Interview

Pip Pickering

Pip Pickering is a rising young director who is presenting the Noël Coward section of an evening of Burlesque at the Theatre Museum this week. He's also working on a new stage musical that will be unveiled later this year, as he told Paul Webb when they met up in Covent Garden recently...

What's the Burlesque evening at the Theatre Museum about? "There are four evenings, all on a Thursday night and all with a different theme. This week's (Thursday 14 April) is The Art of Bohemia, and an actress friend and I will be presenting a short section of Noël Coward and Bohemia."

What was his connection with Bohemia, and what does 'Bohemian' mean? "He was connected in the sense that he moved in an artistic and unconventional circle when young, though even at that stage he was also fascinated by the upper classes. I think you could define Bohemians as people who don't live by society's normal rules, especially in the sense of sexual morality. That was obviously a lot rarer in the early 1920s than it is today, and there were more unspoken rules in operation then than there are now. His take on them - in the context of his plays, anyway - is that Bohemians are sophisticated, with an attractive languour about them - in contrast to normal people, whom they often dismiss as 'bouncy'.

"His plays, especially the earlier ones, feature a lot of Bohemian people - like the threesome of two boys and a girl in Design For Living. Interestingly, one of the key signs of Coward's Bohemians is that they drop French phrases into their conversation, and Private Lives, which is in some ways the epitome of this stylish and unconventional approach to life, is actually set in France."

When did you become interested in Coward's plays? "When I was 18. I read his play Blithe Spirit, which I subsequently directed, and it opened up the whole of Coward's world. I read all I could about him. I've seen the current revival of Blithe Spirit at the Savoy Theatre, and I think Coward would be proud of it. It's rare, and quite brave, of them to stage it as he would have liked to see it, rather than trying some radical re-interpretation. Not that I'm against that in principle. I've directed his first real hit, The Vortex, twice - in England and in Belgium - and in the second production I took it out of its period in an unusual way. "

Speaking of productions, what are you working on at the moment? "I'm working on a major musical project with the composer Alex Loveless - a stage musical based on the screenplay of a well-known film. I can't say much more about it at the moment but it's very exciting. We've already held workshops at the Royal Academy of Music and will be having a private showcase next month."

We're used to the idea of actors needing to find other work between theatre jobs - how is it for directors? "Actors do at least either get a job or not - when they go for auditions everything is set up and ready for them, and they either get the part or don't - the effort they put in is simply that needed for a successful audition.

"As a director, however, any project you hope comes to something, and produces paid work, takes a long time to put together, and involves a lot of preparatory work with other creative artists - composers, playwrights, designers. While you're in this development stage you have to find some other way of earning a living. I'm fortunate in that I can do this while still working in theatre - last year I helped a friend set up an acting agency; I read and advise on scripts for two major West End production companies - ATG and Really Useful - and I consult privately on new written and musical material, like a new play that was recently showcased at Soho Theatre."

What type of theatre interests you most? "Music theatre! I've worked in other areas, of course, but it's music theatre that seems to be where my main interest - and my work - is focussed. And not just stage musicals. I began to work, last year, in cabaret, particularly with the American singer Holly Penfield, who I directed in her own show at a Soho nightclub, and who is performing every Monday at the Café Royal."

I've seen her show there - she's very good! "She is, and she has an extraordinary theatricality to her that I find very attractive. She's a Bohemian! She has cultivated a highly theatrical performance - with costumes to match - and though she has an enormous talent it is sparked off by a certain indiscipline. My job was to take that and shape it, without snuffing it out, as it's an essential part of her energy."

Any other recent projects? "Yes, I directed Other Women, an evening of songs by Conor Mitchell, at Greenwich Theatre in February. Conor is a hugely talented composer..."

I know! I'm interviewing him as part of the Balcony on The West End series at the Theatre Museum on Thursday 5 May... "I'll be there!

"The most recent project I've worked on was a concert of Ivor Novello's music, by the Hallé orchestra in Manchester last weekend. It was fascinating to hear his music, from his numerous stage shows, played on that scale, and I enjoyed working on it - I did the lighting design, which created a more theatrical feel to the event than is usually the case at concerts."

In Novello's musicals the women had most of the best songs. Do you think Coward wrote mainly for women, too? "In a sense, yes. His women are very strong characters, and although people think of the male roles as epitomising Coward's style, if you want to find him in any of his plays, it's the female characters you should look at."

Which actress would you most like to direct in a Coward play? "Suanne Braun. She's a South African actress and singer who is also very well-known over there as a television personality - fronting South African television's coverage of the Oscars, for example. She has an inherent glamour that's ideal for Coward, and also has a great voice."

Do you have a favourite theatre restaurant? "Yes, Joe Allen's. It's open late, it's friendly, there are usually friends of mine there and Jimmy, the resident pianist, strikes up a Cole Porter tune when I come in as he knows I love Porter's music."

The Art of Burlesque is at the Theatre Museum at 7pm on Thursday April 14.

Conor Mitchell will be interviewed by Paul Webb at the Theatre Museum from 6 to 7pm on Thursday May 5.

Buy Blithe Spirit tickets

By Paul Webb
Thursday April 14