ANDRÉ AGIUS speaks to Lara Zammit about his experience directing the play Saving Mr Ultimate which featured at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Director and theatre maker André Agius read for an MFA in Directing at the Edinburgh Napier University, supported by the Malta Arts Scholarship Scheme, during which he directed a play which appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Saving Mr Ultimate was written by John McEwan-Whyte and produced by Extra-Arca Theatre Company and New Celts, while Agius served as director for the production.
The play focuses on a day in the life of six everyday people, each faced with the prospect of irreversible change and forced to unpack their shared and individual experiences.
“At the beginning of the play, when we first meet these six characters, we quickly understand that they are each at irreversible crossroads, where they have all realised aspects of themselves and the community they belong to are about to change drastically through the catalytic event of selling a much-loved comic shop,” started Agius.
“This prospect of change in itself instigates a ‘fight-or-flight’ reaction that equally focuses their choices and reactions, and also makes them feel very exposed, (allowing the audience to see their true characters).
“As the play develops, the characters are quite vulnerable with one another, whether through exposing something about their past that will condition their future or expressing present feelings they are experiencing”.
The play showcases how these six personalities respond to and deal with mental trauma. Speaking about how he approaches the task of showcasing trauma in this play, Agius said that openness with the cast was paramount to achieving this.
“I think from the very first rehearsal, there was an amount of clarity and openness with the cast, where we would discuss the themes and elements within the play extensively.
“Of course, given the nature and context of the play, I felt it was important to bring in a psychologist who could give us insight into these characters, give clarity to why they are taking such decisions, and also address any questions that the actors or myself could have about the play.
“This is where I started applying and referring to my undergraduate psychology university studies, in addressing the need to root the play within the real, without creating caricatures or having underdeveloped characters.
“We did the opposite of showcasing – we mined the script and broke it down for clues on the intentions and actions of these characters, pausing to discuss or research points we might not have been clear on to create a clear foundation where actors don’t feel they need to add anything, but rather allow the lines to convey this to the audience.”
Agius went on to say that the lecturing staff for the MFA course were very reactive to situations and were always at hand to help and guide the students individually through it.
“Of course, it should be said that it is thanks to the Malta Arts Scholarship Scheme, that I was able to read for my MFA and undergo this experience.”
Speaking about how he interacted with McEwan-Whyte’s script during his role as director, Agius said the script started its development around five months before our first public performance and was written specifically for this group of actors.
“The play was developed dually – through rehearsals, whereby amendments and changes would come about as the playwright discovers more about the how the play is lending itself to the actors and the scenes, and through lectures, whereby the playwright (following his own MFA course) would work with his mentor on refining it.
“Although the play has developed extensively from its very first draft to its final fringe rehearsal draft – most of the prevalent elements that I based my approach, concept and composition around were retained, and in some cases even developed further.”
André Agius is a beneficiary of the Malta Arts Scholarship Scheme.