Name: Jacqueline Boatswain

Previously seen in: Most recently as part of the York Theatre Royal’s ensemble company in To Kill a Mockingbird as well as Torchwood, Misstresses and the original cast of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Character: Mozelle and Mrs Emma Caldwell.

Three words to describe your character (Mozelle): Feisty, Comfortable, Clever.

If you had the option to switch characters for one evening, which character would you choose to play? Avery

Favourite line in the play: Not only ain’t they been here, they ain’t gon’ get here

How much like your character are you?

Were not very a like at all, I don’t do the whole ‘do like a dude’ that Mozelle does. (At this point the rest of the female members of the cast broke into a chorus of Jessie J’s Do It Like A Dude.’) She’s much more confrontational than I am.

Finally, once we got back on track,

I am like her in the way that she’s an independent woman.

And her on stage Daughter…

Name: Michelle Asante

Previously seen in: Playing the lead role in Ruined at the Almeida Theatre as well as stints in Holby City, The Bill & Law and Order

Plays: L’il Bits (aka Josephine Nefertiti Caldwell)

Three words to describe your character: Feisty, Supernova, dangerous.

If you had the option to switch characters for one evening, which character would you choose to play? Caleb Johnson or Myra Harrison (Michelle refused to just name one character so eventually, I gave in)

Favourite line in the play: I thank my saviour for not makin’ me stupid

How much like your character are you?

[Li’l Bits] is nothing like me I don’t think. She’s street smart and has a plan to get herself out of economic and social poverty. So in that sense then yeah, that street smartness I have. I always like working out puzzles.

Meet:

Name: Ayesha Antoine

Previously appeared in: Most recently appeared at Derby Live in the first major revival of The Mountaintop and in My Wonderful Day at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Others may recognise her from a stint in Holby City and grew up with her during her time in Grange Hill.

Character Name: Beverly Harrison

Three words to describe your character: Underestimated, aspirational, progressive

If you had the option to switch characters for one evening, which character would you choose to play? L’il Bits

Favourite line in the play: Don’t know what you got, Mr Cal Johnson, but the women sure dig it

How much like your character are you?

I’ve quite regularly been cast as the outsider in the parts that I’ve played. People are often surprised when they get to know me; they feel I look a certain way, which leads them to think I should behave in a certain way. Beverly and I share the same kind of quiet confidence and comfort that she starts off with in the play, as well as the same sense of always wanting to fit in and striving to be a little bit better.

AND

Name: Daniel Francis

Previously seen in: This is Daniel’s second appearance for Eclipse Theatre having played the title role in The Hounding Of David Oluwale at West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2010. Daniel has also appeared at the Royal Court, RSC and the Young Vic.

Character Name: Caleb Johnson

Three words to describe your character: Evasive, dominant, vulnerable.

If you had the option to switch characters for one evening, which character would you choose to play? Beverly (“Because she gets to kiss me”)

How like your character are you:

Daniel chose to undertake in our little chat in his rather perfected American accent. Actually, saying that, I do find it slightly strange when Daniel isn’t speaking in his Philadelphian tongue. Before I could get any serious answers from Daniel, I had to wade through his playful persona:

‘I had to tone down my swagger to play Caleb Jonhson. He’s kind of cool but he ain’t as cool as me so, I had to tone him down a little bit… Na I’m playing.’

Once Daniel stopped playing for a moment:

I would say there are certain similarities [between us]. He’s almost like my internal displayed. He says the things that me, as Daniel, I have my monitor that goes ‘you can’t say that man’. Caleb’s a bit more expressive and more aggressive than I am.

I like learning stuff from the characters I play and incorporate it into my own life.

I asked Daniel for a few examples:

Certain things like his expressiveness. I find that things start to rub off including his willingness to just say stuff and just not hold it back. I actually admire that about him. For really going for what he stands for unapologetically. Do you know what I mean? Its an admirable quality.

Keep an eye out on here and on our twitter account @eclipsetcl as I will be leaking out a few little gems directly from the characters of the show over the next couple of days.

