Renowned theatre maker Andy Smith invites the audience to meet, listen and take action in his latest work SUMMIT, which will play at Shoreditch Town Hall as part of a UK tour. Andy joined us to tell us more about this ambitious production.
SUMMITÂ will be at Shoreditch Townhall 9th to 19th October 2018.
SUMMIT is coming to Shoreditch Townhall, what can you tell us about it?
SUMMIT is a play for three performers. Over three acts, in three different ways and in three different languages, they tell us a story about a meeting. The meeting is the SUMMIT of the title. A big, international meeting. A meeting called to respond to a crisis. But something happens at the summit. Something happens. And in that moment, everything changed.
How does it differ to your previous works?
I’m not in it! I’ve been thinking about trying to write something for other people for a long time. I’ve finally managed to do it. There was a very strong sense from the beginning that I wasn’t going to be in this one.  That I couldn’t be in it, even.
What inspired you to create SUMMIT?
It has lots of roots. One of the first images I had in my head was that of a performer signing on stage. Just someone using sign language. There was a period a while back where I seemed to be working with sign language interpreters on stage with me a lot, and this was undoubtedly an influence and inspiration. It is a language I have little understanding of, and am not able to speak, so I knew that it couldn’t be me performing it. It was the first reason that I couldn’t be in it. Happily, the work grew from there.
Why was it important to you that BSL was a part of the production?
It’s really important. For both the form and the content of the show. There are a lot of discussions around accessibility and diversity in theatre at the moment. A drive to be more inclusive and broaden audiences. Though I didn’t write SUMMIT just so that I could be part of that conversation I am of course thrilled that we are. The work attempts to integrate languages. To address diversity. Both Deaf and hearing audience members should get all the story, but sometimes at different times.
How have audiences reacted to SUMMIT so far?
The first performances of the work were at Brighton Festival last year, and the response was diverse. Lots of people saw lots of stuff in it. I’m happy about this. The work is very open. It asks the audience to bring themselves and their preoccupations to it, and be part of what it is trying to think about. I’m really looking forward to more people meeting it and the ideas it contains.
What would you say to anyone thinking of coming to see SUMMIT?
Come with an open mind! I hope that this work entertains, challenges and provokes. I hope that we can use it to think together about who we are, how we are doing, and where we might be going. I hope that people can leave the theatre at the end feeling able to go back into what often feels like a challenging world at the moment. I hope that they might do this with a sense of energy and drive. That’s the hope, anyway. No work of theatre means anything without an audience. It needs you! Come see and hear and be part of it.
