Stuart Macbeth meets one of the stars of a radical theatre experience

Last year director Chris Goode and the Oxford Playhouse called for local people to come forward with tales of something, or someone, they had stood up for. In walked six ordinary people, all united by the same motivation — to make a better future.

The result was Stand, a verbatim piece of theatre performed by six actors, which debuted at West Oxford Community Centre. Tonight it comes to Banbury as part of a two-month tour of the UK which began last week at Oxford’s Old Fire Station.

Chris Goode is renowned for making innovative theatre based on the words of real people. Actors retold the words of children in his previous show Monkey Bars. In Stand he examines the moments where ordinary people did what others didn’t — or wouldn’t — do.

The staging is simple. Six actors sit by a table with a script. One is Michael Fenton Stevens.

“It’s quite different from a written script,” he says. “The words are direct transcripts of what was said. They have all the mistakes and ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ we all have in our natural speech.”

Stevens’ character Adrian tells of how he fought to save the Jericho Boatyard in Oxford: “I was offered the part by Chris, who must have seen something of Adrian in me.”

Like all the characters, Adrian has chosen to fight for a cause. Others engage in environmental activism or fight for animal rights.

Reading real people’s words on stage is a challenge. “It is our job to be very accurate with what was said. At the same time we have to interpret the words as actors. It is amazing how fluent and poetic some of the lines are.”

Stevens, who also stars in ITV’s sitcom Benidorm, fell into acting at university. “I was supposed to be a lawyer. I went to Edinburgh to the festival and the show we did there was offered a radio series on the BBC. After that, I just kept going.”

What’s it like working with Goode? “We have all learned to trust his working methods,” Stevens enthuses. “He’s very different from many other directors I’ve worked with in the past.

“Chris listens and gives you time to make your own decisions. He gently guides you but is not prescriptive. It’s a relaxed and enjoyable way to work.

“It took several weeks to read through all the transcripts and discuss the people we were about to play. We then met them and were able to ask our own questions. Some of this was incorporated in to the final piece.”

At West Oxford Community Centre last May, Stand won critical acclaim and a string of sell-out performances.

Having acted in London venues such as the Almeida and the Aldwych, what was it like for Stevens to slog it out in Oxford’s rather less glamorous ‘west end’? “The first performances were unique. We sometimes had friends of the people we were playing in the audience, or the people themselves. This gave the shows a very immediate feel.

“Every show is different. Some audiences are more vocal, or react more to the piece. But every show had a definite effect.”

Stevens has a gruelling schedule. “I’m filming a new television series with Andy Hamilton, who wrote Outnumbered. It’s a series set on a group of battle buses touring the country trying to get votes leading up to the General Election.

“I’m then recording an audio book of Terry Pratchett’s final novel. After we finish Stand, I’m flying out to Spain to film more of Benidorm. So I’m lucky enough to be very busy.”

Of the upcoming run of Stand he reflects: “I love working with my fellow performers. They surprise me every day and I never tire of hearing and watching them work.”

What does he hope audiences will take from his performance at The Mill?

“I hope they will get an accurate sense of Adrian, his life and what he has been trying to do. I don’t want them always to like him but I do want them to understand him and what he has sacrificed for his beliefs. I really like him — but I couldn’t ever be him.”

Stand
The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury
Tonight (Thurs)
Tickets: £13 (£11 concs) themillartscentre.co.uk