One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest Preview Part 1

We culture editors here at The Tab love a bit of theatre, especially theatre performed by our fellow UEA students, so we took the time to sit down with four of them to discuss the Drama Studio’s latest production which is based on Ken Kesey’s famous novel One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest as adapted for the stage by David Wasserman.

The ward as it is has been designed for the stage.

Jack Carmichael is a third year English Literature and Drama student. He is joined in directing the play with Rob Ellis who is a third year scriptwriting and performance student. This is the first major production for both of them where they will be sat in the director’s chair.

Isobel Daws is a third year English Literature and Drama student playing the infamous Nurse Ratched.

Jonathan Moss is a second year drama student playing the part of R. P. McMurphy.

Alex: First of all – for those who haven’t seen the book or read the film, could you give us a quick summary?

Jack: There are several patients in the mental institution and they’re under the rule of tyrannical Nurse Ratched.

Rob: Honey-tongued, iron-hearted, Nurse Ratched!

Jack: Well done! And McMurphy comes in and proceeds to shake things up. He’s been committed to the asylum because of his offences previously and because he’s pleaded insanity over jail time. He shakes things up and brings the patients along with him and convinces them to rebel against Nurse Ratched and hi jinks ensue!

Rob: The pranks go from quite minor to severe.

The table where the patients play various card games.

Victoria:  So, what made you decide Cuckoo’s Nest above anything else?

Rob: I’d seen the film and I loved the film and then I read the book and I absolutely adored it so I thought it would be a good stage play to do.

Jack: I hadn’t previously had much knowledge of the play. I’d heard of the play but Rob was the one who suggested it to me and we’d worked together before so we decided it would be a good one to try, an ambitious one to try.

Alex: With the film and play both existing, have you let the film influence you- particularly as the film is arguably more well-known than the book?

Jack: I haven’t actually read the book or seen the film. Rob has done both. He grew up with the film. But I intentionally held off from seeing the film and reading the book because I wanted to derive it from my own sense of reading the script, and if I needed to get anything from the book or film, Rob was there to provide some inspiration. And it was a good way of working.

Victoria: It gives you a fresh pair of eyes.

Rob: Yeah, it gave us an inside and outside view of what was going on. But I think we’ve borrowed mostly from the book, we’ve not really borrowed from the film at all.

The bed upon which McMurphy receives electroshock treatment.

Victoria: Did you go for a naturalistic angle in your direction of the play?

Rob: Fairly naturalistic. There are some moments where we’ve deliberately chosen naturalism for a better effect.

Jack: There’s a particular moment in the play when Martini’s character hallucinates that he’s in a warzone, so we decided to use flashing lights and sound effects- but that’s a rare moment. It’s mainly naturalistic.

Alex: And what were the biggest challenges that you faced?

Jack: Well, creating the set’s been one. It’s the first time that the UEA studio hasn’t used the curtains around the side in a production so we’ve had to negotiate quite well with the senior technician on how to do certain stuff. The nurse’s station was the big thing to build as well and the electrical cabinet in the corner. But yeah the set’s been a major challenge. However, rehearsing has been fantastic.

Rob: The cast are brilliant. So dedicated. They just come in every time and they don’t complain.

The brilliant Nurses station and the electrical cabinet.

Alex: Isobel – how challenging is it to act the part of Nurse Ratched?

Isobel: Very. When I found out I’d got her I was very surprised and I wanted to stay away from the fact that people see her as quite one dimensional and evil which may be entertaining to watch on film but in the theatre I think you can connect more with your audience because it’s live. So I tried to find a more human side to her that wasn’t necessarily always seen but is definitely there, that she’s not just a kind of flat pack character.

Victoria: She goes home and cries and watches Downton Abbey.

Alex: Hopefully that will make her scarier as well.

Isobel:  I hope so, so you can’t just pin her as a villain but someone who’s quite human and maybe doesn’t realise that what she’s doing is evil.

Alex: Yeah, because, for me, in both the film and the book, the scarier patients are always the ones that seem the most normal.

Isobel: Yeah, definitely.

Part 2 of our One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest interview will be published on Wednesday.

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is showing Thursday 11^th – Saturday 13^th every evening at the UEA Drama Studio. The price for admission is £4.00 for UEA students. Tickets can be purchased online here.