Shakespeare drama: From UK to Uganda

Adlam (2ndR) and Wiedmann (R) give instructions to actors during a rehearsal of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at Nsambya Sharing Hall recently. It will be staged on October 2-5 at the National Theatre. Photos by Michael Kakumirizi

What you need to know:

From far. Peter Wiedmann and Natalie Adlam came all the way from London to direct Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing.

It is 11am, Peter Wiedmann is preparing American pancakes for breakfast, which he serves with baked slices of apple. “Natalie and I had a long evening directing the play, yesterday,” he says, while we enjoyed the rare breakfast. Natalie Adlam and Wiedmann from Les Foules in London, have been in Uganda since early August directing William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, which is due October 2-5, at the Uganda National Cultural Centre (National Theatre).

The duo have been directing together at Les Foules (a company in England composed of multi-disciplinary performers and designers from around the globe) for close to four years now. They together travelled for the first time to Africa when they were invited to work on the production with Kampala Amateur Dramatic Society (KADS).

“Partnering with KADS simplified our work as we found actors who are already established. Living in England where an affinity to Shakespeare has his work performed too often and travelling to Uganda presented the possibility of a fresh piece of work among people who have not watched it 12 times and over,” says Adlam, delighted.

They are optimistic about how the story will conjure its own creative interpretation, or naturally take shape with the actors neither forging a mimickery of performances they have watched previously.

Mixed art
Adlam and Wiedmann are testimony to art that incorporates vast sets of cultural experiences, architectural form, space and music. Tom Adlam (the brain behind their invite), who with KADS, is producing the play, says they apply very high standards on shape, movement and concentration on the visual than conventional spoken story telling our stage actors are used to. Wiedmann argues that a story is best told in a more holistic perspective than just the psychological. Thus “our work comes from the aesthetic (visual appeal). It is a fusion of dance, music, more plastic art like sculpture but also involves a lot of movement.”

Thinking of theatre as an overall aesthetic with sculpture and dance tells a story using sights and sounds. This is as true in London as it is here, says Adlam [Natalie], noting that “Finding our way on a bodaboda or riding in a taxi from Bunga where we live to the National Theatre; the colours, the smell, the music, all help for we draw inspiration from all parts of the world.”

So they have taken on Shakespeare’s romantic comedy but with the convention of the modern playful paradigm and encouraged the actors to draw from their imagination and tap into all the space to find shape for each scene.

Challenges
Even with the immense talent in Uganda, they believe theatre here is constrained by the lack of actor training. For the success of the show, they are engaging the actors with the craft they have learned over the years.

Travelling to direct, however, carries its fair share of challenges, for instance working in Uganda “where individuals do not keep time for anything,” they need put a lot of time to understand the nature of people they are meeting.
Adlam and Wiedmann’s energies bounce off each other, that while they interact, one is left no doubt when they disclose that they are a couple. They each speak with surety in knowing each other’s thought as Adlam teasingly counts the benefits of having one’s intimate partner as a co-director.

About the play
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedic play by William Shakespearen (pictured) thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599, as Shakespeare was approaching the middle of his career. It is considered one of Shakespeare’s best comedies, because it combines elements of robust hilarity with more serious meditations on honour, shame, and court politics.

Peter Wiedmann
Background. Born and raised in St Louis, USA, Peter Wiedmann studied History at McAllister College in Minnesota and Colonial History with the University of Ghana where he started acting and working on theatre.
Career. He has performed in theatres around South America, Spain and Buenos Ares, Argentina and starred in several UK commercials.

Natalie Adlam
Background. Born in Frimley, South of England in 1980, she was in close contact with Shakespeare’s best works as a teenager but only got to enjoy it during her Masters in Classical Acting.
Career. She has been directing in London for 10 years. She has worked with London Drama Centre and Les Foules in London. She has directed, among others, French Classical play Oacine and Legend of Venus.