Following yesterday’s interview with Renske Mann about The Girl in the Green Jumper, the play based on her memoir, we now turn to playwright Gail Louw, who tells us more about how she formed a play from the book.
The Girl in the Green Jumper forms part of a larger season of Louw’s work from 21 Feb-24 Mar.
Where: Playground Theatre
When: 13-24 Mar
Ticket link: https://www.theplaygroundtheatre.org.uk/event-details/the-girl-in-the-green-jumper-by-gail-louw-2024-03-19-19-30
What inspired you to bring this book to the stage?
Some stories entice you because of the extraordinary circumstances in which the characters find themselves, some because of the extraordinary nature of the characters themselves.
Some are because of extraneous factors, luck, misfortune, timing, human frailties, and fallibilities.
And some, like The Girl in the Green Jumper, because it encompasses almost all of these factors.
It is a love story where the epicentre of the love moves and changes like a seesaw and dependence and power shifts dramatically.
The two protagonists are real fluid people whose changing needs and wants drive the story to its incredibly poignant end.
At the centre of the entire dynamic story is the magnificent art that is produced by the brilliant artist, Cyril Mann.
You had a couple of your plays staged at the Playground last year. What do you like about this venue?
I love The Playground Theatre and I love the people who run it!
It is an intimate space with a wonderful sense of a true theatre about it.
It started as a space to explore and test things – hence the name, playground. And it has not lost that innate sense of fun and ‘go for it’ atmosphere.
The people who run it, Peter Tate, Naomi Sorkin, and Helene Hipolito, are fantastically ‘can do’ people who support, encourage, and make things happen.
Was it challenging to fictionalise a character who is still living?
It was an absolute joy working with Renske Mann on this play.
Renske is an incredibly open and honest woman with one focal desire – that of keeping her promise to her late husband; ‘I will tell the world about you, Mr Mann’.
And she certainly has, with a wonderfully readable and interesting book, The Girl in the Green Jumper, and now the play.
When Renske and I first sat down over a lengthy afternoon to talk about the story, I was fascinated throughout by the dramatic nuances within it; alluring, sometimes bleak, yet consistently engaging.
There was no question in my mind that I needed to get beneath all that she was telling me, to find the truth. The truth was out there, bold and honest with all its funny, sad, disturbing and heartbreaking elements.
Apart from the insights into being an artist, she enabled me to understand the inner workings that comprise one specific artist, Cyril Mann, the blemishes and weaknesses and the reasons behind some of his almost pernicious actions.
Renske and I worked very closely on the play. She was able to suggest changes to the way I depicted his voice, so that it was more real and closer to Cyril. She often said, he wouldn’t use that word, or wouldn’t say that, and I was always happy to change it.
I trusted her with her knowledge of their story and her honesty, and she seemed to trust me with my skill as a playwright.
On that first day, she told me something shocking about Cyril that she had not included in her book or Facebook postings. I was intrigued and very keen to use it in the play.
At first she was unsure, and I suggested I included it but that I would delete if were she not happy. She never blanched from including it once she had read it, recognising as she did, that it added great value to the truth of their story.
Renske has the most enormous amount of energy and never refrained from reading, re-reading, making suggestions, adding ideas to make the play stronger, more relevant, and more riveting.
So, a short answer to your question, no, it was not challenging. It was essential and a real pleasure.
What is the major selling point of this play?
This is a story of love that is unequal, profound, damaging, life-enhancing and disturbing.
It covers themes relating to fame and frustration; the knowledge that what you, or your loved one, have to offer the world is, to a large extent, ignored by that world.
Yet, you maintain, albeit with huge challenges, the confidence and faith in the beauty, skill and genius of your work.
The two actors taking the roles of Cyril and Renske are both superb in their mastery of dramatic art and provide a masterclass in acting to the audiences.
Peter Tate as Cyril brings to the role the decades he has spent as an actor perfecting his craft, as well as, more recently, his experience playing Picasso to great acclaim.
Natalie Ava Nasr has vast experience and brings a naive strength to the role of Renske.