This week Sheffield Theatres’ Christmas production of The Wizard Oz, directed by artistic director ROBERT HASTIE, will have its official opening at the Crucible Theatre.
Hastie was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. His credits for the company include Julius Caesar (Best Director nomination for the 2017 UK Theatre Awards) and Of Kith and Kin (also Bush Theatre).
His other theatre credits include Breaking the Code (Royal Exchange, Manchester), Henry V (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Theatr Clwyd). As an associate director of the Donmar Warehouse, his work includes My Night With Reg by Kevin Elyot (also West End – Hastie was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards and the production was nominated for Best Revival at the Olivier Awards), and Splendour, by Abi Morgan.
His other directing credits include Carthage, Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun (Finborough Theatre), Sunburst (Holborn Grange Hotel), Sixty-Six Books (Bush Theatre) and A Breakfast of Eels (Print Room).
The Wizard of Oz’s festive run has now been extended until 20 January 2018 in response to popular demand.
Mike Tilling writes:
It does not take long to form the opinion that Robert Hastie is a very decent, rather modest, even diffident individual. Until, that is, the interview moves on to a topic he cares most about: storytelling. His professional concerns with the art of theatre are also intensely personal ones, and he speaks about them with passion and determination.
The Wizard of Oz is his first musical, but as he says, he’s “caught the bug”. Hastie’s earliest memories of musicals came through listening with family to cast recordings of the great London shows. A particular boyhood favourite was Starlight Express. A visit to see the show proved illuminating as the characters, set and action that he had visualised did not match the reality of the show he saw on stage. A phenomenon familiar to most of us, I suspect.
When asked what the main differences are between directing a play and directing a musical, Hastie’s reply is instant: “It’s the sheer scale of the thing. I have directed big casts before. Henry V (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, 2016) had over 30 actors to work with, but with Wizard I am also working in a team that includes the music supervisor and choreographer as well as the usual personnel who design the sets, costumes and lighting. As you can imagine, it takes some welding together.”
Right from the start of his tenure at Sheffield Theatres, Hastie has asserted his belief that the theatre owes its existence to the people of Sheffield. “The theatres belong to the city, and we must do more to get them involved. This means introducing new people to theatre, people who may have convinced themselves that plays and drama are not for them. We also have an obligation to people who have been loyal to us for years, we must never lose sight of their contribution.”
In making this more than lip service, Hastie has introduced a number of schemes aimed at cutting the cost of visiting the theatre.
Robert Hastie in rehearsal for The Wizard of Oz
“Since I arrived, we have offered 10,000 tickets at £15 and we have a scheme called ‘Live for 5’ where 15 to 26 year olds can see a show for £5. We also run a scheme called Ignite, which offers free tickets to young people doing drama at school. But it’s not just about pricing. The young people benefiting from these schemes must claim a ticket and visit the box office. That way, they begin a relationship with us even before they have entered the auditorium.”
So what is the attraction of a musical? “There is a directness about music that somehow cuts straight through to the emotions. And to me, the key element is using music to tell a story. In fact, I am fascinated by storytelling in any art form. A painting can tell a story just as much as a novel. I am also interested in how one art form can learn from another.”
It is at this point that I put it to him that the unique combination of music, dance and drama puts musicals at the pinnacle of the performing arts. Hastie is diplomatic in responding to that question but he does agree that the impact on audiences can be second to none.
Before we wind up the interview, and Hastie gets back to the demands of his day job, I ask him about the future, particularly of new works such as the acclaimed Flowers for Mrs Harris and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (which has recently transferred to London’s Apollo Theatre).
He pauses for a moment, reluctant to reveal prematurely too much about plans for the future. “Well, we have a great series of touring musicals coming, including Beautiful – The Carole King Musical. However, we are also continuing the recent strand of developing new material.”
When I press him for more details, he fixes me with those candid blue eyes and shakes his head: “Can’t do that right now, things are still in the development phase.”
We’ll be watching with interest for what Hastie is going to do to to follow up Sheffield Theatres’ recent spectacular musical theatre successes. What ever it is, it will be done with passion and determination.
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