Interview: Actor Kirsty Rider on FURTHER THAN THE FURTHEST THING at Young Vic
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
Coming up at the Young Vic is a revival of Zinnie Harris’ Further than the Furthest Thing, directed by Genesis Fellow/Young Vic Associate Director Jennifer Tang. We spoke to cast member Kirsty Rider (The Sandman, The Doctor, Nora: A Doll’s House) about the production and her character, Rebecca.
You are now in rehearsals for Further than the Furthest Thing at the Young Vic. How have they been so far and what originally attracted you to the production?
Rehearsals have been going great! Jen [Jennifer Tang - Director] has made such a wonderful, collaborative, safe room and it feels like people are genuinely delighted to be at work every day. We’re halfway through right now and we’ve done a lot but also, we’re still at the beginning. Lots more to discover.
Well, The Young Vic is one of my favourite theatres and I’ve always wanted to work there, so as soon as I saw that this show would be there, I was excited. But it was Zinnie Harris’ writing that really drew me in. I think I had just got back to London and I was rushing off somewhere when the script came through and I was like, I’ll just read a bit of it to see what it’s about. I read the first 30 pages and I rang my agent immediately and was like ‘Yes. Yes. I want to do this play.’ Obviously, I read the rest and fell in love with it. The way the characters speak, how concise they are with what they say, how much is left unsaid. The community and culture they’ve created on the island, the whole world of it. All the characters are so intricately written and there is so much going on for all of them. You find yourself falling in love with each of them at different points as the story develops.
But also I love Rebecca (who I play). I think she’s funny, tough, a bit scrappy and just wants to be loved. Veeeeeery unrelatable…
The story is based on real life events. How important do you think it is that the characters and storyline are portrayed closely to people’s true experiences?
I think if we were saying that this play was a true story set in Tristan da Cunha and we were the people of Tristan, then it would be very important. But the big themes of the play that Jen is particularly interested in exploring (colonialism, capitalism and climate change) mean that our version is taking a broader allegorical route. Jen is keen for us to explore a more universal community of diverse people who may be or have been at risk of those. But of course, as the play is based on real events, we have been doing lots of research about the amazing people of Tristan da Cunha and it’s incredible history and really want to honour them with how we tell this story.
What can audiences expect and why should they see this production?
At the heart of this story is a family and community who back each other to the end; who face considerable hardship with resilience and integrity. I don’t want to say any spoilers but audiences can expect many twists and turns, lots of knotty, complicated relationships and characters who will risk it all to survive.
It's brilliant writing. Jen and the team have such a cool vision for it and I feel like I'm in scenes with theatre royalty. Honestly, I’m watching scenes and I’m like wow, this is a very talented bunch.
The story is set on a volcanic island, cut off from the rest of the world. Do you think you would be able to survive in a community like the one here?
It’s hard to say for sure. Living in London where we’re all on top of each other and there is access to everything (if you have the money), it’s difficult to imagine how different life would be. But I love the sea and I’d love to live somewhere where I was surrounded by it. I think it’s often about the people. If I’ve got good people around me, I think I could survive a lot worse than a beautiful volcanic island.
If you were to live on a remote island, what three things would you take with you and why?
Something to write on and with, because I love writing and the stories you’d have living on a remote island would be wild. Something to listen to music on (is this cheating?) because I don’t think I’d last long without music. My sister. She’s not a thing but she is the best. Although I think she’d be livid if I dragged her to live on a remote island with me!
Further Than The Furthest Thing plays at the Young Vic until 9 March-29 April, with further information here.