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Interviews
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Amber Agar - Stage, TV and Film Actress, Producer, Director and Poet Peter Lathan talks to Amber Agar. Amber Agar's theatrical life really began when she was a student at Trinity College, Cambridge. "In my first term I did 'the rounds' and managed to get an 8th week show- playing Madame in The Maids - as well as doing production and props for another show at the ADC. In my second term I was lucky enough to play Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Robinson College, and it changed my life - I suddenly found what had been missing and after playing to full houses of 500 for a week I knew this was what I wanted to do." But she was not really involved in the university's largest and most prestigious group, the ADC (which stands for Amateur Drama Club). " I was never a big ADC fan," she says. "I never acted in a show at the ADC, though was involved in assisting with shows there. When I was in Cambridge the ADC was less of a hot bed - the more exciting theatre was happening in the colleges, the Playroom….. but it had that kudos - and my first term I did hang around outside the ADC, just wanting to soak in the past of all the greats who had tread the boards there. I think it was really Footlights that flourished there. Many of my peers from Footlights are now doing so well." I wondered if it was disenchantment with the ASC which led her to set up her own theatre company in Cambridge. "I set up my production company in my final year - ironically called Brief Candle Productions and we were very brief! We were going to take a production of Extremities by Mastrosimone to the Edinburgh Festival. I was going to produce it, be in it and even co-direct. Crazy!! It was a nightmare - there was just a never-ending list of things to do- and I learnt fast that there was a game to play and I hadn't done that for two and a half years. In the end we were not able to go as funding fell through at the very last minute - but I had paid a deposit on C venue and so I lost over a £1000. That was a hard lesson - and one I could not afford- with all my debts from three years at University. "I guess I set up my little company at Cambridge to take some control over what I wanted to do. I wanted to be part of dynamic, passionate theatre with people who felt the same. I wanted it to touch people and to force you to put yourself on the line. And not be about agents, pretty dresses and emulating past actors. That sense has never really left me." Now she has formed another company, Cheeky Maggot, with a focus on new writing and devised pieces. I wondered if this is a reaction against the more classic theatre she were involved with at the RADA and, for example, the Orange Tree? "It's a reaction against many things," she says. "I was tired of revivals in general, the casting system that was not ethnically friendly - and it seemed to me that if directors were not going to allow coloured actors to play classical and non-colour defined roles, then what was needed was to go out there and create theatre that was relevant to the world we are living in. I think theatre can make a lot of changes and be a positive life force. There are plenty of topics out there that reflect the age we live in and I wanted to bring that into the mainstream. I also just needed to have a bit of control over my career. I have never been one to sit and do nothing - I need to keep busy and Cheeky Maggot certainly does that! "I set up Cheeky Maggot in 2002, in my last year at RADA. I wanted to explore new writing and be part of a creative process which was collaborative. Initially a play is sent to me and if I feel it has potential or like the subject matter, then I meet with the writer, discuss what they want out of their work, where they see it going, how I see its future. I like to be as open and honest as possible - without being too critical. "The next and for me most important stage is marrying the right director to the writer. I think their relationship is crucial to the success of a project. It then means that the two of them can discuss how to workshop the play, re-writes, visions and so on. From then on it's a series of workshops and re-writes when needed and then into a public reading for an invited audience. The venue and amount of exposure all depends on what we want to achieve and where we are at. The aim being to test audience reaction, get some interest in the play going and make some money. I feel that going into performance should only really happen when the whole team is 150% ready for that. I don't see what the rush is. I think what makes the process special is that everyone can contribute to a piece of theatre in a non-ego way - the actors, the director, myself - we can ask those questions - that sometimes people shy away from asking of a play for fear of looking stupid and make the writing work, take it on a journey. "I don't really know about touring yet. At the moment I want to build up a reputation for us. It has taken me two years to find the right kind of people to work with, people who share a common vision and along the way there have been plenty of false starts… so it's still a learning curve for me. But I have always wanted my own theatre company and my own space, where we would showcase work, so I guess there will always be a production company in one form or another. I cant really speak for where events will take me, as I am so early on in my career, I'm still discovering things every day about myself and the profession. The biggest obstacle is money of course - but you have to keep being inventive and inevitably if Cheeky Maggot is meant to have a life span of more than five or ten years, then it will happen. All I can do is my best to try and make that happen." I saw Amber in Age-Sex-Location at the Riverside Studios and was impressed by her performance. Wasn't it a risky thing to do: new playwright, a topic which has not really been explored in theatre, longish run in the biggest space in a major London fringe venue, and to cap it all, self-financed by the writer? "A risk? Well in a sense any job is a risk - you never ever know the reaction and I think if you have fear than you are in the wrong profession. At the time I was offered ASL, I had just finished filming Murder City and no one really knew me so I didn't feel I had anything to lose really. Murder City had been my first TV job since RADA. "I had been part of the initial reading at The Arts Theatre of ASL and had loved the play. I liked the subject matter; I liked the fact that Marcus was trying something new and admired his bravery throughout the run of the show. The fact that he financed it shows to me his commitment to his art and his passion. And I can only ever have huge respect for that. He was also incredibly easy to get on with and open to new ideas as the writer. I feel we have a lovely friendship now, based on mutual respect. "Pip Pickering the director and I got on very well and I felt safe in his hands. He is now a firm friend of mine and I have the utmost admiration for his talents. I was also attracted to the characters I was playing. I was not being forced to play any stereotypes and the challenge of playing Minnie Mouse and Desiree was a real turn on! What more could an actress fresh out of drama school ask for? I knew nothing about the space being the biggest in London fringe- but knew I liked the Riverside Studios. So I guess I went into it very innocent and excited." Amber has written poetry in the past - in fact, she's a fairly rare breed - published poet. I asked whether playwriting might be on the agenda in future. "Oh, I don't think so really. I wrote poetry for years and was lucky enough to be published. But I haven't written anything in years now. I have to be quite unhappy to write and over the last few years I have come to like myself more than I ever did - maybe that's why the writing has stopped. I don't think I would have the patience to be a playwright- but who knows what may happen?" "At the moment," I said finally, "you have a lot of strings to your bow: stage actress in both classic theatre and new writing (and TIE), TV, film, director, poet. Whilst it would probably be nice to be able to spread yourself across a number of fields, it will probably become more difficult and you will probably be forced to choose one or two. Where do you see your career being in, say, ten years time?" "I agree completely," she replied. "Already I am starting to feel pulled in many directions. I know my first love is acting and in an ideal world I will be making a real living out of that in ten years time. However, it's a tough industry and whether you make it or not is a combination of luck, talent and having the right look. I have been quite lucky in the acting but I also know that some parts at the moment are closed to me, because I am considered by some to be "ethnic" and therefore must play "ethnic" characters. And when you were born in this country, studied here and have worked hard to get where you are, that's a bitter pill. "But I believe things will change - they have to - and already I know so many directors, producers and actors who don't feel that the parts you play have to be defined by colour or ethnicity. I have been lucky enough to work with some of them already like Pip and Marcus. My agents are also strong believers in that. For that reason, and because I don't want to turn into a Withnail and I character, I will keep with the production side of things. I see it not only as creating opportunities but as going out there and tying to make a mark - in whatever small way. So far we have showcased works on child abuse, AIDS, and gender identity. That's a great mix. That excites and inspires me - it allows me to take that enthusiasm into my acting. And that can only be a good thing."
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