The second play written by Stephanie Ridings—a member of Birmingham REP’s inaugural REP Foundry artist development programme—is to have its première at the theatre.
Unknown Male is a “powerful and darkly comic play exploring the impact of a railway suicide on a train driver and her family”.
REP Foundry was created in 2013 by artistic director Roxana Silbert and aims to discover, nurture and promote local writers, directors and theatre makers.
Stephanie Ridings said of her new play, “Unknown Male came about after I watched a documentary about the London Underground. One episode featured a ‘one under’. I found it wasn’t the horror of seeing footage of a man pace the platform moments before he jumped, or seeing his shoe abandoned on the track; it was the opening of his wallet brimming with receipts and bank cards in order to identify him, which resonated deeply.
“In my research I discovered that train drivers often have a very difficult battle with post-traumatic stress and are often never able to drive a train again. The horror and violence of the situation often overwhelms the last person to see the ‘jumper’ alive.
“How do you cope with such a violent incident when all you did was go to work and do your job? I discovered the pain which leads someone to take their own life doesn’t die with them but is merely transferred to those they touch with their suicide. Such an act causes a ripple effect.”
Stephanie Ridings’s first major script, Me, Mum & Dusty Springfield, enjoyed a run at the Edinburgh Festival before going on a national tour.
Unknown Male is produced by Birmingham REP in association with Pippa Frith who was awarded the Peter Brook Empty Space/Mark Marvin Rent Subsidy Award, enabling her to work with the REP’s studio The Door to produce the play.
Laura Collier, head of the National Theatre Studio and a panel member for the Peter Brook/Mark Marvin Rent Subsidy Award 2014, said of the play, “Unknown Male really stood out during the selection of the awards.
“Stephanie has an authentic and important new voice; the truth with which she draws her characters and the pain of a family's falling apart delivers an impact that’s hard to shake. I'm really delighted that the play is getting the life it deserves.”
The cast consists of Lorraine Stanley as Heather; Birmingham-born Ged Simmons as Mark; and recent University of Birmingham graduate Phoebe-Frances Brown as Emily.
Nick Walker, co-founder of Coventry-based theatre company Talking Birds, directs. Set design is by Oliver Shapley with lighting design by Liam Jones and sound design by Clive Meldrum.
Unknown Male runs in The Door at Birmingham REP from Wednesday until Saturday (28 to 31 January).