Amy catches up with Henry Madd, who wrote and performs in Land of Lost Content at the Arcola Theatre before heading on tour.
What does it mean to you to stage your autobiographical show for audiences around the UK?
When people ask where I’m from I have this long winded but well-rehearsed spiel along the lines of “Have you heard of ——? Well go a few hours this way, then that way, kind of near there, but more over here.” So, to be able to tour the length and breadth of the country telling the story of my experiences growing up there is mind-boggling. It also feels important, if that’s not too egotistical to say. I think we’re talking about a place and issues that don’t get a lot of air time in mainstream media.
How important is it to you to portray such a nuanced friendship?
Most of the time when TV/film/theatre portray rural stories, the characters are played out stereotypes with exaggerated accents. My goal in writing the show was to be like, “Hey look, these places exist and they are full of very real people trying their best even if they end up getting it wrong.” It was also to explore the murky nature of relationships: is it possible to forgive someone who’s done something unforgivable if you know they weren’t in their right mind when they did it?
How do you approach striking a balance between heavy topics and humour?
It’s a hard balance to get. You don’t want to beat the audience over the head with heavy topics, but you also can’t pretend they don’t exist. It’s like you have to wrap the audience up with bubble wrap before you fire them out of a canon. The balance is worked out by trial-and-error; if the performers are feeling miserable the audience probably is too. I would say trust your gut, but my gut has proven untrustworthy.
What do you hope those who have grown up in more urban areas take from the show?
At its core the story is about friendship, and most of the themes are pretty universal so it should be relatable to audiences from rural and urban areas alike. However, I’d hope audiences who have grown up in urban areas see that these problems exist outside of urban environments, and they need to be talked about.
What are some shows/books/plays that inspire you?
In 2017 I saw Helen Heckety’s autobiographical show To Helen Back. It was the first time I’d seen a spoken word theatre show and was like, “That’s what I want to do!” Jez Butterworth is a big one, might be cliché to say but it can’t be avoided, Jerusalem had a huge impact on me. Also, Michael Pederson’s book Boyfriends really reaffirmed the importance of talking about and celebrating platonic love. If anyone has contact details for these people, please invite them to the show.
What would you say to audiences who are deciding whether to buy a ticket?
I would say: Please buy a ticket.
The style of the show and the content can make it a bit of a hard sell but (almost) everyone who has seen it has been glad they took the risk. If nothing else, the show is only 60 minutes, so come on, take a punt on it – if you don’t like it, you’ll still have something to talk about!
Land of Lost Content is on at the Arcola Theatre 27 February – 2 March. You can buy tickets here.