This month, Sheffield’s Playhouse theatre welcomes a brand-new play to its stage. Written by Eve Leigh and directed by Laura Keefe, Wildfire Road tells the story of a group of strangers thrown together by chance on a flight to Tokyo as it is hijacked. Whilst comedic in nature, the play at its core brings home an important message centred on the climate crisis. Olivia Warburton sat down with actors Siubhan Harrison and Mark Weinman, who star in the show, to hear what they had to say about what audiences can expect, how rehearsals have gone so far and their time in the Steel City.
Without giving too much away, what can audiences expect from Wildfire Road?
SH: Essentially, it’s a play about climate change. A story about a group of strangers who come together in a crisis, experience this stressful scenario and the comedy that can arise from those moments. But also, it’s about the future of the earth.
MW: It’s hard because we have the future and, like Siubhan mentioned, we have these inner monologues from the passengers on board the plane and then we have these direct address moments to the audience. We straddle these different perspectives of what would be a linear journey through the play. I guess it explores time, as we mention it quite a lot.
If you had to categorise it into one genre, what would you say it is?
MW: We are still exploring what that is. There’s definitely a lot of comedy in there. We have this lovely steer from our writer, Eve, who on the front page of the script says as a direction, ‘if in doubt, play it light; if in doubt, play it funny’. I guess at the heart, what’s anchoring the play is the climate crisis, something very serious, so I think we’re trying to explore how people find humour in those moments of panic and crisis.
SH: I mean the message is very clear: that we have to do something about the future of the world, our behaviour on this planet and what it does for future generations. But it’s not approached in a patronising style. It’s approached in a funny way, which hopefully will get the message across without it feeling like we’re doing a play about climate change.
Written by Eve Leigh and directed by Laura Keefe, Wildfire Road tells the story of a group of strangers thrown together by chance on a flight to Tokyo as it is hijacked.
I know you mentioned you have just done your first stagger through of the play in its entirety, but how would you say rehearsals have been going as a whole?
MW: It’s just been so much fun.
SH: It’s a really silly, creative rehearsal room that’s led wonderfully by Laura Keefe which encourages us to play with endless options. There’s nothing too silly that anyone can do.
MW: Everyone is so willing to jump in and try something. There is never a moment where we sit around not knowing. If we can even take one little bit from that as an ingredient and use that going forward, then we use it.
How would you both describe your characters?
SH: I play Marina, a flight attendant. The interesting thing about flight attendants in this scenario is the necessity to keep it together for the sake of the other passengers. It is her job to be professional at all times, so it’s interesting to see the moments when she unravels and the moments when she forces herself to put on a positive face.
MW: Dave is a bit of a lost soul. He’s in a bit of a mundane job, doesn’t really feel like he’s moving forward and I think he’s searching for some sort of adventure that’s going to take him forward, hoping that it’s going to open new doors for him. He’s a bit of a loner and I have kind of attached him fixed with technology and sci-fi-y stuff, but I think he’s looking to break away from that. He just wants to make a human connection.
How would you say Wildfire Road compares to shows either of you have previously worked on?
SH: On the first reading, I don’t think I got most of it. It is so layered. Then, I read it again and had no idea how it was going to work on stage, how Laura was going to make it come to life. That, for me, was really exciting. The rehearsal process and exploring all the possibilities has been such a wonderful thing. It’s new writing, which is always exciting because you’re not recreating or reimagining. It’s completely new, which means that everything is possible. I really like doing new writing for that reason, because there are so many options you can explore.
MW: I definitely agree. The first time I read it, I was like, ‘I need to read that again’. My head was a bit frazzled. What I did see in it were some really beautiful, human moments. There’s some real naturalism in there amidst the chaos which was really lovely. I always do a thing where I put my ‘IKEA’ hat on and ask what’s missing from the play; because when you get instructions from IKEA to assemble something, there’s always a part missing. I think that’s always a good way to read the script. Whatever is missing is the bit that excites me with the script, and I remember very much thinking that with this.
How have you found being in Sheffield so far?
MW: I’ve worked in the building a couple of times running auditions for National Youth Theatre over the years. I’ve always enjoyed those weekends when I was doing it, but I didn’t know the city at all. I’ve got a couple of friends here and I’m enjoying meeting up, and I’m going to do some walks. It’s also just really friendly.
SH: It’s unbelievable how friendly everyone is.
MW: Everyone says hello, thank you and looks you in the eye. It’s great. It’s scary that two hours away on the train can be that different. That says more about London unfortunately. That’s also what is really nice about the theatre: it feels very much like it’s a family-run venue.
SH: I’ve been here for ages because my partner was in Standing at the Sky’s Edge, which has just been on, so I spent a lot of time visiting. Every Sunday we had a walking club and would go out into the Peak District and walk. It’s so beautiful. The scenery is incredible. We’ve had a lot of good Sunday roasts. Brilliant pubs. Brilliant vegan food.
How are you both feeling ahead of opening night?
SH: There’s exciting work to be done, but I think the show will be really entertaining and hopefully it will be powerful in its message.
MW: There are a few movement numbers in there that I need to go over. What is glorious is everyone is so good at helping each other out. I’m slightly slower at picking up some of the musical numbers, but everyone is just so patient and kind. We’ve got plenty of time. I’m not worried about it. It’s a good place to be because it means you can go into that final week, finesse it and your mind is extra switched on. Opening night will be fun. It’s a short run though, two weeks, so it’s going to be strange. We will get to the end and feel like we’re just getting into the swing of it.
SH: That’s actually something really amazing about Sheffield, specifically the Playhouse, that they do such short runs of new writings. It’s a really unique thing. It means that they are constantly getting new people in and pushing themselves, and the audiences have always got something new to see.
Wildfire Road runs at the Playhouse from 4th-18th March. Tickets (£22) and more info at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
