A propah BYE, Peeps
British playwright Daniel Bye, who was in Bengaluru recently for his solo production talked about his passion for theatre.
He came, charmed the city’s audience and is now going viral. Playwright, story writer and theater artist Daniel Bye from the UK was at the British Council recently as part of 10-city India tour. He performed his internationally acclaimed solo production Going Viral that has won the Scotsman Fringe First Award; a show that enlightens people about the spread of disease, of ideas, of panic, and how our connected world makes us all the more vulnerable and all the more human. We speak to the theatre-maker from Middlesbrough on his passion for theatre and his time spent in Bengaluru.
“We were in Bengaluru performing and I also took a couple of days off as I love the city, its many parks and it still feels like the city can breathe (despite the traffic!). It feels like a young city with a lot of great places to eat and drink and a lot of cultural opportunities too. It’s also a city with a great theatre culture and that’s what brought me here. My undergraduate study was English Literature at the University of Leeds. During that time, I did a lot of extra-curricular theatre and after graduation, I pursued theatre professionally. In Middlesbrough, the small town in the north of England where I grew up, there isn’t much opportunity to watch or participate in theatre. Overcoming that barrier of class felt like a big challenge at times. Looking back now, it feels like an advantage to have that experience of being from a different socio-economic class and having different cultural experiences compared to many other people who work in theatre in the UK. It feels distinctive and gives me an appreciation of how fortunate I am,” shares Daniel.
His first show, The Price of Everything, has been performed over 100 times in the UK and in Germany, Romania, India and the Philippines. Other work includes the award-winning How to Occupy an Oil Rig and Story Hunt, a storytelling tour inspired by the forgotten history of a town, which has been created bespoke for Stockton, Gateshead, Margate (for Fuel), Berwick, Northampton, Heckmondwike and Middleborough.
“Going Viral was awarded the Fringe First award during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015. This is an award for new work that premieres during the Fringe. My ideas don’t arrive fully formed, they grow and have to be nurtured and fed; sometimes they have to be coaxed. I pursue ideas when it feels like I’m finding out things that surprise me, or new connections I hadn’t seen before about things in the world,” states Daniel, who is currently under commission at Royal & Derngate, Polka Theatre and Live Theatre.
If you observe his works keenly, you will find a connection in one way or another about the choices individuals make and how they have an impact on society as a whole.
Talking about his most memorable performances so far, the theatre maker, who has created work for West Yorkshire Playhouse, Northern Stage and Manchester Museum and People United adds, “Although, there are some theatres I love — including Ranga Shankara and Prithvi Theatre — the most memorable performances are made by the audience, not by the room. The room helps, though — good theatre spaces like the ones I’ve mentioned really help foster a warmth and togetherness between audience and performers.”