TEMPO: Tell us about yourself and your background in theatre.
MAGGIE: I grew up in an arts family. My grandmother was an actress, as were my aunt and uncle. My mother was an opera singer and my stepfather a painter (fine arts, not houses, ha-ha). From the earliest memories I have, all the games I played with my cousins revolved around making a play, movies or TV shows. My first professional show was at the age of 15 in an Off-Off Broadway production of Ionesco’s The Leader. I have a BA in theatre-dance and went on to a long dance career in Las Vegas, Broadway Tour and international cabaret. In fact, I was in Abu Dhabi during the mid-eighties and started the Abu Dhabi Dance Theatre that performed for private functions in a variety of hotels. When I got too old to dance I turned back to theatre and for 15 years was director of drama and dance in a variety of schools in the UK. My inspiration for Resuscitation Theatre came whilst teaching A Level in Crawley. I applied for an ‘Awards for All’ grant to create community projects that put students onstage with community performers and so Resuscitation Theatre was born. In Abu Dhabi, I taught drama at British School Al Khubairat and I now lecture at the NY Film Academy.
TEMPO: How do you characterize Resuscitation Theatre?
MAGGIE: Its purpose is to reinterpret classic texts into modern theatre forms. I love the language of the classics, but modern audiences, especially young people, demand the visual as well as the aural. My background in dance affords me the ability to use movement as a metaphor. Resuscitation plays are full of symbolism and metaphor. I choose plays that are still relevant or have important messages.
TEMPO: What can the audience expect of The c?
MAGGIE: In this production the audience will be treated to spectacle. They will also participate, as it is in the style of promenade theatre which requires the audience to follow the actors. The audience is not expected to sit throughout the play and instead they may stand or lean against the wall. There will also be chairs and sofas. The doors open at 7:30 for drinks and snacks, to create a party atmosphere. Only 50 invitations (tickets) will be sold for each performance and tickets most definitely will need to be ordered in advance. They are available from the One to One Hotel reception desk.
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Sharon Thompson- I’ve been involved with dramatics since an early age and it’s great to be involved with such an enthusiastic and talented cast who so obviously love the ‘craft’. Maggie is an experienced and creative director who manages to put a whole new perspective on classic theatre.
Deborah Louson- I play the role of Julia and I’m the older member of the play and cast. This is my first play with Resuscitation Theatre and I’ve been with it since May. This is also my first regular acting part after many years. I acted in plays in university and I had a part in a musical with the Abu Dhabi Choral Group when we did The Music Man in 2009. As for this play, there was an e-mail sent out with a casting call, I answered it, auditioned and got the part of Julia, which is great fun!
Prabhath Dhevindra- I play the role of Peter. I heard of The Resuscitation Theatre and heard about this play through a casting call. I auditioned for the part and got selected. I think Maggie is a good leader; she is enthusiastic and full of ideas and I’m really glad to be working with such a wonderful team.
Ksenia Giorno – I’ve been in Abu Dhabi for four years and acting is my profession. This is my first play with Maggie and I play one of the four shades in the story. As shades, we just perform, we have no dialogue. We guide the characters through the story and the interesting part is that they don’t see us. We’re the magical part of the play, I guess. Each of the four of us represents a different colour and different part of the story and I think that makes the story unique. In addition to acting in this play, I am the Director Assistant, created the poster for the play and I’ve helped with costume creation.
Shiva Kojaki – I met Maggie at NYFA and was impressed with the approach she took with her last play, The Seagull, so when she asked me to be part of The Cocktail party I agreed right away. What I love about this play is that it’s very audience oriented, especially the shades who interact with the audience on a metaphysical as well as physical level.
Simone Grobbelaar – I play the pink shade and my name is ‘Silene’. I have a little experience, having done some children’s theatre back in South Africa, but this is my first real attempt at theatre. I met Maggie through the New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi, and she convinced me to become a part of the play. The shades seemed really interesting to me, and the more I delved into the movement sequences and the character itself, the more I fell in love with it. One of the things I love most about the part, is that it showed me where my restrictions as an actress lies, and with that knowledge, I continually gain more and more confidence and little by little those restrictions disappear.
Fatima Al Taei – This is my second opportunity to act with Maggie. The first time was when she directed The Seagull and I think it was pretty successful. One thing I realised was that my role in The Seagull was more attached to my reality as compared to my role with this play that is more in tune with my personality.
Ibrahim Al Khumiri – I’m a student at NYFA…I play one part of Edward and I believe Maggie’s vision of splitting the role made it a very diverse character, sort of like yin and yang, the opposites of the personality. When you’re an acting student it’s difficult to decide if you like film or theatre more, but through these experiences you get a chance to be in both worlds and personally I like theatre more because with theatre you are not confined to a screen but you are literally performing in front of an audience. It is also an amazing opportunity for me especially since I am an Emirati playing a leading role in an English play.
