Andrew Bovell says that each time he starts a new play the process is different.
“Obviously there’s some sort of kernel, a little moment of ‘a-ha'”, he says when we meet backstage at Black Swan State Theatre where they are rehearsing a production of one of his most performed plays Speaking in Tongues.
The play was first performed by the Griffin Theatre Company in 1996 and it was the recipient of an Australian Writer’s Guild AWGIE award. Many more people got to know the story filled with intertwined relationships when it was adapted for the screen, becoming the acclaimed Australian film Lantana.
Bovell shares that the story sprung from him seeing an abandoned shoe at the side of a road.
“I was driving home. It was late, it’s dark, it’s cold, I looked out and there was a woman shoe at the side of the road. And I just thought, ‘Who had who loses the shoe?'”
The shoe was a classy one, a high heel. Thinking about what might have happened to the woman who lost her shoe led to a story about a woman who has gone missing.
Creating stories is akin to sculpting Bovell says. While a writer might want to be addressing a specific theme, he says its not until you start creating characters, have them speak, and see what you do that you really get a clear idea of what your writing about.
“You begin working a piece of clay, and you think you’re sculpting the beautiful figure, a beautiful human figure, but as you’re sculpting, you go, ‘Wait a minute, this needs to be something else.'” Bovell said.
The playwright says he gets great delight in seeing his work performed by different companies. While many writer’s work might only be staged once or twice, or maybe they’ll have one well known work and many lesser performed plays, companies are lining up to put on many of Bovell’s plays.
“Every production brings its own nuance. Which is what’s so wonderful about theatre as opposed to film or TV, because [in screen productions] that’s it, that thing you see is going to be locked. But with theatre, a different director, a different cast, reinterpreted.
“I love actors. I love how they discover stuff and work stuff.” he shares.
For Black Swan State Theatre’s production of Speaking in Tongues, that’s just opened at the State Theatre Centre celebrated actor Humphrey Bower is in the director’s seat guiding a cast of much-loved actors Matt Egerton, Luke Hewitt, Catherine Moore, and Alexandria Steffensen take on the challenge of complex play that requires them each to play multiple roles.
Bovell says that thinking back to when he first wrote the play, it’s not the one he thought would have huge longevity.
“I wouldn’t have anticipated it at the time. It was quite innovative in its approach to storytelling, structurally difficult.
“I think this play combines two things, really strong stories about a relationship, about how we love each other, and how we can mess that up as human beings, and recover from it. And with this, a mystery.
“People love layers, different stories, interconnected narratives. And it’s also a play that asks its audience to do a little bit of the work, like a good mystery does.” Bovell says offering his thoughts on the play’s enduring popularity.
Bovell’s work in familiar ground for Black Swan, in 2023 they staged his play Things I Know To Be True to great acclaim, and back in 2011 they staged another of his works When the Rain Stops Falling.
The author also sits on the company’s board. Having grown up in Kalgoorlie and Perth, and studied at UWA, he’s invested in ensuring live theatre thrives in Western Australia. His connections within the global theatre world must surely be an asset for the company.
While the author expresses his love for live theatre he’s no stranger to the work of film and television. Things I Know to be True is being developed as a TV series with Nicole Kidman developing the project. Bovell says the project is “script-ready” and he enthused that it might be filmed here in Perth.
He shares at one stage there was a suggestion to relocated the story’s setting to the USA.
“Then we thought, let’s bring it back to Australia, where it came from. And I said, ‘I want to set it in Perth.'” he revealed.
One of Bovell’s earlier film projects was the celebrated queer film Head On, the screen adaptation of the Christos Tsiolkas book Loaded. Bovell wrote the screenplay alongside Mira Robertson and director Ana Kokkinos.
He remembers the film being challenging for a lot of Melbourne’s Greek community, the story of a young gay man, the son of Greek immigrants, who the audience follow through one hedonistic night.
“A lot of second generation people really celebrated that film, because it acknowledged the struggle of parental expectations and trying to find your own identity.” he said, noting that the story by Tsiolkas also contained a rare depiction of a transgender character for 90’s Australian cinema.
While his list of screen credits is impressive, with Strictly Ballroom and Edge of Darkness also on his resume, Bovell says there’s nothing like creating work for the theatre.
“Films harder.” he said. “As the writer, you’re a part of a bigger operation and your voice as a writer is that you’re essentially serving a directorial vision. So if you’re comfortable with that, it’s great.
“Theatre is more about the playwright’s voice, so you’re closer to the actual work. I just feel more comfortable in that theatre space.” he declared.
Speaking in Tongues is on a Black Swan State Theatre Company until 14th September. Tickets are on sale now.
