Exeunt Magazine: “How do you juggle having a family and a career?” is the sort of awful question often put to (particularly female) people working in high profile roles. It is normally, however, meant metaphorically. When I meet Tamara Harvey, Artistic Director of Theatre Clwyd in North Wales, she is almost literally juggling a small, wiggling toddler whilst answering my questions on, among other things, how to stage Chekhov. A childcare glitch has meant that we are joined by Harvey’s adorable (and impressively well behaved) young daughter. Being fed small piece of fish finger by a two-year-old at the same time as being questioned might be enough to distract most people, but this interview is also happening 1 hour and 45 minutes before curtain-up on press night. Harvey, however, is nothing but calm, friendly and, it seems, faintly amused by the situation.
2 comments:
I really liked reading this article because it was such an interesting look into how new theatres are approaching, older, more classical work. The interview with Tamara Harvey struck me the most as the director spoke of extreme emotions pushed up right next to one another. How true is it, that we can, as human beings, find ourselves laughing in times of sincere sadness or terror, and that we can also find ourselves crying out of such huge joyfulness. I think that Chekhov's works do truly do this, as they can really be looked at as tragicomedies, just as Shakespeare shows like The Winter's Tale can. I would be interested to see this new adaptation and approach to Chekhov in real life, and hope that some domestic theatres try to do this as well. I also really like the approach to balancing family and career at the beginning of the article-- it was a fresher look at the age-old motherhood question that so many career-driven women get all the time.
This was a great interview with a very interesting and inspiring director, Tamara Harvey. She seems to be the perfect example of someone juggling a million different things and knowing just how to let things fall into their own places. I think she puts forward a very positive and encouraging light on her situation and is able to make the very most of every opportunity she's given. While being an aspiring and thriving director she stays In rural Wales where she can do really whatever she wants as she and the title of the article says we are theatre that makes theatre. This ability to switch back and forth from new works performances and classics is something that she is using to great benefit especially with her creative ability and team behind her creating these pieces from the ground up as theatre is to be done together in the a collaborative environment. Not just using their platform as a place for others work and messages.
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