In Conversation with Kasey Barratt | Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines

In this week's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Kasey Barratt, writer and director of Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines - a wildly weird reimagining of the origin of Frankenstein opening at Theatre Works on October 26.

It’s an unbearably boring afternoon at Trampoline World. Thunder crashes overhead, some kid has thrown up in the bathroom, AND the roof is leaking... again. Boredom quickly descended into cutthroat competition, and existential dread explodes into colourfully grotesque live rock music. There’s a bloody fight in a foam pit, and even gut-wrenching, stomach-churning, heart-shattering poetry can’t save love. Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines is a comedically cathartic battle between nihilism and optimism with all the angst of working in customer service, exploring the struggle to find identity and purpose in a tumultuous world with an uncertain future.

Q: What was it about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and the context in which she wrote it, that screamed 'Trampoline Park in a Thunderstorm' to you? Do you start at trampoline park and think 'this reminds me of my favourite 19^th century novelist?' or visa versa?

It’s 1816, the year without a summer. A volcanic eruption has plunged the world into a miniature climate change. In the middle of famines, epidemics, political unrest, and the world’s worst weather, a group of bored 20-somethings are stuck inside with nothing to do. Until someone proposes a challenge. Who can write the most terrifying ghost story? Inspired by her own nightmares, as the story goes, Mary Shelley set about writing Frankenstein.

To me, this felt like the perfect framework to tell a story about the present day. All the elements were already there; the characters, the relationships, the setting, this strange intersection between boredom, apathy, optimism, nihilism, and a world that seems to be on the brink of falling apart. 

From there, I thought ‘what if these characters were so bored they started bouncing off the walls?’. 

Literally.  

So, I’ll set it in a trampoline park. The inhabitants of the house - Mary Shelley, Percy Shelly, Lord Byron, Claire Clairemont and John Pollidori - will become the disaffected employees of ‘Trampoline World’. 

As I began developing the script my fascination with Mary Shelly and her novel only grew. How did this 18 year old girl write one of the most famous novels of all time and single handedly invent an entirely new literary genre? And why is it, more than 200 years later, still so difficult for some to believe she even wrote it?

For these skeptics, Percy Shelley being the true author seems to be the only logical explanation, and they will jump through hoops to prove it (if you know you know).

In learning about Mary’s life, and from reading some of her other writings, it feels almost obvious that Frankenstein is her story. Frankenstein is an exploration of her fears and anxieties, grief, loneliness and uncertainty. I hope this show allows people to look at this 19th century novelist in a new way.

Q: Dissatisfied with the limitations of performances that conform to earth's gravitational pull, you're taking your talented troupe of performers and teaching them how to tackle an Olympic Trampoline. How has everyone gone picking that up? Who's your highest bouncer?

We were incredibly lucky to have a residency at NICA quite early in our rehearsal process. During our residency we spent a lot of time learning Trampoline 101. 

What you don’t expect is that the most difficult thing about tackling a trampoline is not the tricks and flips; it’s learning how to speak and jump at the same time. You truly have to engage every single breath support muscle, and have a diaphragm of steel so the force of the trampoline doesn’t throw off your voice.

What we’ve learnt is that the best way to speak while bouncing on a trampoline is to speak while you’re in the air and breathe in on the way down. It can be difficult to time it, particularly when working with heightened text, but the cast has fully embraced the challenge.

Sophie who plays Claire is 110% our highest bouncer. With Gab, who plays Mary, being a close second.

Q: Any prospective ticket-buyers who have come this far thinking 'cool idea, but 3 mind-blowing hooks aren't enough for me' will be thrilled to know that you've also incorporated a live band into proceedings! How will they factor in when audiences pack in to see Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines?

Working with our incredible band has been one of the highlights of the process, and the actors have loved having them in the room. Our band doubles as the nonchalant maintenance crew of Trampoline World. They may be slightly incompetent but their music helps to shift between Trampoline World, and the world of Mary’s novel. 

Our goal from the beginning was to create a score that would allow for a fluid relationship between musician and actor. We’ve utilized a lot of improvisational structures, which means our musicians can respond to the actors, and vice versa, in real time, in performance. It’s been such an interesting theatrical relationship to play with.

Besides providing the musical soundtrack to the show we’ve had lots of fun utilizing our band as ‘foley artists’ and exploring elements of slapstick comedy. One of my favourite musical moments in the show involves a particularly difficult Karen, who only communicates via electric guitar.

Q: What will surprise audiences about this work?

I think it goes without saying this work is hardly historically accurate. However, I think audience members who are familiar with the likes of Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley and Lord Byron will be surprised by how they are portrayed within this work. 

We have a weird thing about people from the past. They feel so incredibly distant from us living in the here and now, so we romanticise them, reduce them to weird cliches and make them out to be semi-mystical beings. 

Within the context of this show, Mary, Percy and Byron are simply Trampoline World employees, not great romantic era writers. I hope this affords audience members a slightly different perspective. An opportunity to look at these characters and their historical counterparts through a slightly different lens, and potentially reconsider how we remember them.

Q: (Excluding double bounces) What's been the most memorable moment in your process so far?

For me, the most memorable moment so far was our very first stumble through of the full show. 

When creating a new work you spend so much time working on it in pieces; a series of disconnected moments, often out of order. You have a vision of the show in your head, but no idea if any of it works. 

The stumble through was the first time I got to step back and look at the work as a whole. Though it was a little rough around the edges, the show worked. After months of script edits, devising tasks and lots of experimenting we had somehow managed to combine Frankenstein, trampolines and rock music into one big crazy show, and that show worked. It was a very exciting milestone in our rehearsal process.

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Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines bounces into Theatre Works October 26 - November 6.

Click here to get your tickets!