Lets start with the youngest member of our cast:

Name: Isaac Ssebandeke

Previously seen in: This is the second show Isaac has done with Dawn having appeared in Sheffield Theatres’ There’s Only One Wayne Matthews in 2010.

Character Name: Felix Harrison (aka Junior)

Three words to describe your character: naïve, egger, inexperienced

If you had the option to switch characters for one evening, which character would you choose to play? Caleb Johnson

Favourite line in the play: You’re muddyin’ the waters, baby

How much like your character are you?

Playing a character a similar age to himself, Issac spoke to me about finding a number of similarities to Felix, ‘Both Felix and I have got a lot of general questions that we need answering. It’s often these questions are better answered by people more experienced than them and have lived in life’. He also talked about being young and the similarities to his relationship with his own parents to his on stage parents, ‘regardless of how old you are, they still treat you as a junior so to speak… its all about trying to prove to them that I’m a grown ass man’

Have a look at our trailer:

‘That’s what comes from listening to white folks!!!’
‘Poor folks, baby! I’ve been listening to poor folks!!!’

The Harrisons are the most respectable middle-class Black family in Philadelphia.

However, the arrival of their young niece and her new ideas from the rural South, turns their polite, Christian, suburban life on its head.

The Cosby Show meets Restoration Comedy in this hilariously outrageous play about how hard we try to hide who we really are.

This co-production between the critically acclaimedEclipse Theatre and Sheffield Theatres marks the European première of Don Evans’ lost American classic.

Cast: Ayesha Antoine, Michelle Asante, Jacqueline Boatswain, Daniel Francis, Roger Griffiths, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Isaac Ssebandeke

One of the first layers that got added to the production was the introduction of sound, designed by ‘DJ’ Emma Laxton (She’s not really a DJ but if you heard some of the tracks she was playing…) This was another first for British Theatre, having sound effects and tracks within the rehearsal. (This FACT might not be 100% accurate or true at all).  The addition of sound really began to give birth to the conceit that One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show is set in, a 1970’s sound stage. O, did I forget to mention that in my previous blogs? I can’t give all the good stuff away in one go. So yes, the conceit is that One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show takes place as a live recording of a new US sitcom. (I’ve wanted to reveal that for quite some time and have only just been given the green light). Without saying too much more, lets just say the sound track to the show is very fitting to  the 1970’s American comedy… lots of fun.

At the beginning of the week we were evicted from our beloved rehearsal room above the Lyceum building and transported downstairs and across the road to the Crucible Rehearsal room situated in the main building. None of us were quite sure whether we were being promoted or demoted over there however Dawn’s sense of family and ensemble seemed to expand, taking in the whole building what we were doing seemed to be the heart of a massive and slick operation.

Week three wasn’t all grafting; we did manage to squeeze in ‘Omelette night’. Here’s a touch of advice to any casting directors/ directors looking for an actor: a comedian come chef is a fantastic person to have in your company, no matter what the show.

Next week there will be an opportunity to hear a number of the One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show cast on various different mediums as the press begin to get a sniff of what were doing up here.

Alex Thorpe, Assistant Director

Week two saw Dawn’s rehearsal room evolve from sitting around a table to getting the actors standing on their feet. Dawn urged the cast to ‘live’ in the space, taking each character onto the set individually, introducing them to all the nuances within the world that Libby had created. For Dawn, the actors becoming familiar with the set was as just as important as knowing where and how they would eventually move throughout the production. When it came to speaking the text, Dawn would encourage the actors to use their instincts about where they would move, exploring all the different options and only then offering an outside eye, pursuing and pushing the actors choices when and where necessary. Dawn described this process as ‘sketching’ the play reassuring the actors that the ‘watercolours’ would come later on.

Having spent an intense first week, exploring and mining the text, I found it surprising how many new things were discovered as soon as the actors got up on their feet. It was as if standing unlocked another layer of information. The tag line ‘The Cosby Show meeting Restoration Comedy’ became even more apparent as there were scenes which relied on people entering and exiting to reveal the full extent of the comedy and lines that were only made sense of when characters were stood together. Don had written a restoration comedy set in 1970’s Philadelphia.

