Andrew Whittle is the Company and Artistic Director of Here to There Productions; a small, independent theatre company based in Ludlow, Shropshire.
Here to There Productions is dedicated to bringing challenging and entertaining productions to rural theatres across the West Midlands and beyond. Their latest show, Hedda, is a new version of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler – directed by Andrew.
Ahead of Hedda‘s Manchester premiere at Contact, Manchester, we sat down with Andrew to find out more about Here to Theatre and their new show.
Was there anything about the titular character Hedda that you were drawn to, either because of a similarity or difference to yourself or someone you know?
A: “I can say without any fear of contradiction that I have not met anyone quite like Hedda! She is a manipulative character, and there are plenty of people like that in the world, but I think those people are not driven by the same forces and passion as Hedda, and that is what makes her such an interesting character.”
When you first came across Hedda Gabler, what were your initial thoughts? Was it during school or leisurely reading, or did you first come across it for this show?
A: “The first time I ever heard of Hedda Gabler was from my mother when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I can remember my mother being invited to the theatre by a friend, and she came home and said, ‘What a dreadful play Hedda Gabler was.’ She positively loathed it. For some reason, that stuck in my memory.
“I didn’t read or come across the play at school or in any of my leisure time until I actually went to see a production in Northampton about 10 or 11 years ago. I went with my son, who was about 12 at the time .and neither of us knew the story. We were both gripped by it, and certainly the ending took us by surprise. We subsequently saw another production about a year later, and as the play was reaching its denouement I looked. over at my son and he was bracing himself in the chair. That isn’t a clue, is it? It’s not a plot spoiler?”
Congratulations on the 11th year running Here to There. As Hedda is the first touring play, what challenges and rewards are present when touring a play outside of the West Midlands?
A: “Thank you very much. Hopefully, we will keep on going! We have done productions in the West Midlands in two and, on one occasion, three, venues, but this is certainly our most ambitious production to date. The main challenges first, and practically, were booking the venues and trying to make them sequential. We originally presented Hedda in the West Midlands last year, and everybody involved was keen to take it on tour.
“Trying to find theatres on a few months’ notice is extremely difficult. Some want two years’ notice. and some theatres are just difficult to deal with in that they do not respond to enquiries or you cannot get somebody to engage sufficiently to get to a point of a firm contractual booking.
“There are then the logistics of arranging set removal from venue to venue and hiring the costumes and some props for a sustained period of time.
“Finally, the biggest concern to me wearing my Producer’s hat is finding an audience. We are reasonably well-known in the West Midlands now and have a fairly good following. We are not known in other parts of the country so will we have an audience? This is a big unknown and it is a leap of faith on our part.
“The rewards that people that do see us will know us. Hopefully,, they will like what they see and they will want us to come back so I would like to think that audiences will be entertained and they would want to see us again with a brand new, fresh production.”
The line below the trailer, “It is a complex tale of power and manipulation […] shocked audiences in the 1890s and still resonates today” – what parts specifically still resonate to this day for yourself and how was it capturing this idea of time’s cyclical-ness in the writing?
A: “The play is of its time. There are features of it which could not be replicated in the modern world. This is why the play does not lend itself to being adapted to the 21st century. However, the idea of entrapment still applies to many trapped in a loveless marriage. Being financially restricted and not being able to break out of the financial restraints imposed upon them so that they cannot live the life that they want also applies to many today. To that extent, people can identify with Hedda’s difficulties and at least understand why she is like she is, even if they cannot condone what she does.”
You had a career change, or a sort of addition to your solicitor career, towards theatre – navigating a change like this can be difficult and rewarding. Would you ever be interested in directing and/or writing this change?
A: “I have not had a career change. I am still very much a solicitor. That is the day job. The theatrical world is, as you say, an addition. I started acting at about the age of 43 (I am 58 now). After about four years involved in amateur theatrical productions, I set up Here to There Productions with the intention of doing a couple of plays that I was really interested in being involved in. I did not imagine that I would keep going!
“In recent years I have done more directing than acting. Hedda was my first adaptation. I have since done another, The Cherry Orchard, which will go on a tour in the West Midlands in August and September. I hope to adapt another play towards the end of the year. Whether I will be willing to direct or write something else, I am not sure. Who knows?”
Hedda runs at Contact from April 2 to 6 and tours the UK until May 4.
Photo: Here to There Productions
JADAR 