They are staging LOVE/SICK by John Cariani at The Barn Theatre, Southwick, BN42 4TE from Thursday-Saturday, April 24-26, with tickets available on https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/west-sussex/the-barn-theatre-southwick/love-sick/e-lkazza
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FunTranscript
00:00Good afternoon, lovely to speak to Rula. My name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at
00:06the Sussex Newspapers, an understanding drama company Iron Action. And you say one of your
00:11great virtues and also one of your great challenges, it's a relatively small company, you have
00:16to be quite picky in what you choose. You have chosen, well, it's a kind of compilation
00:20piece, isn't it, by John Cariani, and it's called Love, Oblique, Sick. Tell me about
00:27it. Yeah, well, as you've just said, it is a vignette-style play, which means it's small
00:35scenes which are all interconnected. So the theme, as in the title, is love and relationships
00:41and things when they don't necessarily go right, pre-wedding jitters, cheating, meeting
00:50random people in supermarkets and meeting old flames. It's a really versatile piece, the
00:55theatre. As a small group, we are limited in our resources and our rehearsal times. So
01:02being a piece that's made up of smaller scenes, two actors per scene, this play really spoke
01:07to us. Never more than two, then. It's always two.
01:09It's always two, yeah.
01:11Different permutations, clearly.
01:13Exactly. So, yeah, each eight scenes, every scene is in a different setting with the different
01:20two actors. We do double up, but they are, you know, hopefully, you know, different characters.
01:25It sounds terrific. But the point is that the writer takes these recognisable situations
01:30and magnifies them.
01:32That's right, yeah. I think everybody can recognise something of themselves or a scenario they found
01:38themselves in. So it's very relatable. But what the playwright has done is taken it to
01:43sort of an almost absurd scenario, which makes it shocking at times, poignant, and laugh
01:49out loud funny, some of the scenes.
01:51It sounds terrific. And you're saying with a smallish company, you tend to be very, very
01:55collaborative to the point. You are actually not just acting, you are co-directing as well.
02:01How on earth do you juggle the two then?
02:04Well, I'm doing it co-directing. So obviously, I've got a co-director, which definitely helps.
02:08So we've been able to split our responsibilities and ease the burden. So Glenn is also acting
02:15in the play. So we've both got dual roles. But it's a very small, friendly group. We lean
02:21on each other. It's been a joy to have a go at the directing. And I've really enjoyed
02:27it. And I really look forward to getting to the barn and seeing it all in action.
02:32Well, it sounds great. And at the moment, it tends to be one big production a year, but
02:35you would like to do more. What's going to happen for that to happen?
02:41I think the hardest thing is finding plays that we can do as a group with the characters
02:47and male, female roles and things like that. So finding the time to read them and get a piece
02:54that we can perform. So yeah, that's a challenge as a group that we face. But in the meantime,
03:00we have got things lined up for the Senning Festival, which will be in 2026, and obviously
03:07the Christmas Fair. So we do try and, you know, take part in as many local things as possible.
03:13Fantastic. And in the meantime, then, the play Love Sick is at the Barnes Theatre in...
03:19No, sorry, just so you can say it's 24th of April to the 26th.
03:26That's right. Yeah, 24. Yeah. Doors open at seven. Performance starts at half by seven.
03:32We've got a ticket source link. Hopefully we can put that in. Yeah, we've got a Facebook
03:37page, all the information's on that. So please, Senning Drama Company, everything you need
03:42is there. Fantastic. Well, good luck with everything. Lovely to speak to you. Thank you.
03:47Many thanks, Bill.