This Theatrical Life with Harriet Prebble and James Cain

ARTicle: What can the audience expect from The Coven on Grey Street?

James: I think they can expect a really fun, upbeat comedy. But with a little bit more depth and heart than what they were expecting as well. I'm trying to draw them in with the laughs and the fun and that premise of three sisters, all bickering and fighting with each other, and then exploring those ideas around the dynamics of family and bringing a new person into the family. So obviously there's a wedding occurring... How do the sisters interact with this husband coming in? The dimension of them being witches puts it into the whole new light as immortal beings. But even when they're highly mythical, they still can't get along and just get through the day without fighting.

ARTicle: Do they cast spells on one another?

James: Yes, there is some spellcasting, maybe not so much on each other. But yes, there is definitely a fair amount of witchcraft. I didn’t want to go all out, spells galore. I thought it would be good to keep it sacred and make it a really special moment when spells are cast.

Harriet: The film sequel will have the big spells....

James: Exactly. But that's not to say there aren’t very, very exciting things that are going to happen on stage...that our set designer was very angry with me about. And Harriet too...

ARTicle: So, is it challenging for you, Harriet? Directing this particular script?

Harriet: I’d say yes... Exciting challenges, but there are definitely elements of the script that the writer has written using the full depth and breadth of his imagination and that we then have to turn into a logistically achievable outcome from a theatre perspective. Which is exciting!

James: I can't remember which playwright said it... I think it was Sarah Kane. She said write at least one impossible thing that the director has to figure out. And I was like, one?

ARTicle: Both of you have backgrounds in performance. What made you switch to writing and directing?

Harriet: In a sense directing still feels very linked to performing. It still feels like you are there with the actors doing the performance, you're imagining the performance, you're imagining the characters. I wanted to have a go at being in the director’s seat. I think there are fewer women directors and there are fewer younger women directors, so I feel like I have a sort of sense of responsibility to do it. It's always been something that's important for me and a dream of mine. As an actor, sometimes you feel a little bit like cattle. You're told to stand there and do this and look pretty, especially if you're a younger woman. Being a director, getting to make decisions, getting to have your viewpoint be heard and getting to incorporate your creative vision is really satisfying.

James: I think as a writer it's really fun to explore worlds. You have more control in terms of being able to develop these arcs and these stories and these characters. I quite like to observe a lot of life. You do it as an actor, observing conversations and dynamics. It’s fun to recreate that on stage. And as you were saying, Harriet, the life of an actor is wonderful, but you're telling somebody else's story, whereas being able to tell your own story, you're able to articulate all those weird foibles and  half articulated truths, which just kind of feel right in writing whereas you don't always get to do that as an actor. It allows me to express myself in a different way, I guess.

ARTicle: You’re well into rehearsals now. Have there been any major dramas or mishaps so far?

Harriet: No, touch wood. Although we do speak the name of the Scottish play, which is bad luck. So that might come along, but no, no.

James: And no one's been going “oh, can I change this line?” or “shift this” which is good as a new playwright... well, not new, but the play’s having its first production. Everyone, if they do have an issue, they ask a question, and we talk it through.

ARTicle: You've got quite a formidable cast. Have they been tough for you to handle, Harriet?

Harriet: No, not tough to handle. They're good at expressing their opinions. But they make offers, which is so useful, and they're so dedicated and they're so enthusiastic and they’re ready to share ideas and collaborate, which is great. I do have to have a strong backbone as a young director with those four but I think I've managed.

ARTicle: You’ve both mentioned that you like to collaborate better than you like to work alone. What's been the best part of this particular collaboration?

James: Harriet has so much passion and drive. Incredibly high standards and she’s brutally honest, which I think is super, super refreshing and what you need in that kind of room. We have similar interests in what we want to see on stage. It's been really cool, because it's a vulnerable thing to pass the script to somebody and for them to say I like that, or I don't. Right from the start it's been very cool. We just get each other and get the story together.

Harriet: I think from my perspective, James and Cass [Red Scare Theatre Company producer] are very established artists with a successful theatre company and having them trust their show and trust their work to my hands is a great vote of confidence. I think as an artist you need to have people that you work with, that help support you and give you work and give you things to do. Having that level of confidence and trust feels exciting.

James: It’s never really felt like work. It's nice to be able to work with friends who treat it like a job, but it's all glorious fun. I mean, we’re talking about witches!

Harriet: Talking about magic! That very thing. I think one of the best things for me about working with James - and I've worked with him multiple times now - is that he's very willing to get into genuinely serious discussions with me about magic and the arcane and how it works. But that's fun for me; I like to think about the meta of magic and how it works.

