Lucinda Coyle is the writer of acclaimed play Our Last First which returns to The Space on the Isle of Dogs, London from 6th-14th June following a sold out run at London’s Union Theatre in 2021. Our First Last is directed by Samuel Xavier who along with Lucinda are the co-founders of Bullet Point Theatre.
Written without any pronouns, genders, names, ages, or physical description Our Last First is designed to be played by any and every actor. For the upcoming production the performers will enter the stage and be cast live into their roles for the performance.
This arrangement allows the play to have a wide array of combinations and topics such as a couple dealing with societies views of same sex marriage, another on the rights of trans love, and love across different cultural backgrounds.
The cast for the upcoming production are Beca Barton (they/she), Joshua Eldridge-Smith (he/him), Annie Loftus (they/them) and Eoin Quinlan (he/him).
Our Last First is returning to London for a run at The Space, what can you tell us about the play?
Our Last First really is a love letter for actors, and for us as humans. Simply, it is a love story that follows the firsts and lasts of one couple’s relationship, highlighting the need to live in the present.
But onto that the whole play is written without any pronouns, ages, genders or physical descriptions, therefore any and every actor can be in it. Oh and it’s cast live! Meaning that every evening you’ll see a different relationship based on who out of our four wonderful actors is playing who! It’s a love letter for actors to break down casting boundaries, and for audiences to see a greater breadth of love stories told on stage, and hopefully see themselves reflected.
What first inspired you to write it?
It was first written out of anger towards the way that casting happens in our industry. Still roles are cast on what an actor looks like, and not just their talent, and I wanted a show to break this boundary and also provide a platform for far greater love stories to be told.
What’s changed since it last ran back in 2021?
So much! For a start it now has an interval! Which I’m sure some of our returning audience members will be pleased about. And then it’s really just gotten bolder and braver. The writing is now even more gender, age, pronoun etc blind, and has gone further in making it more real and more accurate, particularly in the arguments scenes.
Production wise everything is different! We’re really taking the show on an entirely new path, and I really believe the original production now feels like a cousin to this one, as opposed to this just being a second production. This really is its own production.
It’s being produced by your new company Bullet Point Theatre, what is it you want to achieve with this new company?
Lucinda always jokes that one of the things she wants us to achieve is for us to have an office! But really we just want to keep producing and creating work that pushes boundaries and isn’t afraid to make audiences uncomfortable. We want to give space and time to stories, voices, subject matters that are seen as taboo or that are already being told but apologetically. When we have an office I suppose that is when we have reached a stage that we are producing these stories successfully and creating lots at once! To put it simply, we want to create change, shake the boat.
Tell us more about how the performers are cast at the start of each performance and what opportunities and challenges that brings?
The exact way we’re doing the live casting I’m afraid is going to stay a secret until our audiences see it! What we can say, is it means that every show is truly live. We ask our actors to physically bring themselves to the roles, what you see is what you get, that is who they are.
We are not asking anyone to pretend to be anything except who they are. And the way the script is written means the actors can really use themselves in lines such as “you’re parents have never liked me because I’m- ”. Therefore depending who is playing each role really determines what this couple faces. Meaning that some nights you’ll see a show which focuses on the difficulties and joys of Queer Love and the next night about relationships across different cultural backgrounds.
The opportunities really are endless. It can educate audiences because they might watch a love story they might not have chosen to watch. It means more love stories can be shown, and that every show really is different from the last!
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see Our First Last?
Book! Come and see this show for yourself. If there is even a little bit of intrigue come and join us, and see the unlimited love stories we can show you! Plus every night is different! It is not only a beautiful show about love, and living the firsts and lasts of a relationship but on a wider scale, it shows that more needs to be done to create diversity on stage and in the stories we tell!
And if you can’t make it to London, then you can watch one of our livestreams! There is a lot of love in and behind this play, and we just want as many people as possible to share in it.
