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LEANING INTO LIVENESS Kate Powell on new approaches to playwriting during Covid-19.
An artist’s creative process is rarely static. Process shapes itself around shifting combinations of factors. However, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been near universal. With lockdown and beyond, Aotearoa’s theatre sector has been hit hard. This was uncharted territory. A flood of cancellations and postponements meant livelihoods hung in the balance. But many proved agile and resilient, finding new ways to continue from home. The result of this pandemic is a burgeoning cultural zeitgeist. We are already seeing changes in artistic processes. How artists interact and work will continue to be impacted for years as our cultural landscape continues to shift. At the same time, it’s important to capture how this moment has affected a handful of playwrights and producers who provide the hallmarks of ripping yarns – love, trials, tragedy, resilience and innovation. Eleanor Bishop and Eli Kent Auckland Theatre Company’s 2020 programme had only just begun when Covid-19 scuppered their plans, but they were one of
the first to adjust to a ‘new normal’ presenting theatre online. Their choice, a digital adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull co-written by Eleanor Bishop and Eli Kent. “I became curious as to whether Zoom theatre could be formally and theatrically interesting,” says Bishop. “I was interested in seeing characters who were actually on Zoom in the reality of the play (our time), but I was also drawn to approach classical material (timeless). “I turned to The Seagull because all the characters are filled with longing – a longing for connection – and are having deep reflections about their lives. That fitted the current mood in lockdown. In the play itself, there is a sense of tedium, of languidness, of nothing happening – except these deep fundamental shifts in the characters and the relationships. So actually highly dramatic. Again – that felt like our current moment.” Bishop sees herself as director first, writer second. “My approach to playwriting has always been tied directly to the formal interests