Over the week more and more furniture was being added to the set, delivered by the scarily efficient Stage Management team (Rikki Gilgun and Patricia Davenport) including the appearance of a wonderful 1970’s music centre and a large brown leather arm chair. Dawn has already had to made it very clear that, postproduction; these items remain the property of Eclipse Theatre and are not up for grabs.

Finally for this week, I wanted to take this opportunity to put this neglected play into a little bit of context. Throughout our exploration, and I’m sure you’ll notice this too when you see it, there are aspects of this play that seem very familiar, especially to those who have grown up watching programmes such as The Cosby Show or The Fresh Prince of Bel-air and even more recent shows including Friends and Frasier however the thing that I constantly need to remind myself is that One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show was written before all of the them. Don Evan’s was the leader in this style of writing, it was others who eventually copied him.

Alex Thorpe (Assistant Director)

Having quickly got over the fact that Don Evan’s 1970’s comedy, One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show included a double negative within the title, I was rolling around laughing before I could reach the bottom of the first page. Described to me as, ‘The Cosby Show meets restoration comedy’, this has since become the tag line for the European Premier of this lost playwrights masterpiece.

No matter how many times I’m lucky enough to experience it, it will never fail to surprise me what difference a group of talented actors reading the text out loud can bring out of the play on a first reading. Straight after the traditional read through I was straight on twitter saying ‘It’s only when you HEAR a play for the first time, you realise it’s brilliance’, and this statement rang true throughout the entire week as Dawn began the process of guiding the actors to ‘mine’ the text, encouraging them to look beneath Don’s witty writing and not to be simply seduced by the laugh out loud comedy on the surface. As we were soon to discover, what’s underneath is often even more brilliantly funny.

One of the slightly more unusual things to day one was our usually traditional Model Box Showing (A showing of a model of Libby Watson’s the set, twenty five times smaller than the final set). Moments after seeing the model, we walked in it. One of two things could’ve happened here. A) The whole cast and creative team were shrunk twenty five times smaller than their human size OR B) The shear efficiency of the crucible’s workshop team meant that we had the set in the room from day one. Rumour has it this is the first time such a thing has happened in British Theatre. (This fact might be questionable).

Dawn’s rehearsal room is an impressive balance of play and rigor. Working through the text line by line, Dawn would encourage the actors to leave no stone unturned finding small but fruitful information about their characters and the world they inhabit; the question ‘why do they want that?’ being repeated on numerous occasions throughout each day, enhancing the actors natural curiosity for the text. Individual character work aided the search for hidden gems and secrets lying just beneath the surface.

As week one went on our hard work was being rewarded by people bringing in cakes and biscuits and the introduction of games into the rehearsal room, climaxing with a company meal cooked by our resident chef, Uncle Roger (who also happens to be playing the part of Avery in the production). I just hope that Kala (Deputy Stage Manager) has included in the company notes that all the actors will need to go for a secondary costume fitting if this carries on. It soon became very apparent; Dawn hadn’t created a cast for One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show, but a family, a company that would work together as an ensemble, together, both on stage and on tour.

Alex Thorpe (Assistant Director)

Well rehearsals for One Monkey Dont Stop No Show have begun. Myself, Jocelyn , Roger, Ayesha, Daniel, Michelle, Jacqueline, Isaac and Kala are locked in our Sheffield rehearsal space and will emerge in a few weeks.

Till then our brilliant Assistant Director – Alex Thorpe will be your link to our world. He is writing a weekly blog to share his experiences of life in Eclipse Theatre rehearsals.

Alex is Resident Assistant Director at Sheffield Theatres on a nine month residency from the Birkbeck Theatre Directing Programme in London. This is the first production Alex has assisted on during his time in Sheffield and his first production with Eclipse Theatre.

