Glasgow based playwright Milly Sweeney and the award-winning director and actress Sally Reid (Scot Squad, BBC Scotland and Shirley Valentine, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) are coming together for the new play Water Colour, a story about connection, mental illness, and opening yourself up to the world. The new play, which is Sweeney’s professional debut, is produced by the Byre Theatre in partnership with Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland and Pitlochry Festival Theatre. We sat down with them both to learn more about Water Colour and their collaboration.
Milly, how did it feel to win the St Andrews Playwriting Award for your debut play? What inspired Water Colour?
Winning the St Andrew’s Playwriting Award is honestly a dream come true, and I still can’t quite wrap my head around it! I’ll never forget the moment I got that call from Playwright Studio Scotland. I’ve loved writing since I was a little girl, and wee Milly would be absolutely chuffed to know her work was getting recognised like this.
“Water Colour” came about when a good friend and mentor of mine, Steve Lauder-Russell (who is now the movement director for “Water Colour!”) encouraged me to write a two-hander. I’d been writing plays for the young people at the Glasgow Acting Academy, as well as for my own theatre company, Cuttin’ Aboot, for a few years at this point. Big ensemble casts, and ambitious stories. He challenged me to write something a bit more intimate and character driven, with the end goal being that we could cast and produce the show ourselves one day. Little did we know, the show would end up being bigger than we ever imagined!
Steve told me about a friend of his, who had to talk a suicidal woman down from one of the bridges that crosses the Clyde. He thought (with his friend’s consent, of course) this could be an interesting and important story to develop. It’s not the first time I’ve heard a story like this, and after engaging in some research, I found that suicide rates in Glasgow are in fact on the incline. I knew it was the right story to tell.
Sally, what drew you to direct Water Colour and how did you approach the project?
I really like working on new plays that have not had a life yet and so when I was asked to read Water Colour I was already drawn to it from that perspective. I really enjoy working closely with a writer on a new piece of work and we can really delve in to make it a collaborative experience and the best it can be. I also adore the studio space at Pitlochry and am looking forward to making a show in that space.
The play explores mental illness and self-acceptance. Why are these themes important to address today?
Milly: I don’t think I know anyone who hasn’t struggled with their mental health at some point or another. It’s not uncommon. But there’s a general sense of hopelessness in the world right now that’s pretty hard to ignore. We’re living in really scary, uncertain times, and it’s society’s most vulnerable groups that are going to suffer the most as a result of this. I think portraying mental health struggles, and people living in spite of them, is crucial. It’s us saying “I see you, I see your struggle, but it’s going to be ok.”
Sally: I think these themes are important to address at any time because despite so many great charities and guidance in this area, we still need to keep it alive and talk about it and what better way than to see these themes represented in a live play, and which are dealt with so beautifully by the writer.
Milly, can you tell us about Esme and Harris? What do you want audiences to take away from their stories?
Esme is an art student, struggling with isolation, self-esteem and identity. She’s had depression and anxiety for a long time, but when we meet her, she has really hit rock bottom. Esme’s journey is all about committing to mental health recovery, whatever that may mean to you. Committing to the idea that things can and will get better.
Harris is a budding chef who’s battling intense anxiety, guilt and intrusive thoughts. He’s experiencing a lot of this for the first time and he doesn’t yet have the vocabulary to recognise these symptoms for what they are, which is really scary for him.
It was important to me that I created two very different characters who are both struggling with their mental health, to show that mental illness does not discriminate. However, Esme and Harris’s opposing factors in gender, sexuality and class rear their heads when it comes to seeking help for their struggles.
Sally how did you work with Molly Geddes and Ryan J Mackay to bring these complex characters to life?
We haven’t started rehearsals yet, but I met both of these wonderful actors in the audition and they both brought to life the characters and lifted them off the page and made Milly’s dialogue really sing. I am really looking forward to working with them in rehearsals and sharing all of our ideas.
Milly, the setting on a bridge over the Clyde feels symbolic. How does it connect to the play’s themes?
There is a lot of scope for imagery and metaphor due to the bridge setting. The phrase “build a bridge and get over it,” comes to mind – something both of the characters are struggling to do. The Clyde itself is a real force in the play. When I think of the Clyde, I think of it’s powerful currents, able to drag even the strongest swimmers under. The battle that is struggling to keep your head above the water in a turbulent world. But at the same time, I think the Clyde is one of the most beautiful, eye-catching things in Glasgow. It’s a rich part of our history, and home to a whole host of wildlife. You can see it as this big, black abyss, or you can choose to find the beauty in it.
Milly, how did you balance personal experiences with creating the characters’ emotional journeys?
“Water Colour” is a work of fiction, but I did draw from my own experiences struggling with my mental health. I couldn’t not. I like to think that this made for a really honest piece of theatre. That being said, when creating Esme and Harris, I tried my best to make them really different from myself, as to ensure nothing was hitting too close to home. I definitely pepper bits of myself and my lived experience in everything I write. They say “write what you know” and that has always reigned true to me. Glasgow is almost a character itself in the play, and as someone who has lived in Glasgow my whole life, I like to think I portray her pretty accurately.
Sally, how has collaboration shaped the development of Water Colour with Milly and the cast?
We have continued to keep in contact about ideas on the play ahead of rehearsals; sharing visual images, music, references that we like or make us think of Water Colour. We have a sound designer/composer and a movement director too, so there are a lot of creative brains on this and I love to have an open, organic rehearsal room to share ideas when bringing a play to life.
Milly, how does the play encourage empathy and understanding towards mental health struggles?
I think when it comes to mental health, people are a lot more accepting of it in theory than they are in practice. They’ll preach about it on social media, but in real life, roll their eyes at the colleague who is taking time off work, or the man on the bus who is a bit rowdy, or the pal who keeps cancelling plans. I’ve always been raised with the mentality that you need to be kind to others, because you never know what someone else could be going through. The events in “Water Colour” are set in motion by an act of bravery on Harris’ part towards a girl he doesn’t even know. There’s this idea of collective responsibility. We all need to look out for each other.
What does it mean for you to present Water Colour through the Byre Theatre, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland? How does this show play into the future of Scottish theatre?
Milly: “Water Colour” is a product of pure collaboration. From Pitlochry and the Byre working together to produce it, to Frances Poet helping dramaturg the play, to Sally and Steve and the wonderful Scottish actors, and Playwright Studio Scotland being there to guide me every step of the way. “Water Colour” is an amalgamation of lots of hard work from a lot of different Scottish based creatives, and that’s something I’m really proud to be a part of. I hope that the St Andrew’s Playwriting Award is able to keep running, because it gives emerging writers a chance. A chance to get their foot in the door and learn from the very best.
Sally: I’m really looking forward to working at Pitlochry with a different hat on this time after playing Shirley Valentine last year a s part of the season. I love the theatre and all of the people who work there and I’m excited to do a studio piece on such an intimate scale with a subject matter and characters that are so real and raw. I think it’ll be exciting for an audience to be up close and personal with these lovely characters. I think this play and Milly will excite a Scottish audience to see the talent that exudes from her and from the brilliant young actors and that Scottish theatre is in safe hands if they continue in the industry!
Water Colour runs at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 9-17 May and then transfers to the Byre Theatre on 28 & 29 May, tickets are available here.