Over the last 12 months I’ve fully fallen in love with the theatre. I guess I grew up with the impression that it wasn’t for me. Theatre is for posh people, right?
Apparently not. Rebutting the gentrification of theatre and trailblazing an uprising in our very own ‘North West End' mum and daughter duo Margaret Connell and Siobhan Noble have been working behind the scenes to create accessible theatre that everyone can enjoy, while also elevating women, their voices, and stories.
It was an absolute pleasure to speak to them about their work, love of theatre and each other this week. Whether you know them or not (I bet you probably do) there isn’t much that happens on a North West stage that these two aren’t involved with.
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Discussing her views on theatre, Margaret said: “I think it's really important for us to tell our own stories in our own voices, not just about trauma, but about joy, resilience, unity, laughter, and celebration and all the gorgeousness that working class life is wrapped in. Every time I see an old photo of kids in Liverpool making a swing on a lamp post, or using a mattress to slide downstairs in a bombed out building, I see joy and freedom.”
Siobhan added: “Art is a way to express yourself. Going to watch theatre is escapism, its therapy, it's a few hours living in a different world, and everybody deserves the opportunity to experience it and see themselves represented on stage. Theatre was a working-class pastime in Elizabethan times and through time, as with many things, the upper classes took theatre away from the working class, creating 'theatre etiquette' and making working class people feel othered in theatre spaces. For me it's so important to reclaim this.”
Siobhan is currently a Senior Producer at Prescot’s shiny new, multimillion pound Shakespeare North Playhouse. She said: "For Shakespeare North - Playhouse’s first Shakespeare title - we co-produced A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Northern Stage and Not Too Tame.
"Not Too Tame are a theatre company based in Warrington who make theatre for people who don’t think theatre is for them. Their adaptation, directed by Matthew Dunster, was unapologetically northern and working class and it drew an audience that reflected that. We saw groups of men in that you’d usually see going to the football, in the theatre. It was joyful to see."
So how did they get involved with theatre? Margaret said: "When I found myself divorced with three children at 30, I decided not to go back to work and went back into education instead. My first day at Sandown on a BTec course in Music, Dance and Drama, I found myself playing off ground tic with a load of 16-year-olds. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Following a pretty ugly divorce I needed to remember how to play. I'd found my tribe.
Siobhan added: "I grew up in the corner of rehearsal rooms. It was so much fun! My mum did loads of work with the Playhouse Youth Theatre and their rehearsal rooms were on Mathew Street, up this rickety flight of stairs. There was a wardrobe there, full of costumes and lots of rumours that it was haunted. It was so exciting! All my mum's friends were the most fun and interesting people.
“We probably saw some content that was too old for us too. I can still remember every song from a show about abortion laws in Ireland that my mum made when I was about 7. But I think it’s given me a great lens on the world. Theatre brings tough characters from all backgrounds, and to grow up in that world was a real privilege. It’s given me a very rich and different outlook on life.”
Margaret said: “When I left Liverpool Hope an opportunity came up to take over the Lantern Theatre from Liam and Clare Scott. This was a big risk, ploughing in most of my redundancy money from Liverpool Hope, but honestly, it's the best decision I have ever made for me and Siobhan. In the five years we were there we had a ball and met so many amazing people, many of whom I count amongst my closest friends. And we learned so much from it.”
Siobhan added: “We ran The Lantern as a team, we did everything from stocking the bar, cleaning the loos (the glamour) and programming what was on stage. I learned so much from our time there and it opened so many doors for both of us. After lockdown we also worked together on Shakers by John Godber for Liverpool Theatre Festival, it was really special to make our first piece of post pandemic theatre together, it was performed in the Bombed-Out Church and sold out even in the rain!”
We also discussed what the mum and daughter duo admire most about each other professionally, with Siobhan praising her mum's supportive nature and Margaret raving on about Siobhan's achievements.
Siobhan said: "My mum is so giving with her time and supportive of other artists. She’s like the theatre mum of Liverpool. Everywhere we go we bump into ex-students, or people she’s directed in shows. Everyone always bigs her up and lists all the ways she’s helped them. She’s really selfless with her time and gives amazing constructive advice.”
Margaret added: “I don't think I could single out one thing about Siobhan's professional achievements that I'm proud of. She smashes everything she does! She did try hard to avoid the theatre world initially, taking a job in a bank until I waylaid her and roped her into running The Lantern with me.
"Siobhan took over the marketing of the venue along with behind-the-scenes organisation and production, as if she'd been doing it all her life. She also went back into education and studied for a degree at John Moores University while working full time.
“Obviously, I'm really proud to see her in her current role at Shakespeare North Playhouse. It's an incredible space and it so good to see a theatre with a genuine commitment to creating work for and about a working-class audience.”
The two are currently two separate projects, with Margaret starring in 'Sweet Mother' and Siobhan working as Senior Producer at Shakespeare North Playhouse, which opened in July.
Margaret discussed her upcoming work and said: "At the moment I am working as an actor on 'Sweet Mother,' which is a long-standing verbatim theatre project that began at the Lantern Theatre as 'Married in Black' nine years ago. It's the brainchild of writer/producer Maria Paul and tells the stories of women from Liverpool who fell in love with and married Black men from the Liverpool 8 area in the 60's and 70's.
"I also have the last performance of 'Forgotten Voices', which I directed, at Story House Chester on Saturday 29th October. This is a one woman show that tells the story of writer, David Moorhead's grandmother Eva Kadalie, who married Clements Kadalie, the first black trade union leader in South Africa. Eva played a crucial role in laying the ground for the emancipation of South Africa and is played by Shereesa Valentine. Shereesa was nominated as Best Actress for the role at The Black British Theatre Awards.”
Siobhan says working at the new theatre has been a "wild ride but an absolute career high" since it opened in July. She added: "I’m currently Senior Producer at Shakespeare North Playhouse, we opened in July and its been a wild ride but an absolute career high. At the moment I’m working towards our first ever Christmas show A Christmas Carol adapted by Nick Lane and directed by Ellie Hurt, we began rehearsals this week which means mince pies in October, the buzz in the building is amazing, it’s going to be a magical show.”
I saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Shakespeare North with my son and was blown away by the immersive and hilarious take on Shakespeare. Part of the production integrates the use of British Sign Language as the actor William Grint is Deaf. This integration was heavily praised by reviewers.
I already have my tickets to A Christmas Carol. I’m all in. A fully fledged theatre lover, now.
With The Shakespeare North’s ‘Pay What You Decided’ initiative, you can grab theatre tickets for as little as £3 each. You can browse events and grab your tickets here https://shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk
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