Lisa Caruccio Came is one half of Two Line Productions, who will bring us their first production, Waiting For Lefty by Clifford Odets this month.
Each night the play is followed by a panel discussion from thought leaders in Trade Unionists, academics, authors and journalists including Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar (ADCU President and General Sec, the lead claimants in the recent Supreme Court case involving Uber), Stella Creasy MP, Sarah Jaffe (author of Work Won’t Love You Back), and Alex Andreou (Actor, political commentator and Oh God What Now podcast co-host). These experts will discuss themes in the play and how they relate to modern socio-economic theory and practice, and how the UK (and even the world) might move forward positively.
Waiting For Lefty will be performed live on Zoom 18th – 23rd May 2021. Tickets are on sale here.
Your new production company is bringing us a digital revival of Waiting For Lefty, what can you tell us about it?
Waiting for Lefty is a poetic and provocative play set during the Great Depression in New York and focuses on a taxi drivers’ union meeting, where the drivers are fiercely debating going on strike to demand a living wage. The action shifts between the union meeting and four powerful domestic scenes, where the personal costs of capitalism on the ordinary person are laid bare.
This is an innovative reimagining of the story, merging the past and the present. The cab drivers find themselves having to conduct their union meeting on Zoom. The audience will become part of that meeting, inviting them to be participant as well as observers. The other scenes will be streamed live on location. Using actors in bubbles; their homes become our sets. This is a cross between theatre and fly-on-the-wall documentary, allowing the audience a glimpse into the private lives of Odets’ characters.
You mightalso like
What was it about an 83 year old play that jumped out at you for a digital revival?
I’ve always loved this play. I was introduced to it when I was training at NYU, and years later I found myself drawn back to it time and again when I was teaching acting. The material is brilliant because of its passion and urgency, and the language is beautifully New York.
Although Lefty is set in a specific time and place, the themes are, unfortunately, timeless. It is a story about standing up against inequality and exploitation. Lefty exposes the deep injustices of capitalism and challenges the audience to think, and to act.
This play could not be more relevant. Although the life we knew before Covid seems to be returning, the pandemic has exposed beyond a shadow of a doubt just how unequal our society is. Not everyone has been financially crippled by Covid- those who were already more vulnerable are suffering even more. Last year I remembered reading that in the coming months, many families in the UK would be unable to afford school shoes. This is almost a direct quote from Waiting for Lefty. This is why it feels so important and necessary to revive this play.
What prompted you to start Two Line Productions, and we hear there’s an interesting story behind the choice of name?
Two Lines Productions was born out of our desire to create urgent, socially engaged work. I was pregnant during the first lockdown, and it was during our endless daily walks that we first started to explore how we could stage Lefty. As my belly grew, so did our certainty that the time was right for Waiting for Lefty. We had nicknamed our baby daughter Two Lines before she was born. Our daughter, and the theatre company both emerged from a very dark period and have demanded huge amounts of time and energy;Â yet both have inspired us to approach the future with a renewed sense of purpose and optimism. It felt apt to name our theatre company after her.
Why was it so important to you that, despite being digital theatre, it would be performed live?
Although we’ve enjoyed some excellent online theatre this last year, when the work wasn’t presented live, one of the unique elements of the theatrical experience was lost. The shared experience is important to us because we are theatre practitioners first and foremost. It certainly would have been much easier for us to film the play and stream it. But as a viewer, it’s so much more exciting to know that you’re watching something unfold, live. Everyone has endless options of film and television programs to watch on demand- what we are offering is a chance to genuinely come together and share in a collective experience.
Tell us more about the panel discussions that will follow each performance?
We’ve gathered an impressive panel of 15 journalists, writers, policy experts, trade union reps and politicians. Each night our moderator and 2 or 3 panellists will discuss the issues raised in the play and take questions from the audience. We want the audience, panellists, and company to have a chance to properly reflect on what the play is offering us. The parallels between the Great Depression and present day are striking. But what does this mean for us now? How do we move forwards? What alternatives exist to the current financial structures in place? What haven’t we learned yet? And what can we actually do to change the situation?
All theatre is political, in some form. But Waiting for Lefty demands action. The panel discussion is a chance for us to understand what this means today.
What would you say to anyone thinking of watching Waiting For Lefty?
The time is right for Lefty. This is an opportunity to watch a forgotten gem of a play, from the comfort of your own homes. Any profits made will be donated to the Trussell Trust, who aim to eradicate food poverty in the U.K. Be part of the shared experience and be part of the conversation.
Waiting For Lefty will be performed live on Zoom 18th – 23rd May 2021. Tickets are on sale here.
