Readers of my blog might recall that in 2022, I was asked if I would like to feature Fury Theatre’s inaugural work ABIGAIL, a play by Stephen Gillard and Fury’s Artistic Director Laura Turner, inspired by the life of Abigail Williams, the pivotal figure of the Salem Witch Trials. Fury Theatre is based in the Midlands and prides itself on “Female Stories Told With Fire”, and, particularly as someone who loves pieces inspired by real events, it sounded right up my street!
Fast forward three years, and the team have very kindly reached out again, this time about their newest piece, Body or Soul, playing at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham for one night only, on Wednesday, 22 January, as part of Chronic Insanity’s residency.
The play asks audiences whether they would rather sell their body or their soul, explored
through a Sliding Doors style story showing both choices.
“Jessie is an ambitious and driven young PR graduate. She dreams of working for a charity or NGO – doing something meaningful with her time and making a difference. But the job market is hard, and when she gets an interview with online clothing retailer “Gapu”, she faces a dilemma. She’s a budding musician – does she prioritise that, or does she take the job that offers her financial security, even if the company has dubious morals and ethics?
Told through two parallel stories, with two “Jessies”, we see what happens when she takes the job, and when she doesn’t. In the world where she rejects capitalism, she soon faces the challenge of how to earn a living and turns to online cam sex work. At first it feels empowering – easy, even – she uses her PR skills to market herself and soon she’s making enough money to fund her creative ambitions alongside.
But in both worlds, Jessie’s choice affects her relationships, her sense of self and the way she is perceived by the outside world. Which is “better”? Is any choice truly 100% “right”, or are we all just doing the best we can with the information we have at the time?”
I had the honour to interview Laura, Stephen, and actress Emily Vickers (Jessie/JessaBae) about the piece…
Many congratulations on Fury’s newest venture: Body or Soul! Can you tell us a little about how the piece came to be, and what drew you to the idea as writers?
Laura: “I’ve been interested in the representation of women in the sphere of the world of work for a long time, because I don’t think it’s difficult to see the differences in the way women’s choices in work are presented in the media, and judged by society. The world of female body agency has always been an area of interest and discussion for me, so it then became a natural choice to feed this into ideas for the play. The piece as a whole was very much inspired by our awareness that women who “sell” their bodies – whether through choice or coercion – are judged fiercely as being “immoral”, whereas careers in ethically dubious industries – such as fast fashion – are upheld as an ideal of success in our modern world, even if that means completely selling out on your principles and ethics by taking that job.”
Stephen: “Body or Soul came about from the conversation about what makes a “good” career choice, particularly where women are concerned. It was based on two people that I knew that had taken very different paths in their careers and how society reacted to those choices. One had taken a job working for a fashion label while the other had chosen a career in the adult film industry. The fashion brand had numerous infractions in its record, with child slave labour investigations on multiple occasions and an extremely poor worker treatment record, while the adult film producer the other person worked for had an extremely well-regarded artist protection policy. So we started to ask, why is one of these career paths held in high esteem while the other comes with judgement and taboo? We then decided to take a ‘Sliding Doors,’ approach to this story and see where the conversation might lead us.”
It’s an interesting premise in that you tell two stories based on the lead character, Jessie, making two choices and dealing with the ramifications of those. I imagine that in one sense that storytelling process can be really refreshing for you as creatives, but does it present unique challenges, too?
Laura: “It’s really refreshing and interesting but definitely gives very different parameters within which to work, and as both actor and co-writer on the piece, I’d say I noticed the biggest differences on the acting side. On the performance side of things, we worked a lot to find ways to parallel each other’s performance styles and choices, to create almost a hybrid character that we could both embody, which was a very different way of working, and brought a really interactive level to the collaboration. Rehearsals were a lot of listening, discussing and finding ways to move our bodies that mirrored each other.”
Stephen:
“Unless you have identical twin actors, the first challenge is making sure an audience knows we’re dealing with the same character making a choice. The actors are challenged within this piece to find those similarities and differences, as they make decisions that pull them further apart. How do we stage it in an interesting but followable way? Also, as this is a piece that’s still in development there has been a wonderful challenge of building the story as we progress. This is the second full iteration of the script and we’re finding more areas we want to explore already, so a third version will be on the way after this.”
Emily: “I thoroughly enjoyed playing the same character but choosing to take a different path in life. It was really fun working out what mannerisms she would have that we could mirror, and choosing which ones she would lose as her character / personality shifted as she made different choices.”
Do you have a scene you’re especially proud of, or can’t wait for audiences to see?
