HighTide’s 2024 season, which focuses on producing, nurturing and celebrating new writing in the East of England, opens with a script-in-hand reading of Make Me, Molly Naylor’s comedy directed by Blythe Stewart as part of Norwich and Norfolk Festival on 16 May.
Set in a struggling school in Ipswich, Make Me tells the story of Emily, a drama teacher with a saviour-complex, and the students she’s determined to save.
Molly Naylor is an award-winning writer and performer. She is the co-creator of Sky One comedy After Hours. Her plays include Stop Trying to be Fantastic, Lights! Planets! People!, My Robot Heart (UK tours) and Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You (UK tour, BBC Radio 4). She has performed her poetry and storytelling shows at festivals and events all over the world. Her third collection Whatever You’ve Got is published by Bad Betty Press.
Make Me is coming to Norwich and Norfolk Festival on 16 May, what can you tell us about it?
Make Me is a funny, fast-paced, intergenerational play about an actor-turned-teacher who shows up at a struggling school with no experience and a huge hero-complex. One day, she gets trapped in the drama studio with two students while a protest is kicking off outside, and the three of them are forced to find a way to try to understand each other.
What inspired you to write the play?
In my own writing and teaching practice I’ve been preoccupied recently with questioning, satirising and deconstructing the Hero’s Journey (and other traditional narrative frameworks). I’m interested in how these storytelling structures reinforce and perpetuate the status-quo, particularly in relation to individualism, capitalism and climate collapse. I wanted to tell a story that critiques the dominant storytelling structure from within… as well as creating a funny and lively intergenerational conversation between Millennials and Gen Z.
How does it feel to be sharing it as part of the festival, and to be opening HighTide’s 2024 Season?
Norwich in May is my favourite place to be, in large part due to the festival, so it’s a real treat to be a part of it this year. I’ve been a fan of High Tide for years so it’s a dream to be working with them, particularly with the brilliant Clare Slater as Artistic Director and the excellent Hannah Dunne as producer.
What can audiences expect from this script in hand reading?
We’ve got an astonishingly talented cast who were all my first choice for their roles. Script readings can sometimes be a bit dry, but the acting talent coupled with Blythe’s directing makes me really confident that they’re going to provide a night of high-quality entertainment!
What’s impressed you most about what director Blythe Stewart is bringing to the play?
Blythe is one of those directors who immediately understands what you’re trying to say or achieve, and helps you do just that. She strikes the balance between giving the writer and cast space to play, while keeping everyone focused on the story’s heart, function and meaning.
What would you say to anyone thinking of coming to see Make Me?
This is a story that will appeal to adults and older teenagers, and anyone interested in protest, teaching, drama, ego, ambition and the stories we tell. It’s ultimately about the conflict between who we really are, and how we want to be seen.
