open-air performance in English.
Rain or shine event at 19h30.
— Château de Chillon: 10 June 2021
— Château de Prangins: 11 and 12 June 2021
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR COMPETITION WINNERS: OLIVE AND VIRGINIA
