We sat down for an exclusive interview with Alice Mayer, writer and performer for Hourglass. Drawing on the creator’s own unfortunate dating experiences and experience of sexual assault, Hourglass follows Charlie through her disastrous relationships, dead exes and the increasing possibility that she might not be quite as innocent as she seems.
This show runs on 29th and 30th October at the Bread and Roses Theatre – Tickets here
Hourglass begins with such a brilliantly dark premise – every man Charlie dates dies after they break up. Where did that idea first come from?
Hourglass started as a thought about the men I dated and how they seemed to do worse after I broke up with them. Get into drugs, drop out of school, go to prison even- then came the black widow spider idea- how this ‘femme fatale’ would kill and eat her sexual partners- but what if this wasn’t her fault? So somewhere between the two the character Charlie was born.
2. The show draws on some very personal experiences. Was there a particular moment when you realised you wanted to turn them into a piece of theatre?
Everyone tells you to write what you know and I have certainly ran with that. What pushed me to finish the show actually came from a very dark place. I am an SA survivor and at the time I wrote a poem to help me come to terms with what happened and how he could be okay with what he did- and still somehow thrive. I actually read it to my therapist and she now uses it for other SA survivors- she told me that a lot of SA survivors struggle to find the right words and hearing someone else’s experience can really help. Her actions actually inspired me to create something to help give a voice to domestic SA. Handling the darkness with truth, levity with humour and revenge with horror.
3. Horror and comedy gives you permission to take emotions somewhere quite extreme. Was there something freeing about using these genres to tell this story?
I think horror gives writers and performers the green light to push a subject to its limits. Make something horrible horrific, turn something disgusting repulsive but it also allows the supernatural to become normal. With horror we accept the unexpected, but a good show will hopefully not make you expect it. I think we all use humour in our daily lives to make light of dark situations and it’s proven that as soon as someone makes you laugh, you instantly like and trust them. It’s an important tool to use within horror – especially in a one woman show, because we need the audience on side. This show needs healthy doses of both horror and comedy- because the female experience is horrific enough, pushing it into the realms of the supernatural whilst still keeping it grounded in reality is the sweet spot I hope my show is.
4. When you’re drawing on something deeply personal, how do you decide what belongs to you privately and what you’re comfortable giving to an audience?
Honestly the piece dictates it. If I believe something fuels the piece, I leave it in- in the same way I take it out if it detracts from the through line of the show.
5. How do you look after yourself when performing material that has such a personal connection to your own life night after night?
Although the relationships are real, the names, locations and deaths of the characters are not. I protect myself by becoming Charlie, the events happen to her over what has happened to me. I think every actor brings a huge part of themselves to every part they do, this one’s just extra personal.
6. Ultimately, what would you like audiences – particularly women who recognise something of their own experiences in Charlie – to leave Hourglass feeling?
I want them to laugh, to cry and to feel. Most importantly I want them to know that they are not alone.