Caro Meets Theatre

Felix Mortimer: Taking on The Trial

By TW Editorial | Published on Thursday 21 March 2013

RETZ’s ‘The Trial’, based on the Kafka novel of the same name, is a little bit different from the average show, mainly because it’s in two separate parts at two separate venues, and you need to see both parts; but also because of its immersive and site specific approach. All that piqued our interest, so we sought out director Felix Mortimer to ask a few searching questions about the show.

TW: What made you choose to stage a production based on ‘The Trial’? What relevance does it have in 2013?
FM: The Trial centres around bureaucracy, systems of government which are unseen but control all of us, all of the time. Our version updates the story to the 21st century – a world where information is power. Never before has it been this relevant, as huge governments are seen to consistently single out individuals for their attention rather than organisations – especially in the cases of Bradley Manning, Julian Assange and Gary McKinnon for instance.

TW: The production is an described as a “one to one, immersive” experience. Can you explain how that works?
FM: The production is designed for a single audience member, and that audience member meets a variety of characters in a variety of locations and slowly the narrative is enacted, before finally they reach the government department behind all of this – situations come to ahead and the sinister secret behind all of this is revealed.

TW: It’s a site-specific piece with a large ensemble – how hard is it to manage a cast of forty?
FM: Almost impossible. There is a team of sub-directors and producers who each manage smaller groups – each five-minute episode of the piece – so it becomes manageable!

TW: How did you choose the two venues you are using, Shoreditch Town Hall and The Rose Lipman Building?
FM: Shoreditch Town Hall is a beautiful Victorian building full of atmosphere and history, especially in the peeling layers of its basement. The Rose Lipman Building has the opposing bureaucratic appeal: 1970s, officious and souless. Both absolutely perfect for the parts of the performance they contain – examining bureaucracy in this digital age.

TW: Why is the show being presented in two parts?
FM: It was important for us to have the show in two halves because something that struck us about the novel was that Joseph K., the protagonist arrested one day without knowing why, continued with his day to day existence with his trial hanging over him. We enjoy the dwell time between episodes of drama (a bit like when you watch a TV box set and get emotionally involved with characters between episodes) and wanted to replicate this for our audience. Allow them to mull over the issues before being thrust back into the drama.

TW: Is it essential to see both part one and part two, or could one benefit from seeing just one of the two parts?
FM: It is essential to see both parts, like seeing both halves of a play – and the audience are really missing out if they miss the second half. Really missing out.

TW: RETZ obviously has a slightly different approach to theatre-making – can you tell us something about the company, and how it works?
FM: RETZ was founded as a way of creating a dialogue between the worlds of performance, film and the internet. We wanted to allow stories to find the best way to be told between these mediums and dance across them. It has allowed us to play with form and structure in ways we wouldn’t have been able to previously.

TW: What’s next for the company?
FM: In July we go to Croatia to make our first film…

The first part of ‘The Trial’ is currently running at Shoreditch Town Hall and will continue until 27 April. Part Two begins on 2 April at The Rose Lipman Building, and also continues until 27 April. See the RETZ website for more details, and purchase tickets here.

LINKS: www.retz.co.uk | twitter.com/RETZproduces