ARTicle: What will be next for you? After this show is done?

James: I'm writing something new which often takes a long time, like sometimes my scripts take a matter of years. It's a psychological thriller with something very different. I usually like something light and upbeat, but this is a two hander and it's going to be tense and I'm just kind of teasing out the specifics of it right now.

Harriet: Well, I'm going back to my moonlighting career in game development for a little bit. I think next for me... I've done a lot of theatre and I've done some theatre directing and I guess I'd like to explore a bit of film directing. That’s probably my next area of interest.

Before the interview, Harriet and James answered our "my theatrical life" questionnaire.

The first live performance I ever saw was…

Harriet: A stage production of Hairy Maclary. There were human-sized rats and I burst into tears.

James: Going and seeing the big budget productions at the school my dad taught at. They were old fashioned musicals like Oliver! and The Pirates of Penzance. During a production of Jesus Christ Superstar they didn't isolate the smoke properly and the alarm sounded and tons of fire engines rocked up. That kind of drama sticks in the mind.

The first time I appeared on stage was…

Harriet: A lip sync battle at primary school. We performed Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilera and we were stopped halfway through for dancing too provocatively.

James: When I played a root of a tree at primary school. I have photographs of me grinning like crazy, looking like a demented sausage.

My favourite show of 2023 so far is…

Harriet: Ooof! I could never choose.

James: I really enjoyed ratKing during the New Zealand Fringe Festival. It was by a theatre company called Ruff as Gutz and the show is about three rats that have got their tails tied together as they fight over a skeleton of their dead friend. Really great design throughout, really funny and surprisingly sweet. Watch out for them - it felt super fresh.

The part I’d love to play is…

Harriet: A villain. I think I have it in me.

James: George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf when I'm older would rock. I love Edward Albee so much and that character and his relationship with Martha is so complex and fascinating. That or Salieri in Amadeus. Two very pathetic dudes hahaha

The person I’d most like to work with is…

Harriet: A secret. I've just reached out to them. Cross your fingers.

James: I don't really have a singular person but there's a lot of wicked directors and companies out there and I'd love them to stage more of my plays. Better get writing more of them too!

My worst on-stage hiccup was...

Harriet: Taking an improvised and enthusiastic bite out of a prop sandwich that was months old and mouldy.

James: Kicking a projector on the ground in the first few minutes of the show starting. I had to amend it mid-show (solo show where I never left the stage) and hope blindly that it was in the right position for all my old Hollywood antics in front of it.

My go-to quote for all situations is…

Harriet: This too shall pass.

James: I don't tend to use quotes as guiding mantras but I like one a podcast I listen to quotes a lot. "It'll all be alright in the end and if it's not alright, it's not the end."

The piece of theatre I’m nerdiest about is...

Harriet: Hamburger Jedermann.

James: Sleep No More. First bite of the apple for immersive theatre and man, did it live up to the hype. Running through a massive apartment building following dancers in gorgeously elaborate sets was so exhilarating.

My favourite type of costume is...

Harriet: One that forces me to walk differently. An instant character shift.

James: Elaborate. I love layers, something that can really transform me and give me a lot of business to do.

The show I most wish I’d seen is...

Harriet: Fleabag at the Edinburgh Fringe 2013.

James: Angels in America. Any production but the one I could've caught was the Silo production in Auckland.

The last show I attended was…

Harriet: In Bed with Schoenberg by Dave Armstrong at Circa Theatre.

James: The King of Taking at Circa Theatre. I really love Thom Monckton's work, he's truly a genius and Eleanor Strathern always produces great work.

Writing or performing?

Harriet: Performing my own writing. Ha!

James: Writing. It was performing growing up but being able to create my own worlds and characters and seeing them coming to life in rehearsal and onstage, it's pretty breathtaking.

Collaborate or go solo?

Harriet: Collaborate.

James: Collaborate, 100%! I've tried the route of doing so many roles myself and it's stressful and you make worse art. Collaboration leads to ideas and offers that you never even considered and the work surpasses your expectations. Also it's cool to hang out with people who you like and respect, the process is just as important as the show itself.

My process for getting into character is...

Harriet: If I've done my work properly, the character should be there, under my skin, waiting.

James: A good warm up, good yarns with my cast and feeling playful and limber for the show.

A performance I wish everyone could see is…

Harriet: Ours!

James: I got to see Cynthia Erivo performing A Colour Purple on Broadway and her singing I'm Here was spinetingling. Definitely watch a clip if you haven't already.

The Coven on Grey Street will be at Circa Theatre from 29 April - 27 May.