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The Royal Society of Edinburgh Joint event with the Edinburgh International Festival Anything That Gives Off Light In conversation with Davey Anderson Davey Anderson – Co-Writer and Associate Director, Anything That Gives Off Light Professor Jan McDonald FRSE – University of Glasgow Tuesday 21 June 2016 Report by Matthew Shelley The Edinburgh International Festival will see the world premiere of Anything That Gives Off Light, a much-anticipated co-production by The National Theatre of Scotland and Brooklyn- based ensemble The TEAM. The play’s co-writer and associate director, Davey Anderson, discussed his work and life with Jan McDonald FRSE, Professor Emerita, University of Glasgow. Christopher Wynn, Development Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, sent a message describing Anything That Gives Off Light as a highlight of 2016. Introduction Professor McDonald said that while Davey was not born in a trunk, “the theatre was a significant part of his DNA”. He was raised in the world of Wildcat, the radical theatre company of which his father was a co-founder. Despite initially aiming for a career in music, he discovered a love of working with words as well as notes. After graduating from the University of Glasgow in 2002, Davey’s career blossomed. In that last 14 years, his output has been prodigious, having written 13 plays, four of which he has directed, undertaken three associate directorships and been musical director and composer of six productions. His plays Snuff, The Static and Blackout are all available in print. In Scotland, he has worked with the Arches, the Tron and the Traverse and in London, he has had plays performed at the Cockpit, the Donmar Warehouse and the Barbican. Davey’s international connections stretch from Brazil to Istanbul. Career highlights have included winning the Arches Theatre New Directors Award, which allowed the production of his play Snuff, which examined war, racism and the impact of asylum seekers. This led to his continuing association with the National Theatre of Scotland as dramatist, composer, director and musical director. He won a critics’ award for the musical score of Black Watch. Given the opportunity to work with an overseas company of his choice, Davey came upon TEAM (Theatre of the Emerging American Moment) while at The Edinburgh Fringe. Attracted to its quality, energy and radical politics, it marked the dawn of an ongoing collaboration. The first fruit was Architecting, which won a series of awards, and it has now given rise to Anything That Gives Off Light. 1 Davey Anderson Davey spoke about his career, charting how he came to be involved with the National Theatre of Scotland and the new production being developed for the Edinburgh International Festival. The team of five who are writing Anything That Gives Off Light share a mutual fascination with the great issues facing the UK and USA. These range from British and European identity and the recent Referendum to political violence and extremism in America and the future Presidency. Davey said an interest in immediate and driving social forces has been central to much of his work, including Snuff. This responded to the Iraq war and the experience of soldiers returning to working-class areas of Glasgow after years of conflict. It also focused in on the tension and fear of strangers that arose in communities as increasing numbers of asylum seekers were moved in to share areas of poor quality social housing. When Davey took Snuff to The Edinburgh Fringe, he met John Tiffany and Vicky Featherstone, who were “in the midst of setting up this incredible move – an experimental national theatre without walls.” He was invited to become the first Director in Residence and worked on the first ever National Theatre of Scotland production, called Home. Shows took place around the country; so that no matter where in Scotland someone lived, they were within 90 minutes of Home. In the same season, Davey was asked to become responsible for the sound track of Black Watch. Their focus was the deployment of the Black Watch in Fallujah and the “historical irony” that one of their toughest missions came at the very moment that they were told the regiment was to be disbanded. The play used comedy, song and movement to tell a real-life story in as theatrical a way as possible – political cabaret. Davey’s own role was to breathe new life into old Black Watch songs. He described the first night as a “terrifying moment”, as the audience contained many veterans who began singing along to the songs – only to stop half way through because the new arrangements were completely unfamiliar. The production was an immense success – telling afresh the story of soldiers, the job we ask them to do and our “crazy expectations of them”. At this point, Davey encountered TEAM and went to see their show Particularly In The Heartland. He said: “It absolutely blew my mind, because not only was it put together in a way that I found deeply exciting, it was also about subject matter that was difficult and challenging and invigorating.” Davey admired their consensual approach that was both an experiment in democracy and concerned with democracy. So when he was given the chance to work abroad, “it had to be them, as I didn’t think anyone else was doing anything quite like that”. The first co-production was Architecting, “a big ambitious piece” covering themes including the reconstruction of American society after the Civil War. While in New York for the play’s development, Davey was particularly impressed with TEAM’s approach, which involved intense research, sharing of ideas, improvisation and synthesis. Subsequently, Davey and TEAM Artistic Director Rachel Chavkin started discussing and contrasting Scottish and US history and cultural identity. These discussions proved to be the genesis of Anything That Gives Off Light. Looking back to the Enlightenment, they noted how 1776 was the year of revolution in America and also of Adam Smith’s publication of The Wealth of Nations. They also talked about their countries’ ideas of themselves. Davey said: “If you think about the movie Karate Kid, it’s a real ordinary guy who triumphs against the odds in the end. The underdog comes good and snatches victory from the jaws of defeat. That wouldn’t be the ending in Scotland – it would end when he breaks his leg. “Why do the Americans have this story that they tell themselves that they are the underdog, but if they try hard enough everything will come good in the end; 2 whereas we have a story we tell ourselves time and time again that things are predestined to failure?” Eventually, three characters emerged who are at the heart of the new play. One is a man who found success by heading south and is now on a homecoming; another is a chippy “left-behind Scot” and “a kind of Adam Smith character”. While the third is Red who, unlike the many American visitors keen to discover the land of their ancestors, has no interest in Scotland. Her fiancé had chosen it as their honeymoon destination, but the wedding was called off and she decided to make the trip anyway. The result is an archetypal group of two men and a woman on a road trip – but one that defies the logic of time and space, encompassing the past and present of Scotland and the USA. Research took them to Virginia – and discussions with an array of people from Presbyterian ministers to ranchers and campaigners promoting the right to carry concealed weapons. Davey said: “And now we are trying to incorporate all of that into the new draft – and, of course, it will all become about gun control, the EU Referendum and the rise of the far right in America.” Questions Asked if the play’s collaborators had considered including anything about Scotland and slavery, Davey said they have been looking at what a country chooses to forget as well as remember. This included the way Scotland often tells itself it was a victim of British imperialism, whereas it was often a fully-signed-up participant. On process, Davey explained that many of the methods he had seen in Architecting are also used in Anything That Gives Off Light. Each of those involved has carried out research and shared their ideas; themes have been explored and the collaboration is intense and democratic. One thing that has changed is a reduction in long-form improvisation and an increase in targeted writing. Questioned about the number of people contributing to the play’s development, Davey said: “There is not a big, clear distinction between the creative and the production team”. In addition to the five writers, there are contributions from the three band members (not least in writing lyrics), designer, the sound engineer and others. Further describing the process, Davey said that a great deal of role-play is used “acting stuff out like kids do”. They use all the theatrical tools at their disposal, he added, hitting emotional as well as intellectual buttons. Asked if the Brexit Referendum would make a difference to the final draft of the play, Davey said: “Yes is the short answer; we just don’t know how yet.” It has made the creative group think again about nationhood and sovereignty. He expressed concern that the UK, Europe and America may be undergoing a shift in political gravity and heading in an undesirable direction. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of the RSE, nor of its Fellows The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s National Academy, is Scottish Charity No.

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