“Imagine a man who cannot lie in a world full of lies. What will happen to him? That’s the hook. And what this play does so well is fit political opinions around personal stories,” Ronin Theatre‘s Alistair Nunn tells us during rehearsals of Sam Holcroft’s dark comedy A Mirror.
Bringing the West End hit to Oxford’s OFS from October 29, Ronin Theatre hopes their adaption will highlight the importance of freedom of speech and force us to consider what life would be like without it.
“A Mirror is a very unique piece and really spoke to us. We are always on the look out for interesting, relatable and dynamic pieces of 21st century theatre, something a bit different,” Alistair explains, “and A Mirror has a lot to say about the world. We think it’s terrific.”
Premiering in 2023 at the Almeida Theatre starring Jonny Lee Miller, A Mirror features two main characters – playwright Adem who wants to use art and theatre to reflect the world he’s living in, and Čelik who represents the government and is essentially a propagandist.
‘life isn’t straight forward, or just about goodies and baddies, but instead A Mirror asks whether we are really free to tell our own stories’
Čelik sees himself as someone who helps develop and support the arts, but really he is responsible for restricting its work by ensuring it reflects government beliefs, and colludes with the powers that be.
Alistair, one of Ronin‘s founders, is playing Čelik and says: “My character thinks he is a liberal patron of the arts and a benefit to society so he finds it really challenging when his actions are presented back to him as a propagandist. He finds that incredibly distressing and becomes angry when confronted with the reality of his actions. So this is also about how we differently we can see ourselves.
“A Mirror also ties in with what is happening around us in the world today and hopefully will encourage people to remember how important freedom of speech is, and the ability to live in a world where we can still talk and debate with people whose views we don’t necessarily agree with.”
‘A Mirror also ties in with what is happening around us in the world today and hopefully will encourage people to remember how important freedom of speech is’
Using a cast of six and a myriad of locations, A Mirror takes place in a fictional country, both global and unspecific. But if it all sounds a bit heavy, Alistair promises moments of depth and light.
“The characters are warm, funny, enthusiastic, supportive and human, so A Mirror is relatable and even funny in moments, full of emotional arguments, sharp reasoning, relatable characters, warmth and wit. It is entertaining, engaging and accessible, while having a strong message. What the play does so well is fit political opinions around personal stories,” Alistair explains.
Is he confident then of audiences still wanting to see current work? “If you go and see Romeo and Juliet you know what’s going to happen, but we present something completely new and full of surprises.
‘If you go and see Romeo and Juliet you know what’s going to happen, but we present something completely new and full of surprises’
“So while we understand people going to see classics or adaptions of films, we know that people still value seeing and experiencing something new, even if it is out of their comfort zone. We want to offer the audience a different perspective, and something to think and talk about.
“Because life isn’t straight forward, or just about goodies and baddies, but instead A Mirror asks whether we are really free to tell our own stories, or trapped in the versions written for us? And are confident this will do the trick.”
Sam Holcroft’s A Mirror is brought to Oxford’s Old Fire Station by Ronin Theatre from Wed October 29 – Sat November 1, 7.30pm (Sat matinee 2.30pm) Tickets at https://oldfirestation.org.uk/whats-on/a-mirror-by-sam-holcroft/
