We sat down with Nikoletta Soumelidis, writer, and Helen Cunningham, director, of Spent which comes to London’s Voila Festival on the 9, 10, 16, 17th November.
Q: What inspired you to create a play like Spent, where the power dynamics and roles shift depending on the actors’ gender?
Nikoletta: Originally, I didn’t set out to swap roles at all. Spent was already a story about power dynamics and emotional control, but the play was actually written with one fixed casting in mind. It wasn’t until we flipped the casting during a reading, just for fun, that we realized how dramatically the audience’s perception of the story changed. It became so clear how differently we view relationships based on gender biases and we felt that this needed further exploration. We’ve already workshopped same-sex couple versions of Spent, and the findings were incredibly telling in new and surprising ways. We’re really looking forward to including those versions in future productions to continue pushing those boundaries and open conversations up even further.
Q: How do the alternating roles of A and B across different performances affect the portrayal of power and vulnerability in the relationship?
Helen: What’s really interesting is how ingrained our associations with gender are. For example, when we have conversations about vulnerability, people are often more excited or moved when a man expresses vulnerability, because it feels rare, earned or charming. When a woman shows vulnerability, it can feel more expected and therefore less impactful – sometimes almost grating, even though it’s equally important.
Nikoletta: Exactly. It’s fascinating to see how audiences react to this shift, especially in scenes that involve domestic or emotional issues. It opens up a space for people to challenge their preconceptions about what it means for men and women to be strong or weak. We even play with aggression, as Helen mentioned, where a man’s aggression feels more dangerous, while a woman’s can feel more tolerable—though that isn’t fair or accurate. These shifts help us ask deeper questions about gender roles in relationships.
Q: What are some of the challenges that the actors face in switching between the roles of A and B in alternating performances?
Helen: Interestingly, one of the challenges I expected—having to avoid repetition or treating the roles like a replica—didn’t turn out to be an issue. The characters and scenes feel naturally different, depending on who’s playing the role. The real challenge is maintaining the balance of the play. Certain lines and actions have a different weight when spoken by a man versus a woman, so the pacing and balance of the couple’s dynamic can shift without even trying. Keeping that steady across performances is tricky.
Nikoletta: From an acting perspective, it’s a unique experience because you have to empathize with both characters in a way that’s rare. When you’re in a play, you normally fight for your character’s point of view, but in this production, because we switch roles, you end up understanding and even sympathizing with both sides. It helps you approach scenes with more empathy, but sometimes you have to remind yourself to stay fully in the shoes of the character you’re playing at that moment and to fight their corner as best as you can.
Q: The play asks thought-provoking questions about control in relationships—how do you hope Spent will contribute to conversations around gender and abuse?
Helen: One of the most exciting things for us is the audience’s immediate, visceral reaction to the gender-swapping. When people see the play with the dual ticket option and experience both versions, their gut reactions will be incredibly telling. For example, watching a woman be manipulative versus a man doing the same thing can elicit completely different responses. It’s fascinating to see how our subconscious biases about gender play into our interpretations of control and abuse.
Nikoletta: We’ve also tried to be very subtle in our approach. Many stories about abuse and control can feel black and white, but we wanted to show that it’s rarely that simple. While the situation in Spent is extreme, we’ve spoken to people who have experienced similar dynamics in less severe but still harmful ways. We hope audiences will walk away thinking about not only their past relationships but also how they want to navigate future ones. We want to raise awareness about the more insidious forms of control that exist in many relationships, regardless of gender.
Q: What motivated you to present this play as part of the Voila! Theatre Festival, and how does Spent fit into the festival’s broader theme or goals?
Nikoletta: I think showing Spent as part of Voila! adds another interesting layer to the story due to its international casting. With one actor being English and the other being from a foreign background, it adds an interesting cultural element to the story, particularly with audience perception. The Voila! Festival attracts a diverse, international audience, so it will be intriguing to see how different cultures react to the themes of control and gender as well.
Helen: Yes, and the festival itself has such a wonderfully open and experimental spirit. No one questioned our idea to swap the roles or the gender dynamics; they embraced it completely. It’s a very supportive environment, which is why we felt it was the perfect fit for Spent. Voila! encourages bold storytelling, and this play fits right into that ethos by challenging perceptions and expectations.