Savour the flavours of each scintillating sandwich at Clyde’s – this fierce kitchen comedy from double Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage celebrates resilience, redemption, and the power of second chances.
www.towertheatre.org.uk/clydes/
What drew you to Clyde’s, and why does it feel like the right project for you to direct now?
Clyde’s resonates deeply with me. It’s a story of hope that restores faith in humanity, reaching into the intimate depths of human experience and the ways we are judged – both within society’s systems and by the prisons we create for ourselves. It reminds us of our power: the power of connection and the quiet strength of our inner light guiding us through the darkest times.
Through the lens of menial work in a diner, it becomes a story of courage, of hope, of finding and creating joy in life.
I’m drawn to real-life stories behind the facade of manufactured images, especially now, living through screens. Clyde’s tells the truth with hilarity and no filter.
How have you approached bringing Lynn Nottage’s balance of humour and hard-hitting social themes to life on stage?
Nottage’s writing is a rhythm like life itself, a divine comedy. Sharp wit and humour coexist with uncomfortable truths, revealing the patriarchy as a strange, unrelenting power stifling humanity. Working with the cast has been liberating, allowing us to illuminate the absurdity of the status quo while connecting deeply with these characters’ struggles and vulnerabilities. We weave moments of levity, warmth, and humanity into each character, lightening the weight of their past. Humour becomes a bridge to empathy, drawing audiences close so the harder truths are heard loud and clear. Clyde’s is more than a story – it is life’s stage, where joy, grief, laughter, and injustice coexist.
In a play centred around food, how important is the sensory and physical world of the kitchen in shaping your production?
The kitchen is often the heart of a home. For the characters, having been incarcerated, Clyde’s is almost a halfway house – a liminal space. Prison food is questionable, almost a character in itself, so creating meals in Clyde’s turns the diner into a new community. In the kitchen, they find unity, and each sandwich opens a world of possibilities.
We’ve thought deeply about how the actors inhabit the space, so the audience feels the shifting dynamics and how quickly things can change. A second too long, and something burns; a touch of dill can make all the difference. Sharing food becomes a language of connection, and we want the audience to experience that with us viscerally.
What excites you most about working with a cast portraying characters navigating second chances after incarceration?
I feel everyone involved in Clyde’s has changed or grown in some way throughout this production. What’s more exciting than that? Life is kinetic – there are things we can and can’t control, with the world forever in motion. Through these characters, we see that while we may be stuck at times in real or metaphorical prisons, there are ways to break free. Our time on this rock is limited, and no matter how much we feel we’ve lost in life, we carry the lessons and the good with us. We learn to celebrate what we have here and now, to live an authentic life, and to understand we still have the possibility of directing the next chapter of our lives.
How does your background as an activist and multidisciplinary artist influence your vision for this production?
Massively. Clyde’s in many ways is a movement in itself. My diverse cultural background exposed me to truths that clash with the systemic lies about who society tells us we are. From childhood, I was called to question these themes and witnessed countless injustices. Through a life filled with unusual challenges, I immersed myself in all forms of art, including alternative healing practices.
Montrellous and Clyde embody very different concepts of freedom, and the powerplay between them is poignant.
I feel privileged to have worked with civil rights leaders and educators, shaping my desire to reach people. In a world where human connection is commodified, theatre is a vital vehicle for activism, inspiring change in unedited real time
What do you hope audiences take away from Clyde’s about resilience, community, and the possibility of transformation?
Life is bigger than us. There is unity in community. I am in awe and wonder hearing stories of extraordinary ordinary people overcoming epic challenges, just as the characters do in Clyde’s. I understand how many of us survive times of darkness and uncertainty. In those moments, I reflect on the ancestors who delivered us and the victories we’ve made. The fact that Lynn Nottage, a Black woman, is the first to win two Pulitzer Prizes is a testament to that resilience and possibility. I hope audiences contemplate and celebrate this, leaving with less judgment of others and a wider perspective on their own journeys. Even small acts of kindness can transform lives, and I hope people find moments of laughter to carry them through sorrow.