Gabriella Margulies joins the Spies Like Us Team and will be performing in the company’s two productions at VAULT Festival, a revival of their award winning Our Man in Havana and a new work in progress, Speed Dial.
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You’re joining Spies Like Us Theatre for Our Man in Havana and Speed Dial at Vault Festival, what can you tell us about them?
They are a team of young, professional and incredibly ambitious creators who formed as part of the Young Pleasance and have gone from strength to strength making exciting and entertaining physical theatre shows. I first saw Spies Like Us perform Our Man in Havana and Woyzeck at Edinburgh Fringe in 2018 because I’d heard they were one of the “must sees” at Fringe for a couple of years. It will be exciting to see where the company decides to go next.
The team have performed Our Man in Havana previously, has it been daunting joining an established company?
I was daunted to begin with, as they have such a strong understanding of the way each other’s minds and bodies work, and I was worried I wouldn’t pick stuff up as quickly. But in the end, joining Spies Like Us couldn’t have been lovelier. They are such a warm and playful bunch and really made me feel part of the team from day dot.
However, for Our Man in Havana we will have had 7 days in total for me to learn and rehearse it, and this is meanwhile we are creating and rehearsing for Speed Dial. I haven’t moved this much since Drama School so it’s mostly about training my muscle memory to get back up to speed. Learning to control my body is daunting….
Speed Dial is a work in progress, what can audiences expect?
Speed Dial is an action-packed physical thriller set in the 70s (cool!). It’s funny, touching and hopefully impressive! The audience can hopefully expect a polished hour-long show but we’re just looking for people’s feedback to see how we can take it further. I think what’s the most interesting thing for me about doing a work in progress physical theatre piece is finding the language of the movement and clarity of the story – whether we’re managing to get this across to the audience.
What is it you most admire about Spies Like Us unique style?
How much fun we have! So much of the movement is based around us having a play and mucking around until we find something that we like. I really admire their sense of humour.
What do you think will be the biggest challenge for you with these two productions?
Remembering what comes next. For me, the shows feel like an hour-long dance (and we never leave the stage), so just remembering what scene and sequence comes next is my challenge at the moment.
What would you say to anyone thinking of coming to see Our Man in Havana or Speed Dial?
If you want to see something quirky with a brilliant soundtrack (both have a wicked soundtrack), from a funky era, and have a laugh, then come see Spies Like Us!
Our Man In Havana, VAULT Festival 2020 | 3rd – 5th March
Speed Dial (Work In Progress), VAULT Festival 2020 | 6th – 7th March
