I sat down with director Lydia Sax to find out more about Almost, Maine coming to the OSO Arts Centre Theatre from this October.
Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?
Almost, Maine is a series of nine miniature plays by John Cariani, set in a remote town in northern Maine on a cold winter’s night. It’s about companionship, persistence and the changes that love brings. What makes it unusual is the way emotions take physical form: when Randy and Chad fall in love, they literally fall over; when Glory’s heart breaks, it shatters into pieces of slate. There’s a lovely balance of humour and tenderness to it. Our eight actors (including Andre Bullock, picture above) play 21 characters, and the production moves between nine locations beneath a vast, starry sky, where the Northern Lights appear at precisely 9 pm.
What drew you to this specific story?
I’ve wanted to direct Almost, Maine for a long time. For me, it’s an invitation to rediscover the extraordinary in the ordinary: that dizzying feeling of sitting beside someone, feeling their presence, and wondering at the marvel of it. I love the way John Cariani takes familiar experiences of love and connection and makes them strange, funny and tangible. In a world that can feel increasingly disconnected, there’s something very moving about a play that reminds us how much can happen when we make time for one another.
What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?
The biggest challenge has been working out how to tell nine stories in nine locations with eight actors playing 21 characters, without losing the simplicity at the heart of the play. We spent a long time working through the intricacies of the multi-rolling, particularly the transitions between scenes. We wanted the audience to see the actors as residents of Almost before they transform into the characters in each story. The challenge was finding a clear, fluid way to do that while allowing each encounter to feel like its own little world.
How does the design of your show (set, sound, or lighting) impact the presentation of your story?
Working with our designer, Alice Kim, we asked ourselves what would happen if every element of the world were already there, in full view of the audience, before the play began. An expanse of ice became our blank canvas, from which an entire town could emerge. In a place where people make something from very little, we wanted the design to follow the same principle. Gabriel Burns’s lighting and sound help create the vastness of the night sky and the magic of the Northern Lights. During the transitions, time stands still before we return to 8.50 pm, with each appearance of the Lights taking place at precisely 9 pm. It gives the evening a rhythm, and makes those moments feel quietly extraordinary.
If you could sum up the show in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?
The extraordinary in the ordinary. I think we can sometimes overlook the significance of the everyday things we share with other people. Almost, Maine takes those small moments of connection and makes them literal, sometimes absurdly so. But underneath the magic, it’s about something very simple: the desire to love and be loved, and to feel less alone. I hope audiences leave with a renewed appreciation for the people around them.
Almost, Maine runs at the OSO Arts Centre London, on 29 October – 7 November. Tickets available at https://osoarts.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173674854
