Voila! Theatre Festival is London’s panlingual festival that celebrates emerging artists from all different backgrounds and cultures. The festival runs across eight London venues until 23rd November. I have caught up with Benjamin Sumrie, Marco Biasioli and Liam Grogan ahead of their play One Hundred Percent which will be performing at The Playground Theatre on Nov 11 and 12 at 8:30pm. 

 

Who has been your inspiration from the Theatre world?

Ben:

I would say we feel very inspired by the productions we have come across over our time performing this show. Notably Stephen Smith who was performing directly after us at The Greater Manchester Fringe, in his one man show One Man Poe. He collated thousands of reams of text from Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories and performed them in his own unique way on stage. The sheer skill and determination to perform that show at the highest capacity and to be so kind and generous to us in and around the theatre made us feel glad we were able to see it after our last show of our run. He went on to sell out shows this last fringe and we aren’t surprised, his determination and high quality really is something to be admired as fellow theatre makers.

 

Liam + Marco:

We’re inspired by anyone who’s ever tried to make a show with no money and too many opinions. But if we’re naming names, Pinter, Brecht, Beckett, and Berkoff all remind us of what theatre can be, can do, and how far we’ve got to go.

 

Where do you draw your inspiration from as a creative?

Ben:

I draw my inspiration from many different places, and as cheesy as it sounds, I feel rather inspired by the other actors and creatives I meet on my travels as an actor. Hearing other people’s stories and experiences in this industry is something that I really cherish and take forward through my life. Not only hearing what others have overcome, but more-so how they have kept positive mental attitudes to keep on pursuing their passions. I feel very lucky to be in an industry surrounded by amazing people who pursue their work with such vigor that no famous celebrity could really compare when you really think about it.

 

Marco + Liam:

Mostly from existential dread. But also, from real people and their messy, contradictory, and beautiful lives, and the hope that theatre might be able to do things that more direct communication can’t. One Hundred Percent in particular came out of Ben questioning why he was even pursuing a career in acting. It always starts with a why and ends with a show.

Are you planning on taking your production to another industry festival in the future?

Ben:

This iteration of the production has come to a close, after a long successful year we are so proud of what we have accomplished, so we’ve decided to go in a different direction creatively; but also having a well deserved break!

 

Marco + Liam:

Unlikely. It seems like One Hundred Percent has fulfilled its purpose and had it’s run, and we’ll all be moving on to pastures new.

 

What is your least favourite part of the Theatre industry?

Ben:

Your own expectations. It is a natural blunder to be scuppered by your ego in this profession, what you should be doing and what you haven’t done yet. It causes the most amount of problems. But not getting what you want out of career is nothing to do with external things, they are to do with how we see the world outside of us. It’s easier said than done, but the best thing you can do if you are going to survive the industry is to forget about the uncontrollable external factors; not getting enough in the audience, not being discovered yet, or not getting a good review(…!) These things aren’t why we perform or make theatre, we should concentrate on our internal zest to create without fear of judgement or our expectations, as that debases the purpose of making art, as art is meant to show new perspectives from originality and courage.

 

Marco + Liam:

Where to start? There’s very little to like about the theatre industry. But perhaps, the lack of true camaraderie. The industry is full of very insecure folks desperately fighting each other for faint glimmers of success. We would all do better if we supported each other. Our company was founded to bring good people together to make challenging and interesting work, but the closer you get to the ‘industry’ and those who desire to be a part of it, the more impossible this becomes.

 

What’s your favourite part of the theatre industry?

Ben:

The people. not all the people. But the people make up why the industry is so great. I don’t think this needs explanation.

 

Marco + Liam:

That one beautiful moment when the lights go up, the audience is silent, and the ritual of Theatre is about to start. Also, when it’s over and everyone claps – that’s nice too.

 

What one piece of advice would you pass onto new Theatre students?

Ben:

Concentrate on yourself and the trials and tribulation will go from mountains to climb, to speed bumps to pebbles on the road to enjoyment in your work.

 

Marco + Liam:

Don’t do it. But if you have to, do it because you love making things with other people. It’s incredibly hard and you will fail a lot, but if you’re around good people that won’t matter. Beckett used to say that failure produces a ‘vivifying air’, so try and breathe that.

 

One Hundred Percent will be performing as part of Voila! Theatre Festival at The Playground Theatre on Nov 11 and 12 at 8:30pm. For more information about the show and to purchase tickets, visit

https://www.theplaygroundtheatre.org.uk/projects/one-hundred-percent