Tell me about the show.
SK: It’s a one-hour
comedy about a woman trying to commit suicide.
That’s not an obvious subject for comedy, is it?
SK: There’s a lot
of humour in dark subjects. In this case, I was thinking that if you were a
rather responsible, worried sort of person, then there might be a lot of
practical details you’d have to deal with before you tried to kill yourself.
It’s not so easy just to step out of your own life. In a way, suicide isn’t exactly
the subject of the comedy, it’s more about trying to do something intensely
private when the world doesn’t allow you to be private any more.
Maggie, is that a character you relate to?
MGW: Well, I’m not
suicidal, but I think everyone can relate to the idea of wanting to get things
done, and finding that you’ve got so much on your plate there’s no time for
what you really want to do. You’re not allowed to be out of contact these days
– there’s always a phone call or an email waiting to be answered. With some
people that might be positive, it could remind you of the good things, but if
you’re very low then it can just seem like an invasion.
Are you nervous about being the only person on stage for an
hour?
MGW: Yes, of course I
am! No upstaging or gurning permissible, or even possible. But maybe it’s not
so frightening for me as it is for Pradeep Jey our director. He’s been in
control during rehearsals, but when we get to the performance he’ll have to put
up with whatever I do. The loneliness is integral to the piece, because it’s
about one woman facing her future, or lack of future, on her own, so it really
has to be a one-woman show.
How did you two get together on this show?
SK: I’ve worked
with Maggie on several things before, mainly sketch shows when she was wearing
ridiculous costumes. She’s an amazingly versatile performer, very funny but
also very sincere, and I wanted to see her in something more demanding and more
profound.
Cheer Up, It Might
Never Happen will be performed at the Nightingale Theatre at 7pm on Sunday
6th, Monday 7th, Tuesday 8th May. Tickets on the door or from the Dome box
office (£8.50/£6.50), or they can be booked (plus a booking fee) at www.brightonfringe.org
or on 01273-917272.
