Caro Meets Theatre Interview

Robert Wolstenholme: Shang-a-Lang and all that

By TW Editorial | Published on Friday 24 January 2014

If you are a fan of Catherine Johnson, the scriptwriting talent behind ‘Mamma Mia’ – and even if you are not, frankly – you might be interested in the current revival of her play ‘Shang-a-Lang’, first produced at The Bush in 1998 and on this month and next at the King’s Head.

It’s a funny piece about three women, the Bay City Rollers, nostalgia for the seventies, and Butlins, and if that doesn’t sound like a recipe for success, I don’t know what does. To find out some more about the show I sent some questions over to director Robert Wolstenholme.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about the play and what happens in it?
RW: It’s about three old school-friends, Pauline, Jackie and Lauren, who go to a seventies weekend at Butlin’s to celebrate Pauline’s fortieth birthday. There are lots of surprises in the plot and I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s safe to say that nothing goes quite according to plan.

CM: What made you choose to stage this particular play?
RW: I saw the original production at The Bush in 1998 (I still can’t quite believe no-one has done it in London since then) and remembered how funny it was, so it fits right in with who we are and what we do. It’s also a rare play in that it features three strong female characters – not only that, they’re forty-year-old women and working class too – which I like. And funnily enough, ‘Shang-a-Lang’ was first released as a single in 1974, so that’s also forty – a neat tie up.

CM: Seventies nostalgia seems to be a core element of the show. Are you yourself interested by/nostalgic about seventies pop culture?
RW: To a degree – I’m interested in pop culture generally. But I think that while the play celebrates the seventies, it also suggests that nostalgia is sometimes a way of avoiding the truth of the present. Maybe teenage dreams aren’t that hard to beat after all…

CM: What are the aims of Signal Theatre? How did the company come together, and how frequently do you stage new productions?
RW: We produce revivals of modern comedies, either well-known or forgotten, and our goal is to make theatre that’s fun – as much fun to watch as it is to create. The company is director/producer Robert Wolstenholme (me) and actress producer Kellie Batchelor. We were at drama school together in the mid-late 90s, but met up again in 2007 when we produced Noel Coward’s ‘Private Lives’ at the Canal Café Theatre. We had such a good time doing it that we decided to do more of the same and Signal was born. We produce roughly one show a year and Shang-a-Lang is the fifth show we’ve done, and by far the biggest!

CM: Quite often a good play will be highly acclaimed on the fringe, or at a festival like Edinburgh, but then the play will never be developed further, or only given one or two more performances in its original form then forgotten. Do you think this is problematic, or do think it’s important for newer material to keep coming through?
RW: Well, on the one hand it’s great for us, because I can find a brilliant but neglected play like Shang-a-Lang and revive it. But on the other hand it’s a problem for the writers who get limited opportunity to see their work put on. On the other other hand (and I know that’s now three hands), theatre will always need new writers and new plays, otherwise it will stagnate.

CM: What’s next on the agenda? Any new productions in the pipeline?
RW: We’ve only just got this one up and running, so haven’t had time to think about that yet! We’ve got a few ideas, but nothing concrete.

CM: Who is better, Bay City Rollers or David Bowie?
RW: My personal taste would be for Bowie because he’s a real artist, but I’ve grown very fond of the Rollers through this play and their bubblegum pop is incredibly catchy.

CM: Which is better, ‘Shang A Lang’ or ‘Bye Bye Baby’?
RW: I prefer Shang-a-Lang and not just because it’s the title of the play – it’s a great pop song.

CM: Would you ever go on holiday to Butlin’s?
RW: Funnily enough, Kellie went to a Butlin’s weekender as ‘research’ for her character in the play. She had a blast, but wasn’t perhaps as wild as the women in the play!

Shang-a-Lang is on at King’s Head Theatre until 15 Feb, see this page here for more information and tickets.

LINKS: www.kingsheadtheatre.com | signaltheatre.com | twitter.com/SignalTC