Aruba Bibi and Finlay Wyer, co-directors of the play It’s News to Him, join publicist Phoebe Pryce-Boutwood to discuss characters, staging, satire and LinkedIn.
The show is written by, co-directed by and stars Wyer, who plays newsreader George Crudgeon. Throughout the play we join George as he “presents the latest satirical stories to the world…getting a peek behind the camera as [he] deals with a failure of work-life balance and the fallout from his three-and-a-half divorces.” Wyer shares that “George would describe himself on LinkedIn as the voice of the people, with a long track record of revealing injustices and solving conflict with the power of journalism…He is a workaholic in desperate need of therapy. Canonically, he took PPE at Oxford.”
Wyer goes on to share his motives for creating the show, “I felt that there was a certain brand of satirical fun that I hadn’t seen yet in Cambridge, and wanted to create something influenced by various satirical greats (Yes, Minister, The Onion, The Day Today, and the like).” He reminisces “When I was in Sixth Form, I wrote a fair few satirical things for the school paper that I managed to sneak under teachers’ radars until they’d printed 100 copies. I’ve turned that general disrespect for authority into something resembling a script.”
The rapport between the co-directors is evident. When asked about their dynamic, Wyer says “I come up with the bad ideas and Aruba tells me they’re bad ideas then makes many of them happen anyway”. Bibi reveals the secret for maintaining a good working relationship despite show stresses, “We made sure to discuss our roles and expectations from the start…which has made working together so much easier.” Since Wyer wrote and stars in the show, Bibi directs all the acting. Wyer adds, “she is excellent at it”.
Though its praises are often unsung, the technical side of the show might just steal the limelight. Bibi tells us “INTH is unlike any of the shows I have worked on because of the tech and video elements involved…We’ve made a lot of plans to stretch the bounds of what has been done in the Corpus Playroom so far (while preparing for the inevitability for things to go wrong)." Wyer elaborates “We’ve got projections for adverts, live video interviews, live TV feeds around the studio and a few other technical surprises for George.” He pays homage to his technical director, Peter Baker, who’s “sacrifice will not go unnoticed, but it will go monetarily uncompensated”.
Wyer explains that the Playroom was an obvious choice “because it’s the most similar venue to an actual news studio. We want the audience to feel a part of the studio, and we’re using the whole room as our stage, including, at times, the tech box and the audience.”
Both Wyer and Bibi offer their advice to those who are thinking about putting on a show for the first time. “Audacity and Resolve can get you a long way (the free editing software, but also the attitudes)” Wyer jokes. “And, more seriously, get technical people on board early, not just during show week. They will guide you away from what’s not possible and towards new audio/visual ideas that probably aren’t in a writer’s script”. Bibi adds “I would really encourage everyone to find a project alongside their degree and directing a show can be such a rewarding way to do that. My biggest advice would be to find people who are equally passionate about the show, not to undermine your own insight, and give it a go!”
It's News To Him
by Finlay Wyer
Wednesday 30 October - Saturday 2 November, 9.30PM
Corpus Playroom
Click here to book your tickets!
