We sat down for a quick chat with Maureen Lennon ahead of her latest project.
1. What inspired you to write Mary and the Hyenas, and how did you decide to tell Mary Wollstonecraft’s story through a play with music?
I’d always been obsessed with Mary, my mum introduced me to her and her writing early on. Beverley is really close to Hull, the city where I grew up, and not many people know that this is where Mary also grew up, I felt like we should do much more to shout about that.
Then when me and Hull Truck were looking for something to make together, I stumbled across a report that showed how the human rights of girls were being compromised across the UK. Hull was one of the cities highlighted where girls were really being failed. It made me feel like Mary’s story and writing still had so much to say to us now. It made it feel urgent.
A lot of the shows I’ve written have used music and song, so it didn’t feel like an alien decision for me. Formally it felt like the music could help us do some really important things in this story, it helped the themes cut across the ages and speak to contemporary concerns, it helped us get across events of epic proportions and it helped reflect some of Mary’s energy and vitality.
2. How did you approach balancing historical accuracy with creative storytelling in the script?
That’s a good question and it’s definitely been a journey. I started out by doing loads of research. This play has been a long time in the making, and for the first few years I was just reading everything she ever wrote, and everything written about her again and again. Then the next step was almost to try and forget all that, and just try and hear my version of Mary’s voice in my head. At a certain point you have to free yourself creatively to make decisions. I would say this is play is rooted emotionally in Mary, or at least my interpretation of her, but it’s not beholden to accuracy at the detriment to our story. Sometimes it might portray something wildly inaccurate deliberately, to get us to question or look at something in a different way.
3. What aspects of Mary Wollstonecraft’s life did you feel were most important to highlight in the play?
The play takes quite a broad sweep of her life, from teenager to death bed, but it looks at it through her struggle to find agency and love, and the sacrifices the world asked of her on this journey. Mary has an amazing quote about looking at her first daughter as a baby-
‘I dread lest she should be forced to sacrifice her heart to her principles, or principles to her heart… I dread to unfold her mind, lest it should render her unfit for the world she is to inhabit’
This to me felt like such a recognisable worry, how do you raise your children to be the best versions of themselves in a world that will try to steal their power? What answers might Mary’s story provide? I think this is a thread that ties together all the aspects of Mary’s life that we look at.
4. How was the collaborative process with Billy Nomates and Esther Richardson in shaping the overall tone of the production?
Esther came on board really early in the play’s development, I don’t even think there was a first draft yet. She has so much experience telling ambitious and epic stories with concision and punch and that has been indispensable. I feel like she connected with the heart of what this play could be and what it needed to say from the beginning and it’s so rewarding to find that sort of collaboration. When we were searching for the sound of the show we really went round the houses, we knew we wanted it to feel powerful, and up to date, with an edge that felt truthful to Mary’s voice, finally finding Tor (Billy No Mates) who could bring all that and more was such a gift.
5. What message do you hope contemporary audiences take from Mary Wollstonecraft’s story today?
I hope they leave feeling inspired to keep fighting, keep questioning, keep being a bit too much and keep taking up space.
Mary and the Hyenas will open at Hull Truck Theatre from 7 Feb-1 March and then transfer to Wilton’s Music Hall from 18-29 March. For info visit https://pilot-theatre.com/production/mary-and-the-hyenas/