Laura: “Personally I really enjoy the scenes where both versions of Jessie interact with the character of Beth – best friend to both versions. Beth’s relationship is different with each Jessie, and finding ways to combine this within one scene, where characters talk back and forth constantly, really tested all of us – our attention spans and concentration for sure! I think it’s particularly challenging for Stephanie Riley, who plays Beth brilliantly, to navigate both Jessies, one on either side of her, all in the same scene, yet in two versions of that moment at the same time!”
Stephen: “No one particular scene, I think I’m particularly proud of the way we’ve managed to weave the stories in and out of each character’s journey. I’ve enjoyed finding ways to show that we’re dealing with one character’s reactions to differing and similar challenges.”
Emily: “I can’t wait for audiences to see the mirror scenes, because it really shows her inner conflict. It would be a really cool superpower if we could all see different versions of ourselves, having taken different paths in life.”
Fury prides itself on “female stories, told with fire”—as women in a particularly challenging industry, how important is it that we keep telling stories that empower women, challenge stereotypes, and invite audiences to engage with them? What change needs to happen for that thinking to become the norm, onstage and off?
Laura: “It’s so important and I think taking a really proactive approach about stories that are just inherently female for me is the way to counteract the imbalance. Obviously Fury has an overt focus on women’s stories, but I started the company to be a conduit for the narratives that organically I feel connected to, and those are female – without me even having to think about it or “try” in any way. I think it’s that authentic representation that is so important and putting female creatives at the heart of the creative process is vital. But for me it’s also about making that conversation inclusive, being proud to collaborate with men and bring them into our stories – as long as we maintain the overall agency.”
Maybe leading on from that, what do you hope your audience takes away from the experience?
Laura:“I hope they’re encouraged to interrogate their own prejudices and the way they might judge people around them – not just women. We’re taking a female perspective here, which feels particularly pertinent to the body image and agency questions the piece raises – but there are multiple perspectives that audiences might connect with. We want audiences to respond to the very human context and emotions of the piece, and let that take them on a natural journey to reflect on the way we respond to women’s choices in the world of work – and beyond.”
Stephen: “I think I’d like people to question what makes a good goal in life. When we have choice, where do we go? Often, we don’t have choice, because of the situation we find ourselves in, or because we hold and are taught up morally tricky goals as the most laudable. I’ve constantly held this idea in mind that we lament the lack of female CEOs of major companies but when we look at CEOs they’re often psychopathic greed machines, set to hoard wealth and tread on as many people as possible to get to the top. Why do we hold that up as an achievement? I would suggest we need less of those people, male or female. Perhaps we should be looking at roles and choices in a different way and lauding the choices that make us happy, rather than simply measuring the wealth that we can accumulate from those choices.”
Body or Soul is appearing as part of Chronic Insanity’s residency at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham. How did that relationship come about, what’s the journey like from “hey, this could be an idea” to getting audiences through the doors?
Laura: “We have been really fortunate to be working with Chronic Insanity since last year on the development of Body or Soul. They supported us in a co-production to take the show to Durham Fringe Festival and then Nottingham Playhouse’s Amplify Festival. Chronic are a brilliant company I’ve been connected with in the Midlands for some years, working as an actor, so it’s great to take that collaboration to the next level with this project. We’re hoping to continue developing Body or Soul in this way – the script has been through various iterations and our next plan is to expand the current 75 minute version into a full play, and really interrogate the way that the digital lifeblood of the play can come to life on (and off) stage.”
And of course, regional theatre is vital for a whole host of reasons, not least they often support new work and can be a foot in the door – what’s next for Body or Soul, and Fury more broadly?
Laura: “Body or Soul is currently one of several projects Fury is developing, all focused on representations and judgements placed on women in different areas of life, which feels like a really common thread in the work at the moment.”
Emily: “I think we need to see more all women casts, or shows with a prominent female voice to continue to challenge those stereotypes we may fall short upon.
As a woman fast approaching 30, people often ask me if and when will I have children, and many other awkward questions. I think it’s just going to keep taking time until we level the playing field, and start asking the really important questions of our lives.”
A massive thankyou to the team at Fury for reaching out again, I wish you every success! Clapham (or Clapham adjacent) theatre fans… you know what to do!
BODY OR SOUL by Fury Theatre
at Omnibus Theatre Clapham
Wednesday 22nd January 2025
Part of Chronic Insanity Residency
Age guidance: 16+
Tickets: £10
Book at: https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/chronic-insanity/
Keep up with Laura & the Fury team
Wheelie Stagey 