Five minutes with Philippa Lawford, director of Tightrope Productions

How did you get involved in drama at Oxford?
I directed Regents Park Collegeโ€™s Cuppers play โ€“ we did an extract from ‘Mercury Fur’. It was such a fun experience and I became friends with Kiya Evans and Alex Jacobs, who I now work with on everything (Kiya produces and Alex does our tech).

Whatโ€™s your happiest memory of drama at Oxford?
I had an amazing time at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer with ‘Sex Education’, which I directed. It was very exciting putting on a play at the Fringe and spending so much time with the cast in a new place.

Have you ever had a complete nightmare with a production going wrong?
In both of the plays I directed this summer, ‘Sex Education’ and ‘Baby Blues’, we had an actress drop out fairly last minute, so we had to scramble to cast someone else. It took a lot of emailing and messaging people but we found two wonderful replacements โ€“ one was cast the day before rehearsals began.

Whatโ€™s your favourite play, and how would you like to stage it in Oxford?
At the moment Iโ€™m thinking a lot about Shakespeareโ€™s ‘Pericles’ as Iโ€™m hoping to stage it next term. I donโ€™t want to give too much away but I want to break away from a completely naturalistic style and tell the story in as vivid and engaging a way as possible. I love Shakespeareโ€™s language and I just hope I can rise to the challenge of staging it.

Whoโ€™s your inspiration?
Peter Brook is an absolute hero of mine โ€“ The Empty Space introduced me to the extraordinary potential of the director โ€“ and his whole career is so inspiring.

Do you have any advice for freshers who might like to get involved in the Oxford drama scene?
I would encourage freshers not to let themselves be intimidated by the Oxford drama scene, as it can seem quite scary, because everyone seems to know everyone else. I think the bid system is great as it means that everyone has fair and equal opportunities to get a play on, and thereโ€™s no need to worry about knowing anyone or being somehow established in Oxford.

Are you working on any exciting projects at the moment that you can tell us about?
Yes! Iโ€™m working on ‘The Lieutenant of Inishmore’ at the moment, which is going to be on at the Keble Oโ€™Reilly in 5th week. Itโ€™s dark and hilarious. I canโ€™t wait to start rehearsals with our incredible cast and crew. I went to Inishmore a few weeks ago and since then I have been itching to get to work on creating the world of the play.

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