no love songs; interview with creators Kyle Falconer and Laura Wilde
The five-star hit musical is set for a London transfer at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant. You can catch it between the 4th and 15th of June for a guaranteed, heartbreakingly beautiful night at the theatre! No Love Songs is co-directed by Dundee Rep’s Artistic Director, Andrew Panton and Associate Director Tashi Gore.
Synopsis:
A personal story of love and new parenthood, dealing with the subject of post-natal depression. This original new musical follows Lana and Jessie as they learn to navigate the unique challenges of their new lives as parents
Creative Team:
- From an original idea by Kyle Falconer and Laura Wilde
- Songs by: Kyle Falconer (The View)
- Book by: Laura Wilde and Johnny McKnight
- Directed by: Andrew Panton and Tashi Gore
- Musical Direction and Arrangements: Gavin Whitworth
- Lighting Design: Grant Anderson
- Sound Design: Ritchie Young
- Set Design: Leila Kalbassi
- Costume Design: Cate Mackie
Cast:
Lana: Anna Russell Martin
Jessie: John McLarnon
Q&A
‘‘How wonderful to see you staying true to your Scottish roots and honouring where you started. I know, especially for you Kyle, being in the public eye from a young age, people often forget where it all began. I wanted to say congratulations on such a heartfelt show that after popular demand… is back! With a Scottish creative team (and humour) and a fringe premiere of gig theatre at its finest, we are here today to chat all about No Love Songs’’.
1. Q: Since the initial album was called No Love Songs For Laura, is there a particular reason or meaning behind the musical just being called No Love Songs?
1. A: (Laura) Yeah, so when we first started it was still called No Love Songs For Laura when we did the first 30-minute showcase performance and before doing the full piece at Dundee Rep. It was a mixture of reasons; we wanted to make it more universal to people watching so they don’t necessarily need to know us or our story. We didn’t want it to be too personal to us, even though it is based from our real story and real experiences, we wanted to reach a wider audience with it. Also, the names of the characters in the show changed and there was confusion from people, trying to connect it too closely to us. When Andrew Panton, director, asked us how we felt about No Love Songs it just sounded brilliant!
2. Q: How does it feel to have your own story depicted on stage? What impact did that have on casting and communicating acting choices with the cast? What was the research process like for something so vulnerable and personal?
2. A: (Laura) Well from the get-go, when we went in to develop it Andrew Panton was saying ‘I have these two actors that are brilliant for just coming into the first dress and build with’. And then I think the plan had always been to either cast them or find other people. But when we met them, we loved them, they really understood how emotional it was and they took it onto their own so well. It was a really emotional journey with them, we would be crying coming off stage, hugging each other and thanking them for their brilliance. It was vulnerable. We have also recast our leading lady for this new run, as the wonderful Dawn is so busy, and we always knew that was gonna happen. Anna Russell Martin will be playing Lana and she’s done wonderful stuff, so I am really looking forward to seeing how she turns it into her own piece. In terms of guiding actors, it wasn’t so much of ‘be like us’ or anything like that because we wanted to feel like it could be anyone. So that someone in the audience feels like it could be them, without de-personalizing it too much. They are brilliant actors, they were off-book so quickly, it was amazing!
2. A: (Kyle) I think the creative process at the start when it was table reads, and seeing the show developing was really cool. When we had all the songs sorted, me and Luara sat down before and decided where to put each song for the original story. When we started speaking to Andrew, we realized there were too many songs, so everything started to slowly come together and seeing it in the flesh was pretty cool. We originally started to do the full story, hence why we changed the names and weren’t sure if people needed to know this stuff, it was too deep and emotional. I think it made the actors feel uncomfortable as well when they were sat in the room and talking about something so dark. It didn’t feel necessary.
2. A: (Laura) I think we have taken our journey but de-personalized parts that didn’t need to necessarily be included for it to be relatable and a good piece. I mean certainly the journey that they go on is our journey, so it still feels personal and nice to see.
