Perfectly fitting to start these series of articles is Rebecca Vaughan; Producer, Performer, Writer and Director of Dyad Productions. Dyad Productions is a firm favourite with Chelmsford Theatre Studio audiences and have been bringing their shows to us for over 10 years! We caught up with Rebecca ahead of their 15th visit to our venue earlier this year, here’s what she had to say.
Tell us a bit about you and what you do.
We tour the country (and internationally) touring theatre shows - usually up to five different shows per year! I created Dyad Productions back in 2009 to allow me to create work from scratch, as I was so interested in being a theatre-maker as well as an actor. I had so many ideas for shows, as well as adaptations, and Dyad wonderfully allows me to combine my passions for theatre, literature, history and everything else!
How would you describe Dyad Productions to someone who has never seen one of your shows?
Much of our work is solo work - as we’re fascinated to break the fourth wall and really bring the audience on the journey with us. We’re interested in igniting an audience’s imagination, in a way you feel when you read a book - so that you feel you’ve experienced the world rather than just passively watching something. We love to create work that’s really entertaining, and that also makes you think.
Dyad has a wonderful local following at Chelmsford Theatre. Tell us how it feels to return to the venue and the audiences who enjoy your shows.
Oh it’s just wonderful! The Chelmsford audiences are so warm and welcoming - and I always feel that they’re with me at every moment. The Studio is such a wonderfully intimate space for theatre. The whole tech team are just brilliant - so we absolutely adore coming back.
Last season we had comedy Austen’s Women: Lady Susan and the classic A Christmas Carol on in the Studio. This season we’re looking forward to General Medical Emergency Ward 10, what can you tell us about this new production?
This is our very first collaboration - with the very fabulous Gavin Robertson. Gavin is an internationally renowned physical theatre comedy performer and creator, and we’ve been promising to work together for years, and we’ve finally come up with this very silly idea! It’s basically a pastiche and parody of every hospital soap opera and film! It’s going to be very silly and very fun, and they’ll be three of us on stage - which we’re all very excited about.
How important are studio spaces to your production company?
We tour to vastly different spaces - from the smallest theatre in Scotland (the glorious Swallow Theatre) which is only 48 seats, to old Victorian proscenium arch theatres of about 600 seats. But there’s something so wonderful about a Studio space. The audience gets to see the whites of the performers eyes - and vice versa - which makes for a very magical intimate experience.
Can you share any future projects that are on the horizon?
Ooh - we have about 4 projects we’re considering, but they’re all in the very nascent stage - but I can say that they go all the way from 16th Century drama to hard-boiled 20th Century noir (and a few things in between).