The Bench Production
This play was staged at Havant Arts Centre, East Street Havant - Bench Theatre's home since 1977.
Cast
| Roland | Stuart Reilly |
| Marianne | Faye Williams |
Crew
| Director | Dan Finch |
| Producer | Mark Wakeman |
| Stage Manager | Julie Wood |
| Assistant Stage Manager | Megan Green |
| Lighting Design | Andrew Caple |
| Lighting Operation | Claire Lyne |
| Sound Design | Jacquie Penrose |
| Sound Operation | Steve Burt |
| Flyer Design | Dan Finch |
| Programme | Dan Finch |
| Set Design | David Penrose |
| Front of House | Megan Green |
Director's Notes
It began, as these things often do, with a conversation with my friend Alice. I've pootled around on stage, with varying degrees of success, for the last decade or so and I was developing a vague notion that I would like to give the directing thing a go. I lamented to Alice that I'd never found anything that gripped me enough and so she pointed me towards Constellations saying that it was "right up my street".
She was right. She often is.
I read the script and then instantly read it again. I was hooked. I wanted to direct it, I wanted to see Roland and Marianne on stage and be the one responsible for putting them there. I strategically left the script on the sofa where I knew Verity, my beautiful wife, would notice it and read it (she can never resist a book). She did, but I was'’t fooling her, she knew exactly what I was up to. Luckily, she loved it and said that she would be happy for me to pitch it.
In fact, luck has been with me throughout all of this - I was lucky enough to be voted in, lucky enough to get a fantastic crew behind the production, and lucky enough to find such a wonderful pairing in Stuart and Faye. These two have worked so very hard over the last couple of months and have been a real joy to direct.
I am so grateful to everyone who has been involved, especially all of the folks listed as crew. They have made my first foray into directing such a wonderful experience. We owe a special thanks to Caz Gilmore for her help.
Constellations deals with luck and fate and free will. Nick Payne, over the short running time, crams in a multitude of wonderful ideas and examples of how the smallest things, both in and out of our control, shape our lives. It is an idea that I find both fascinating and terrifying.
There is a universe where this didn't all come together. There is a universe where I bottled pitching the play. There is a universe where my wife wasn't daft enough to agree to me being out of the house so much. There is a universe where this all went horribly wrong and I was thrown out of the Bench in disgrace.
I hope that, after watching my incredible cast in action, you will agree that this is the universe where it all went right.
Dan Finch
