23 May A Sense of Direction – Gareth Nicholls

Gareth Nicholls has spent his career in Scotland. Born in Wakefield, he moved to Glasgow to study theatre, then found his feet as a director by collaborating with theatremakers at The Arches, the vibrant arts venue that was set up by Andy Arnold in 1991 and sadly closed in 2015.

Nicholls was director-in-residence at Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre between 2014 and 2016, then appointed associate director Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre in 2017, graduating to artistic director in 2019. He has staged several acclaimed shows in that time, including David Ireland’s provocative play Ulster American in 2018. Next, he will be directing Douglas Maxwell’s new play So Young as part of the Traverse Theatre’s programme at this August’s Edinburgh Fringe.

How did you become a director?

I grew up in Wakefield in West Yorkshire. My first experience of theatre, like a lot of people in working-class, post-industrial towns, was panto. We went to see a panto at Wakefield Theatre Royal once a year. That was it, really. I never went to youth theatre or anything like that.

I did drama at GCSE because it was a laugh, and I suppose my love for theatre grew from there. I did it at A-level because I was alright at it. It was only when I was seventeen or eighteen that I started thinking about it as a career. I then went to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama – now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – to study contemporary theatre practice, which involved a little bit of performing, a little bit of education work, and a little bit of directing.

Within the first year of that course, I knew I wanted to be a director. My first professional credit was a show called Pause With A Smile, which I made with Kieran Hurley, Gary McNair and Michael John McCarthy. It ran for a week at the Arches in Glasgow and a week at the Traverse.

Who or what was the biggest help along the way?

The Arches was a brilliant playground for loads of grassroots artists. It really gave me a leg up, and it helped me build a community as well, which was really important. I was also really lucky to get some long-term gigs. I did a year with the National Theatre of Scotland as an emerging artist. I did a year making work for teenage audiences with Imaginate. I did two-and-a-half years at the Citizens Theatre as a director-in-residence. They were all massively helpful.

What work are you most proud of?

Loads of stuff comes to mind, but if I had to pick one show it would be David Ireland’s Ulster American. I loved it because it dealt with really big, provocative ideas in a thrilling way. We took a risk on it, too. It was quite volatile and it could have gone either way but people liked it, by and large. I’m dead proud that we grew it from a little 100-seat studio play into a show that went to Australia and New Zealand and Ireland. Now it has been produced in London with A-listers.

What work are you least proud of?

I’ve made loads of mistakes. Sometimes you can put all the ingredients together, put them in the oven at the right temperature, and your souffle still doesn’t rise. Sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees. Sometimes you look back six months later and realise where you went wrong. It’s not surprising, really, because there is not much cash so there is not much time, so everything is rushed into a short rehearsal period. The important thing is to learn from mistakes.

Who or what is your biggest theatrical influence?

In my early twenties, The Arches and the grassroots community there was a huge influence. Collaborations started there that have endured for twenty years. The Traverse was also a big influence. I remember coming here as a punter about fifteen years ago to see an Ontroerend Goed show called Once And For All We’re Going To Tell You Who We Are So Shut Up And Listen. That was one of the most wonderful, joyous, anarchic shows I have ever seen. Tim Crouch has been a big influence, too. I remember seeing My Arm and An Oak Tree and being blown away.

Is there a show that you really want to stage?

I work with new writing so there isn’t a big classic play I want to do. Maybe at some point, but I don’t have the brain space to think about classics right now. I’m reading too many new plays.

What is your financial situation?

I’ve been on a salary for the last six or seven years, ever since I joined the Traverse as an associate director. Prior to that, I was freelance for a good fifteen years and it was tough. For the first ten years, I was doing other stuff alongside theatre. I was office temping. I was a window cleaner. I was a window fitter. I was a labourer, moving bricks around a building site. It was hard, and I know that it has got even harder since I went on salary. I don’t envy freelancers now.

What do you enjoy most about directing?

The collaboration. As a director, you are a central conduit for a really diverse range of creative people, from actors to lighting designers, to writers, to technicians. I find that really thrilling.

What are your frustrations with directing?

You always want the ideal conditions to make work but rarely get them. That can be frustrating.

What fills you with dread about the future of theatre?

I worry about funding. I worry about people leaving the industry. I worry that a career in theatre is not sustainable, and I know that disproportionately affects working-class people and I worry about what that means for theatre in terms of cultural diversity. I don’t envy Creative Scotland, though. They’ve got a really tough job. They don’t have enough money either.

What gives you hope for the future of theatre?

I think there is a real sense of community in Scottish theatre and that makes me hopeful. It is why I have stayed up here. I think there are brilliant people here and I know that we can make brilliant work if we get the backing, if the government backs up what they say with funding.

What are you working on at the moment?

We just announced the Traverse Theatre’s programming for the Edinburgh Fringe this year. I’m delighted with it. There is a really eclectic, exciting mix of stuff catering for different audiences.

There are ten shows, four of which are Traverse productions. I’m directing Douglas Maxwell’s new play So Young. We are bringing back Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse’s play Same Team, which premiered here last year. Then there is Olly Emanuel and Gareth Williams’s musical A History Of Paper, which is a co-production with Dundee Rep. And there is My English Persian Kitchen by Hannah Khalil, which we are co-producing with Soho Theatre. That is a gorgeous hug of a play, during which a meal is cooked, which all the audience is going to get to eat.

Fergus Morgan is SDUKs resident blogger.

Photo credit: David Monteith-Hodge