The Trap receives its European premiere next week. We catch up with director Dan Ayling and ask him what audiences can expect to see.
Describe what The Trap is about? The Trap follows four employees of a payday loan company who all lose their jobs and, one evening, each decide to crack the company safe and steal some ‘employee compensation’. It’s a kind of heist-gone-wrong comedy.
Give three reasons why audiences should go and see this play? It’s funny, it’s thought provoking and it’s an all-round entertaining night out.
What themes does the play explore? The play is set in a pay day lending company but it doesn’t just look at the unscrupulous pay day loans industry, more broadly it deals with a number of wider themes – debt, finance, gambling, the impact of student loans, high rent and exorbitant mortgage repayments – each one a trap that we are caught in.
What made you want to direct it? When the playwright Kieran Lynn approached me about two years ago I was immediately struck by how prescient it is. It deals with something so relevant and current; something, sadly, most of us will have experienced at some point in our lives – and I just felt I had to tell this story. The play is also very funny and I like how Kieran has taken a serious subject and allowed us to talk about it using humour and comedy.
The Trap presents some serious truths that are pertinent to the current economic climate. Do you think looking at these issues through art plays a role in bringing these problems to wider attention? Art can sometimes give us a different way in to a subject; another perspective that allows us to think more freely about the issues at hand. And hopefully we are doing that with The Trap.
Can you tell us a bit about Kieran Lynn’s background? He originally trained as an actor but quickly moved into writing. He’s had a number of plays produced including Bunnies (Bike Shed Theatre), Breaking the Ice (Traverse), Pushing Poppies (Theatre 503) and, perhaps his most well-known play, An Incident at the Border, which premiered at the Finborough before transferring to the West End in 2012. Kieran and I have been working on the script since he first came to me with it and, following the world premiere in Texas earlier this year.
What are you most excited for the audience to see in this play? The cast. They’re all fantastic and I think audiences will really enjoy seeing the brilliant characters they have created and how well they play together.
Jahvel Hall, plays Tom, one of the junior employees of the company. I was particularly struck by his comic timing when we first met and I’m really enjoying what he brings to the part. Sophie Guiver, plays Clem, the most junior of the employees. Sophie has worked a lot with National Youth Theatre, and I love her energy and enthusiasm. Sophie’s Clem is a funky, free spirit, who I think audiences will really warm to. We also have Andrew Macbean, as the lovable, alcoholic, gambling addicted branch manager, Alan. Andrew brings a rich body of experience to the role, having most recently appeared at the National in Twelfth Night and Amadeus. And last, but by no means least, Wendy Kweh plays the no nonsense regional manager Meryl. Wendy is fantastic and brings a wealth of experience to the role, having appeared in Boy at the Almeida and Chimerica in the West End.
And finally, how will you be feeling on opening night? Excited, nervous, relieved.
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