Rachel O’Riordan
With an awards cabinet that’s slowly filling up, the Sherman Theatre is one the rise. Fedor Tot talks to Rachel O’Riordan about the recipe to stage success.
The Sherman has been receiving plenty of plaudits and awards lately, including winning an Olivier. What is the secret behind that success?
I think we’re being recognised because the work we’re making is relevant and resonating with our audiences, and also is of a quality that is being recognised as top end in the UK theatre scene – which is shown through the Olivier Award. There’s no real secret to it, it’s a mixture of good planning, hard work, brilliant writing, brilliant acting, and an understanding of why we’re making the work we’re making.
With the Sherman’s original productions, how do you decide whether a particular play is worth producing?
I often choose the plays on instinct, although there is obviously planning involved. Every Christmas since I started here, we’ve produced a big colourful spectacle with live music, for the main stage show. I had an instinct that it would work and it’s proven to be the case – people love our Christmas shows. I also have a real focus on developing Welsh writers and playwrights. I ask myself, is this a writer I think will benefit from our support? I’m also very committed to making sure our work doesn’t just begin and end in Cardiff, but that we showcase the work more broadly, on the global stage. Brad Birch, a Welsh playwright who we’ve produced recently with Tremor, his work is now in New York.
What challenges are there for regional theatres outside of London being able to reach their intended audiences?
The concept of who is the intended audience is always a key consideration here – we are really committed to developing the next wave of talent, but there’s no point in that if there’s not an audience for it. We have to be proactive about finding an audience. We’ve produced two community plays in the past two years, one called Home, and one called Love Cardiff, both of which are performed by members of the immediate community and are about [them]; you have to adapt constantly. If you’re a good artist you will adapt, but you’ll also lead and demonstrate why theatre is so important, because it’s how we understand society, and how society understands itself.
If you could recommend one unique place in Wales to a first-time visitor that not many people would know about, where would it be and why?
Cathays Park in the centre of Cardiff – it’s just the most calm and beautiful oasis in the middle of the city. There’s the Wales National War Memorial there, which is inscribed in Welsh on the outside and English inside. I think it’s just the most extraordinary, peaceful place.
Info: www.shermantheatre.co.uk