On the blog today is another quickfire questions, this time with Leila Sykes, one of the creators and producers for Greyscale, currently running at the Vault Festival until the 17th March. Written by Madeline Gould and Joel Samuels, Greyscale follows two characters who are on a date with each other and are both characters recounting the same experience. The audience will be split into groups to hear three sides of the truth on what really happened on the date.

HS: What is Greyscale about and what can audiences expect from the piece?

LS: This voyeuristic theatrical experience explores the rituals and minefields of dating in a post #metoo era. This is about more than gender. It’s about sexual dominance, social constructs and power.

HS: The #MeToo era plays a huge part in the creation of the piece. Were there any specific stories/incidents that inspired the piece?

LS: The piece was inspired by the Aziz Ansari Scandal though so many experiences and stories have influenced in its creation. Both stories from the media and those of our peers and friends.

HS: Only 10 tickets are sold per performance. What are the benefits of writing for an intimate show?

LS: The subject matter is so intimate. These experiences happen one on one, and that is often where the difficulties lie when one person says one thing happened, another something else and there are no witnesses to make a consensus. We wanted to make the audience our witnesses while keeping that sense of intimacy that would make the experience authentic, allowing our audience to get close enough to the characters to see subtle unspoken ques and gestures.

HS: What do you hope audiences will take away from the production?

LS: We hope it will get people talking. We are moving away from the Aziz Ansari story in some radical ways like flipping the genders of the characters for a few shows. We think that this will lead our audience will question their assumptions about the perpetrators. This might ruffle some feathers and it’s an uncomfortable conversation. It’s much safer to talk about the ‘monsters’ who commit acts of overt sexual misconduct, and of course that conversation is so important, but we want to shine a light on the ‘normal’ people who claim to unwittingly commit these acts, and ask who’s to blame. Them or the society that shapes them?

For tickets and more information on Greyscale, please visit https://vaultfestival.com/whats-on/greyscale/

Until next time,