Before I met up with playwright Mark Jenkins to discuss his latest piece, I’d heard a lot of curious things about the work. For a start, it’s award-winning, humorous and involves a real-life male pregnancy scare. But, assured that the life of this Canton-based writer isn’t as scandalous as the misogynistic Swedish playwright on whom he bases Strindberg Knew My Father, I met up with him to get the story straight.
Your play Strindberg Knew My Father obviously surrounds the Swedish playwright August Strindberg and I’ve noticed that a number of your previous works are of this biographical genre. What is your reasoning behind going for these?
Because they are very interesting people which is why they made their mark historically. I’ve written Playing Burton about Richard Burton, the Welsh actor. It has had 1,200 performances all over the world, including the Sydney Opera House. I’ve been at it a long time. I know a lot of people, from Edinburgh and places like that. I go to the Fringe quite a lot. We then had another really bit hit with Rosebud – The Lives of Orson Welles, based on another larger than life character. It won the best of the Edinburgh Fringe and went straight to New York.
What’s with the title of this piece?
My father never met Strindberg, he’d probably never even heard of him. It’s a play on words, from the old song Lloyd George Knew my Father. It doesn’t mean a damn thing.
Can you give me a brief outline of the play?
The story is how Strindberg came to write Miss Julie and how he paid the price – which was his wife walking out on him. His paranoid schizophrenia was coming on at this time, which is why he thought the Jews ran all the theatres and the lesbians were taking over the world. He was obviously off his head but he still managed to write wonderful plays. The story is how he is writing Miss Julie while his marriage is breaking up. His wife has locked him out of the bedroom and he is looking for affection elsewhere. He finds it in the arms of a 15-year-old girl. This affair is arranged by the girl’s half-brother, Ludwig, because he thinks Strindberg has lots of money. Ludwig then tries to get him on an underage sex change and he also suspects that he is being libelled in Miss Julie in the character of Jean. Ludwig was a complete unscrupulous scoundrel but Strindberg asked for it.
Although it’s a nineteenth century setting, the ideas that are dealt with such as feminism, socialism and mental illness are very modern ones. Nietzsche was all the range at the time. Strindberg starts a correspondence at the time and decides he’s been made pregnant by him. It sounds terribly complicated but, on stage, it’s all very easily to follow.
I saw a review that compared this work to the art of René Magritte. Is this a fair comment?
Yeah, it is a bit like that. You never quite know where you are. In this castle there were apparently ducks and chickens wandering around and a peacock that would fly in and out. It was a completely crazy household and there was a castrated cat called Ibsen, which Strindberg was delighted with because he hated Ibsen who was a feminist.
Brilliant. That seems to sum Strindberg’s attitudes up. Miss Julie is not comfortable reading for us ladies. To what extent does your play pick up on Strindberg’s more misogynist qualities?
Strindberg was a misogynist. And yet, he couldn’t do without women. Miss Julie is almost a feminist play as she is described by men, and her status is completely undermined the minute she submits to Jean’s sexual desire. She becomes immediately subordinate and walks out of the room holding the razor. Now Ibsen couldn’t have written that. What Strindberg is is a very honest misogynist. He knows women have had a tough time but thinks they deserve it really.
Is your Strindberg likeable?
He can be really funny, even when he’s being really bitchy. People will be rooting for him but, in the end, the women come out as the sane ones who understand why he is like he is.
Mark Jenkins’ play Strindberg Knew My Father is on at Chapter Arts Centre from Tue 11 – Sat 15 May. Book tickets online at www.chapter.org