I Am England

For my internship at the egg, I was the Producer's Assistant for the Young People's Theatre production of I Am England, a play written by David Lane with contributions from the director and cast. It was a year-long process and was based off of Shakespeare's Coriolanus. It's a really great piece of theatre and I'm glad that I was able to be a part of it!

With an internship comes a dissertation. For my dissertation I decided to compare and contrast Coriolanus to I Am England. I had not previously heard of this Shakespeare play, one of his Roman ones, and skimmed through to get the gist of it. For a quick synopsis, the main character Coriolanus returns from war to a hero's welcome, runs for consul but is undermined by the common people who have been thrust into a state of chaos as a result of the war. He is eventually exiled, goes to the enemy whom he was fighting against, and ends up being assassinated. Obviously it's more complex than that and I recommend you give it a read. 

The writing team took this and transformed the story to make it their own. From the Theatre Royal's website:

Bankrupt, isolated and in a state of collapse, a once-proud nation falls apart at the seams. Nostalgic for empire and thirsty for revenge, a small town politician presents a hero to the masses: a poster-boy for conscription.

The future of the nation hangs in the balance, but at a time of intense change those in power must confront the truth of who they are - and who they might become.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, I Am England offers a unique perspective on political power, authoritarianism and social justice from the generation whose stories are yet to be written.

It truly was a fantastic, moving play that made me think about what it means to be working on a production that comments on political, social, and cultural issues. It was really interesting and I will definitely take what I learned from it in my next involvement with theatre. 

My primary responsibility was to create the program, a crazy process in an of itself. I had to collaborate with all members of the cast and creative team to collect biographies, thanks, and any other information for the program. After about five intense weeks, I managed to get it all together the night before opening.  I'm really glad to have something concrete to hold onto and show for my efforts at the egg. 

Side note: one of the best things that happened during my internship was the opportunity to take press pictures for I Am England! Check out the ones they used below!

Characters Ria and Marc

 Also: ATTENTION THESPIANS! I shall be writing a post about my recent trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon and seeing not one, but THREE plays put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company! Be excited - I know I am!

If you have any questions about my internship at the egg or about I Am England, leave a comment or formspring me! 
Katelyn :)