Everything you always wanted to know about The Flying Doctors. Dedicated to Lenore Smith and Christopher Stollery.
 

War of the Roses: an epic sweep

Bell Shakespeare is celebrating 15 years of success with ‘Wars of the Roses’ – a blockbuster production that, according to Christopher Stollery, will propel the company into a new era

Source: http://www.artlook.com.au/article.asp?contentID=646, by Kathleen Fisher, 2005

'Oh it's just like being at school camp,' Christopher Stollery laughs, using the first words that spring to mind when he thinks of Bell Shakespeare; but not how I expected an accomplished actor to summarise his experience with one of Australia's best-loved and most dynamic theatre companies. Perhaps it's the pre-show nerves as he only has a couple of days before the opening of Bell's latest production, Wars of the Roses.

'Really,' Stollery says, 'that's what it's like when we hit the road.' He explains that he has been working with some of his fellow Bell actors for his entire 12 years with the company. Some he has worked with once or twice; others he has worked with in every play. The result is a tight-knit group that plays well together, it seems, both on and off stage. 'Most of us know each other pretty well now,' he says. 'I love getting together and attacking different cities as a pack and then taking off three weeks later.'

I'm starting to believe touring with Bell is as much fun as Stollery claims. Something is obviously going right because the company is currently celebrating 15 successful years of bringing Shakespeare not just to Australia's most popular destinations, but to every major city.

One would think that living out of a suitcase for so many years would be tiring. For some, yes, but not for Stollery. 'It's a great way to see the country,' he says. 'And you're seeing each place in such a terrific context. You're not there just to sight-see or hang out; you're there to be part of the fabric of a city-you offer something up and you become part of the pulse and celebration of that city for a couple of weeks. That really bonds you with a place.'

He cites a particular fondness for Canberra, and I ask why he thinks our city has such strong loyalty to Bell. 'What can I say,' he replies. 'When Eddie McGuire hosted The National IQ Test, Canberrans rated at the top of the list!'. Stollery is certainly vastly different from the Bard's intense characters he plays on stage. 'Seriously,' he says, 'we do have a really loyal following in Canberra, so it really is almost like coming home. Every show goes there and we never miss a season.'

Canberra's fondness of Bell is most likely based on the same qualities that inspire affection for the company throughout the country. In keeping with its charter, Bell performs Shakespeare for a contemporary audience, aiming to make the 400-year-old plays relevant to Australia today by drawing parallels, connections and analogies to the life we know. This corresponds with what Shakespeare was doing, Stollery says-commenting on his own world through stories about ancient Rome and Greece, and medieval England.

The company also follows the Bard's lead by making the personalities and issues in his plays the key focus, rather than the straight historical events and figures. This means, for example, that Wars of the Roses is not so much about real people-including Henry VI, the Duke of Gloucester, Richard III, Joan of Arc and Lady Elizabeth Grey-as about two different gangs, Stollery says, which brings it into the present.

Swapping the theatrical devices commonly associated with Shakespeare for modern versions also makes performances accessible to contemporary Australians. In Wars of the Roses the set resembles a football oval, costumes come from the present day and a jazz composer is responsible for the score. What a long way from frilly collars, crimped wigs and clingy tights.

Stollery first came to Bell to play Hamlet in 1992-'my first professional role'-although he'd worked with John Bell at NIDA and had what he calls 'a cough and a spit' part in Romeo and Juliet. I ask why he has stayed so long, apart from his obvious love of touring.

'It comes back to that feeling of community, of being able to work with the same people over and over again,' he says. 'You build a professional rapport, which makes you fire together-that's what over 50% of theatre is about and it's what makes shows really live.'

Not that Stollery has worked only with Bell. This versatile actor has worked across theatre, television and film, having performed with companies such as Ensemble Theatre, the Sydney Theatre Company and Pork Chop Productions, as well as having roles in television dramas such as Water Rats and Heartbreak High and in films such as The Rage in Placid Lake. Increasingly, Stollery is being recognised for his efforts behind the scenes as a writer and director of both theatre and film. In fact, his short films have gained nominations, or have been finalists, at the Manhattan Short Film Festival, Tropfest and the AFI Awards.

Directing appears to be the way forward for Stollery at Bell. For the past couple of years he has devised and directed for the company's Actors and Work program, which takes theatre into schools. He's keen to have a similar role for the regional touring shows, which means taking a small ensemble of about nine actors, with minimal sets, to regional centres. 'I'd dearly love to do more directing,' he says. 'And I think after all these years I have a lot more understanding of how Shakespeare wrote and the clues he gives in his writing as to what he's after.'

Stollery says that this understanding appears to have accumulated without him realising it from the experience of working with Bell show-by-show, day-by-day over more than a decade. And the lessons have inspired Stollery to chase high standards, whether he's wearing his actor's, writer's or director's hat.

'Shakespeare was one of the greatest writers not just of words, but of performance,' Stollery says. 'He knew what works in a theatre and he understood the interplay between an actor on the stage and the audience.' He adds that the Bard had the knack of drawing diverse and complex characters simply with dialogue on a page-no costume design and no descriptions, just words, behaviour and motivation. 'That's become my yardstick to measure everything by,' Stollery declares.

It seems hardly surprising that he has gained so much from his experience with Bell, which has a reputation for nurturing talent. But it's not just cast and crew who grow-the company and its audience are growing too, as demonstrated by the size and nature of Wars of the Roses.

Stollery and I finish our chat with a few words about this latest show, which he describes as an 'epic sweep' and a glorious way to celebrate Bell's 15 years on the road. The show is certainly larger than life, blending the Henry VI trilogy with a little Richard III and spanning some 100 years, 96 characters and 22 battle scenes, all in just four hours. I suggest it sounds more like The Lord of the Rings than Shakespeare. 'Oh absolutely,' he responds. 'It's about main characters who go on a journey full of trials, tribulations and revenge.'

It seems timely that Bell should put on such a block-buster of a show, which Stollery appears to think will propel the company and its audience into a new era. 'Our audience has had 15 years of Shakespeare's popular plays, the ones that everyone knows,' he says. 'And now I think they're ready to move to the next level, to see lesser-known and performed works. So this is a real step up-it's a giant show.'

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Christopher