JOCELYN JEE ESIEN GOES FROM LITTLE MISS TO MRS HARRISON IN ECLIPSE THEATRE’S FIRST COMEDY

Eclipse Theatre is delighted to announce that award-winning actor and comedian Jocelyn Jee Esien will take the role of Myra Harrison in the European premiere of Don Evans’ ONE MONKEY DON’T STOP NO SHOW this autumn. Directed by Eclipse Artistic Director Dawn Walton, ONE MONKEY DON’T STOP NO SHOW is a co-production with Sheffield Theatres. It will open at the Crucible Studio Theatre on  Saturday 10 September, running to Saturday 24 September (press night on Thursday 15 September) before embarking on a national tour throughout October and November.

Jocelyn Jee Esien made history as the first black female comedian to write and star in her own television series, LITTLE MISS JOCELYN, for the BBC. She was awarded a Black Entertainment Award and Best Newcomer at the Women in Film and Television Awards for the series. Jocelyn has worked regularly across stage, television and radio (including two series of her award-winning television show Little Miss Jocelyn). Her stage credits include TORN (Arcola), THE LION AND THE JEWEL (Royal Court) and RACING DEMON (Chichester Festival Theatre). She was a regular on THE LENNY HENRY SHOW and was also one of the 3 NON BLONDES alongside Ninia Benjamin and Tameka Empson, for which they won a Screen Nation award for Best Comedy. Her other television credits include AFTER YOU’VE GONE, COMEDY NATION and THE FAST SHOW all for the BBC. Most recently she played Tasha in the film ANUVAHOOD.

Jocelyn commented: ‘I have avidly watched the progress of Eclipse as a theatre company and I jumped at the chance to work with Dawn Walton on this project. As an audience member I have always found the company’s productions both thought provoking and entertaining. One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show is a brilliantly funny play and I think we’re going to have a great time in Sheffield,  and on tour all over the country.’

Jocelyn will be joined on stage by Roger Griffiths as Jocelyn’s husband, preacher Avery Harrison. Griffiths is a co founder of The Posse (BLACK TO BASICS, DOG EAT DOG, PINCHY KOBI AND THE SEVEN DUPPIES) His other work for the stage includes MERIDIAN (Contact Theatre, Manchester), JOB ROCKING (Riverside Studios) RADIO GOLF(Tricycle) and THE GRAFT (Theatre Royal Stratford East). On television he played Everton in Lenny Henry’s CHEF as well as appearing in Channel 4’s DUBPLATE DRAMA and BBC1’s ROCK AND CHIPS.

Dawn Walton commented: ‘It’s great to have two such talented comedy actors leading the company. The central family, the Harrisons are brilliantly drawn and are as true to life as they are funny, and Jocelyn and Roger are absolutely perfect for the roles of Myra and Avery.’

-ENDS-

LISTINGS INFORMATION

An Eclipse Theatre and Sheffield Theatres Co-production

ONE MONKEY DON’T STOP NO SHOW

By Don Evans

European première

‘That’s what comes from listening to white folks!!!’

‘Poor folks, baby! I’ve been listening to poor folks!!!’

The Harrisons are the most respected middle-class Black family in Philadelphia.

However, the arrival of their young niece and her new ideas from the rural South, turns their polite, Christian, suburban life on its head.

The Cosby Show meets Restoration Comedy in this hilariously outrageous play about how hard we try to hide who we really are.

This co-production between the critically acclaimed Eclipse Theatre and Sheffield Theatres marks the European première of Don Evans’ lost American classic, and the first time the two companies have co-produced since Eclipse Theatre became resident at Sheffield Theatres.

Director Dawn Walton; Designer Libby Watson; Lighting Designer Natasha Chivers; Sound Designer Emma Laxton

Crucible Studio Theatre, Sheffield

Sat 10 – Sat 24 September
Box Office 0114 249 6000
sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

Press night: Thursday 15 September

National Tour

For images, interviews and press tickets please contact:

Jane Morgan Associates

Telephone: 020 7263 9867

Email: jma@janemorganassociates.com