Director Brittany Rex joins us today to talk about Cellar Door Theatre’s production of Radiant Vermin by Philip Ridley.
Following two sold-out nights in Surbiton, it now comes to West London.
Where: Drayton Arms Theatre
When: 4-5 Jun 2024
Ticket link: https://www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk/radiant-vermin
Let’s start with Cellar Door Theatre. Can you tell me a bit about the company?
We formed back in 2012, then had a bit of a hiatus and disbanded after Covid hit.
Now we are back together, and the emphasis is on social and moral dilemmas, the environment, things that affect society. We focus a bit on the darker side of life.
Radiant Vermin focuses on the housing crisis. It is an interesting play to bring back. It was in the West End in 2019.
In Cellar Door, we have about 10 of us who are core, and then others come in.
So you are reviving Radiant Vermin. It seems very pertinent today because of the homelessness and everything else that’s going on.
Definitely, and the fact that they’re talking about actually penalising people for being homeless. That’s why we did it. We’re exploring possibilities if it gains traction to have a homeless person in the show.
This run is kind of a tuning board to see how the production does, see what the audience feedback is.
It’s set in a dyspiopan future, and it doesn’t really have a time. It’s set in the future where they come up with a housing scheme.
You get a house free with no strings attached, but then, as the lead couple find out, when a homeless person breaks into their home and accidentally dies, their kitchen is suddenly transformed into the designer space they always wanted.
Any time there’s an injustice or death, then they can upgrade parts of the house. They realise that by taking advantage of this, they can get the house they always wanted.
There is a lot of religious language, a lot of heaven and hell language. At the end the husband feels they’re going to hell for everything they’ve done.
It is also something of a dilemma for the audience?
Yes, and during the show, the audience is asked,’How would you feel if this happened? Would you do the same?”, then they take votes on things like which room to renovate next?
It’s interesting that the audience is outside watching, and then the focus switches to them.
You’re doing two days at the Drayton Arms. Any plans to stage it beyond that? And what do you like about this venue?
It depends on the feedback and the response. After Surbiton, we wanted it to be seen somewhere more central. We’re very proud of it.
The Drayton Arms fits us as we like intimate spaces. When we talk about different rooms in the house in Radiant Vermin, it is all imagined, so it is physical elements and lighting. Stuff that is suggestive of the rooms, cubes that glow in the black box space.
It’s a great fit for us because they specialise in black box productions. We really like the vibe there and Audrey [Thayer] who runs it is great.
Also, they are right down the road from Centrepoint, the charity helping homeless young people, which is taking a cut from our ticket sales.
You’re originally from Florida. Do you see a lot of differences between the American and British fringe theatre?
I do. I’ve been here for 20 years and think the UK fringe is a lot more daring, with lots of new and different ideas people aren’t afraid to explore.
It’s easier to test new material here than in the US, which is still quite conservative. It’s not easy there if you aren’t in New York.
What about the cast of Radiant Vermin?
Kimberly, who plays Jill, she gives this kind of like angelic empathetic, sympathetic kind of performance, but she’s really, the mastermind of the whole thing, this like sweetly disguised devil.
Tom, who plays Ollie, he’s a great like versatile actor, very generous on stage. You’re kind of always either sympathising with him or you’re cheering him on. He carries out Jill’s evil deeds because he lives there and wants what’s best for their baby.
Stacey plays the person who works for the UK government who comes in with the scheme and picks this couple –Â her character is like this kind of Wizard of Oz a thing – but she also plays the homeless person.
She has this real vulnerability about her who can put across a character who might rather be your baby’s new nursery than live another night on the streets.