Angel Exit Theatre are based near Dorchester. They produce new devised work which they tour regionally, nationally and sometimes internationally. The company was formed by Lecoq graduates in 2001, and has been based in Dorset since 2006, under the Artistic Direction of Tamsin Fessey and Lynne Forbes. They have produced two shows from this base so far: The Black Curtain, a film noir thriller, and an adaptation of the classic smuggling novel, Moonfleet. They are currently working on a new version of The Secret Garden which will tour nationally in 2012.

This conversation was conducted over a series of emails with co-artistic director Tamsin Fessy (TF) and Lorna Rees (LR), Theatre Producer for Activate.

LR: How would you describe your company?

TF: We work collaboratively as an ensemble, with the roles of director, actor, writer, composer, stage manager and designer all blurring. Everyone's input affects all aspects of the show and we believes this gives us a richly layered and inventive language. We sometimes describe ourselves as a physical theatre company but this is a misleading term, and text and story are of primary importance in our work. When someone asks us what we mean by this we say theatre that is more theatrical than naturalism. This might involve using masks, clown, puppets, dance, buffoon, live music or any number of other conventions. We also like to use a chorus of storytellers who become the characters and contribute to all aspects of telling the story.

LR: It’s really interesting that you suggest that the term ‘Physical Theatre’ is a misleading one for your company… why do you think it’s misleading?

TF: It's a term which is overused and which encompasses so many different types of theatre. I think it puts the idea in people's heads that it's all mimed, that there are no words, or very few. And sometimes this sis the case, but not for us. We always have a script, but if something can be relayed through an image we do try and avoid using words as well. We often have several set pieces where the story is told through movement and music with no words, but actually words are very important to us. We have experimented with several ways of arriving at these words. For The Secret Garden, we plan to carry out 2 weeks of R+D with our creative team, and then Lynne and I will start a process of writing which will be overseen by the playwright Phil Porter, who will act as a dramaturg. Even once we have a script it will be flexible during the rehearsals so that actors can continue to have input, and the way we stage a scene will impact the words we need for it.

LR: Your work does have this distinctive ‘chorus’, where the ensemble is clearly central to your productions. Angel Exit’s work reminds me most of all the things I enjoy about companies such Theatre de Complicite and Kneehigh because of this and what I love about the commedia/Le Coq ensemble style – simple yet artful storytelling is powerful and engaging and hard to do well. I’m interested in how much your training at Le Coq informs your work and how much influences from other companies and other practitioners you’ve worked with influences you – how do you create your own ‘style’?

TF: First of all may I point out that it is Lecoq, and not Le Coq. It's a common mistake and doesn't really matter but it's nothing to do with a cockerel, it's to do with a great teacher, who started a school in Paris more than 50 years ago called Jacques Lecoq. The school is based on the idea of physical discipline and more importantly ensemble based creation. One of the principal teaching methods of the school is something called an autocours, where the students are given a theme and told to get into groups of a certain number. They then have an hour and a half of scheduled time each day to work on a scene to present to the rest of the school on Friday afternoons. As they are students with few resources the staging solutions are often inventive and physical. The students are in a constant cycle of creation which is addictive, and I think this is why so many companies come out of the school. It gives you a need to create. It is very different from the ethos that British drama schools instil in you, which I think makes you feel like you need to impress other people with your skills to get employed. Simon McBurney, artistic director of Complicite trained at Lecoq and he started the company with other graduates. One of the trademarks of companies coming out of Lecoq is often this idea of ensemble, but I think, more importantly it's the urge to just get together and do it.
We love Kneehigh and having done some mentoring with them we appreciate even more the process they go through (although don't ask us for our opinions on the latest 'Umbrellas show!) I think it is this collaborative process of a company living, working and creating together that gives the work its richness and its sense of creating a unique world. Lynne and I both work as freelance actors, directors and movement directors, and we think this is very important at this stage in our careers, so that we expose ourselves to as many different ways of working as possible. All of this feeds back into the work we do as Angel Exit. We try not to think too much about our 'style' because this can force you to censor yourself, but we just try to make the work we want to make.

LR: I am a dunce – I have loads of books on my shelves on Lecoq – duh! Shows what staying up writing email conversations late at night can do to your brain…. Anyway, on with the conversation. I often find that when I speak to young performers I’m asking them to make sure that they learn how to make work as well as to perform in it – a career as a performer can be so precarious I think making sure that you can also generate your own work (and therefore become an artist) is what we often miss out on in our drama schools. And I’d really love to know how you and Lynne met – you clearly have such a strong collaboration and a sort of creative shorthand between you is her background in terms of training different to yours? 

TF: As I said, we both work as freelance performers. We had seen each other at several auditions and then we finally got cast in the same show, Stig of the Dump, in Hereford at the lovely Courtyard Theatre. We had a great time doing that job (I played a 12 year old and Lynne played my grandma, we also both played some bad boy hoodies!) We realised pretty quickly that we liked the same sort of theatre and just as importantly that we got on very well. We talked about making some work together. I also knew at this point that I was potentially looking for a new Co-Artistic director. We made our first show together about a year later.

Lynne has an MA from Goldsmiths, where she was taught by Catherine Alexander who trained at Lecoq. Lynne then went on to do a show with her, produced by Complicite. Before drama school we had both been to university, so we didn't train together but we have similar backgrounds, and as you say, we were able to develop a shared language and shorthand between us fairly quickly.

LR: I’m really interested about what draws you to the texts/subjects you make work about – how do you choose a specific novel/subject matter?

TF: That's a tricky one. It's really hard to say. I'd love to say that we just find something we like and do it. Obviously that is the most important thing, but we do take into account who we are making the work for. For example, with Moonfleet and The Secret Garden we were very keen to make work which would appeal to audiences in rural venues. This means a family audience. As we are an unknown company, it is also to our advantage to choose titles that people might have heard of. It is very hard to sell an unknown show by an unknown company. We hope that as we build our reputation we will be able to be more adventurous. We are enjoying working from classic novels because they are such a strong starting block and they allow us to really spend time on investigating the characters, tensions, images, atmospheres and scenes rather than spending all our time on trying to find a story. Story is very important to us. I think we're always scouting around for ideas, and we're constantly suggesting things for eachother to read. The show after The Secret Garden will probably not be a novel, because we don't want to be pigeon-holed as a company that just does that.

LR: Can you tell me more about what Angel Exit is working on right now? You’ve already mentioned it’s the Secret Garden but where will it be and when will it be on?  

TF: We are going to be creating a new version of The Secret Garden which coincides with the 100 year anniversary of Frances Hodgson's book being published. We will be inspired by this classic but avoiding the saccharine elements, we will unearth the dark heart of the story. The show will be in our trademark visual style with live singing and puppets.

We will be putting details of the tour onto our website soon (www.angelexit.co.uk). We are co-producing the show with Dorchester Arts and Bridport Arts Centre, and it is being co-commissioned by Activate and Lighthouse, Poole, so we will perform at all of these venues, as well as Marine Theatre Lyme Regis, Rural venues in Somerset and Dorset and the venues further afield including Margate Theatre Royal, Colchester Mercury and Buxton Opera house.

We have funding applications in and we are keeping our fingers crossed that the funding comes through so that we can realise the project!

LR: Many, many thanks Tamsin for answering my questions and having this conversation with me!