3. Q: I know that for you Luara this is the first time (in that degree) that you are tuning into your own creativity in such a big role. I was wondering if this has awakened a passion of yours to be doing more projects in the future?
3. A: (Laura) Yeah definitely! I have always doubled in writing and things just personally that I have kept to myself. When I met Kyle I felt like it was such a safe space, he is such a creative person and built it out of me. When I showed him he was like ‘You should do something!’ so he has definitely motivated me and inspired me to do that. And then doing this I just felt really good with the team and felt connected. I thought ‘Yeah, I could be doing this!’ and definitely gave me a boost. I think it’s quite nice because of what the subject is about and has definitely motivated me to work on more things in the future.
4. Q: Gender Roles & Mental Health. The reason why people love most shows from a true story is because they are real and raw and have heart and depth. There are no masked feelings or disguised glamorization. Did you almost deliberately want to have the female character as the focus? Women often tend to stereotypically become secondary characters, the ones that are ‘crazy, emotional and hormonal’ people who should stay at home. How did you find the balance between the comedy relief and addressing such heavy topics?
4. A: (Laura) I think obviously because of the story naturally being that way, just because of the type of career Kyle has and that the story is based on when Kyle went to America and I was left at home, we tried really hard in our development to make sure our leading lady has a voice. Lana wants to show that she is someone and she wants to be something, and she is focused on that as well. But I think we also did a really good job showing Jessie’s perspective in it, which I guess it’s Kyle’s perspective. Just to show that it’s not so much ‘I’ll get to go to work and you won’t’, there is actually a really powerful song, Rake It In, which kind of shows that he doesn’t want to do that. It’s just the way that some things land and he would have much preferred to be the one at home and she would have wanted to do it and work but it’s almost like they can’t see that. With the humour, Johnny McKnight who we co-wrote it with, who does a lot of comedy in theatre, was saying that anything that is heavy and dark should have a bit of comedy to lighten it up. That’s what he believes in. I was saying when I first met him, ‘I should write all the heavy parts and you write all the funny parts’, to blend it together. It worked so well because you need to have a journey, you don’t want to just come in and watch something that is so heavy and go away feeling like that. It’s meant to be uplifting, it’s meant to show that there shouldn’t be gender roles, especially in this day and age.
4. A: (Kyle) I think post-natal depression is always kind of carried away. I didn’t even realize that Laura had it when it was happening. When I was away she was keeping a brave face because I was working saying ‘I am fine’. But that was not what was happening, I wasn’t sad I was happy at work but being away wasn’t good. Especially so far away, being in America with two young kids back home. A lot of men have come to see the show and were really taken aback.
4. A: (Laura) It really made them reflect on their journey and their emotions. We got a lot of messages from them saying ‘thank you, this has really helped’ or even helped in their relationships in the sense that maybe they realized their wife or their husband is struggling. I think it does a really good job of not just being like ‘It’s all on the man for being wrong, he is away, and she is really sad’. You see Jessie struggle; you see his emotion and he fights back at some point. It’s really powerful. Looking at relationships and parenthood, for everyone.
5. Q: If you had an unlimited budget, do you ever imagine this show as a 2 Act spectacle, in a massive venue and a full ensemble cast? Or would you always dream of a concert-esque intimate night at the theatre regardless?
5. A: (Kyle) At the start I thought it was going to be like that, a big ensemble show with loads of different actors. But now the way that it’s been done, you kind of get addicted to watching it that way. It’s more personal, the way it’s meant to be. It would be good to see it in bigger theatres and have a full band, I mean our guy Gavin is basically a one-man band! It’s really cool but would be great to see where it can go, I couldn’t imagine it right now.
5. A: (Laura) I think the way that I see it in the future would be to take it into film. That’s how I would build it if there was an unlimited budget! I think the theatre experience of it is the way it’s meant to be, you never know though…
No Love Songs is a very raw, emotion-led and human piece of theatre. I really hope we get to see it transition into film as well one day and until then, there will be love songs on stage for us all…