Samantha German and cast interview

Samantha German is destined to be one of the brightest talents of the future!  Writer, director and producer Samantha German talks to Jacqueline Sharp, about how extensively she researched the life of Vivien, and how her idol inspired her to write this production.

I highly recommend this production.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW by Jacqueline Sharp

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MAEVE McCLENAGHAN, ORLANDO JAMES AND SAMANTHA GERMAN, TOURING WITH VIVIEN, CHIMERA THEATRE GROUP, EDINBURGH FRINGE

Questions put to Orlando James, Actor

Q               I see you as a young Richard Burton, rather than a Laurence Olivier, how do you feel about that?

A               I’m flattered.  I hadn’t really thought about how I had been perceived until now, I had intentionally not set out to mimic Laurence Olivier, as I didn’t want to be seen as a copycat of him.  I am pleased that at least you compared me to someone from the 1950’s, as it was a community era of social circumstances, old style theatre, where actors would have a cup of tea together, living room glamour.  This is exactly how I wanted to have been perceived. 

Q               I see your career as a big movie star of the future, do you?

A               I am still in my third year at a drama centre in London, I graduate next year in July.  Movies are an amazing pursuit, my first love is stage though, it is a privilege for me to do that, but I could be tempted into movies if the offer was right.

Q               Your role is very intense, lots of rages, how do you chill out from your role?

A               I use a lot of my self in the role, where my morals and principles are similar.  I see Laurence Olivier, as a deeply complex man, with so much passion for the stage and his work.  His relationship with Vivien was always a fight, he was torn between her and his career. 

Q               Why did you enjoy playing the part of Laurence Olivier?

A               He was an icon of British Theatre; it is a privilege to play part of his life.

Q               Did you do research for the part?

A               Yes, lots of books, especially Laurence Olivier biography “confessions of an actor”.

                  I was transfixed, reading memoirs and I went to The British Film Institute to research his life.

Q               What have you learnt from this role?

A               Testing and training as an actor.  I felt free and more relaxed to flourish in my career, outside drama school.  The pressure is also exciting.

Questions put to Samantha German, Writer/Director/Producer

Q               Are you going on tour with Vivien?

A               Yes, we are hoping to take the production to London later on in the year, however this is in the early stages. 

                  We are recording Vivien as a radio play, with BBC Radio Scotland on 14^th August 2008, at 1.25 in the afternoon, on the radio life programme slot, which will last ten to fifteen minutes long.

                  We have no plans to do any television work with the production at the moment as the script would need rewritten in a different format.

Q               I was particularly interested that you duplicated the beginning scene at the end, with both the narrator, and Vivien and Jack, what was your thinking behind this?

A               I didn’t want the script to be traditional, its unconventional, cinematic, movie style theatre.  I had to span someone’s life of twenty years into a fifty minute time capsule.

                  Her life did come full circle and that is what I had wanted to achieve with the beginning and end.  Their relationship was doomed and I wanted to get that across by starting at the end, their marriage was over before it begun.

Q               Three of the main characters were men in the script, all lovers of Vivien, as well as mention of her flirting with others; do you think Vivien was a man-eater?

A               She had bi-polar disorder, lots of sexual energy and was vulnerable and promiscuous.

Q               Did you do lots of research on Vivien?

A               Yes, I researched for six years, as well as write.  I read all of the memoirs and read Alexander Walker’s Vivien.  I researched bi-polar disorder, as it was a huge part of her life.

Q               What are you writing now?

A               Laughs!  I’m giving you exclusive information now, you are the first to hear and you are also one of the first people in the World to see my production Vivien. 

                  I am in the early stages of research, I am writing about Jeff Buckley.

Q               Who is he?

A               He is an American rock musician, singer songwriter of 1990’s era.  He is now dead.

Q               Why did you choose Vivien and now Jeff to write about?

A               I liked both characters.  I immerse myself trying to understand people, what makes them the people they are, hard times make people who they are and especially what is happening behind closed doors.  I like to highlight their struggles all that are hidden, such as illnesses, addictions and social issues.  The private part of their lives is hidden, but for me it is the most interesting.

Q               So are you interested in sociology and psychology then?

A               Laughs!  Yes, but I don’t study them, I explore characters such as Vivien and Jeff and bring to the theatre the hidden parts of their lives.

Q               There was a lot of pent up scenes in your script, especially the floor scene where Laurence throws Vivien on the floor, what gave you the idea for that scene?

A               In Laurence Olivier biography and memoirs, he openly talks about how he threw her on the floor, she hit her head and soon after he moved out of the house.  He was terrified of the relationship, a passionate love affair, becoming violent.  Her neediness tired him out, they both clashed.

Q               Why do you think your production of Vivien is different to the others?

A               As far as I know there is not much around about Vivien.  I only know of two, there was a television series that aired in the 1980’s and which toured Australia.

                  The other one is a one woman show called Vivien, Last Press Conference, by an American Company, touring in the United States.

                  Perhaps there is very little theatrical work around about Vivien Leigh and Laurence Oliver because people don’t put in the time to do the research.

Questions put to Maeve McClenaghan

Q               Vivien was very vulnerable and needy how did it make you feel?

A               There was a lot of intensity in her life, I had to enact within this role, her life, she changed from one extreme to another very quickly, extremely gelling scenes.

Q               Did you see this as a very challenging and demanding role then?

A               This has been a learning curve for me playing Vivien.  It has been challenging, and totally exhausting, at the same time. 

Q               Did you research for your role as Vivien?

A               Yes, I read all her biographies, especially those by Alexander Walker and Hugo Vickers.  I especially liked reading Anne Edward, The life of Vivien Leigh.  I loved watching all her movies and would mimic her mannerisms and voice whenever I could to prepare for the role and studied the highs and lows of her life.

Q               Who do you think she was in love with?

A               Laughs, Laurence Olivier was the love of her life.  The entire world knew she didn’t know who she was without him.  She needed him; he didn’t need her as much, preferring to concentrate on his work.  He was driven by his career, Vivien knew that and it hurt her badly.  She would go crazy living off 2 hours sleep, he couldn’t cope, and he was a normal person.  In her desperate moments she associated him with life as a reason to keep living.

Q               I see you as being a famous actress in theatre one day, what are you planning to do with your career hereon?

A               I am hoping to grow with Chimera Theatre Group.  I also hold down a full time job.