Welcome to YEP Spotlight, a place to catch up with our Young Everyman Playhouse students and alumni and share what they are up to.

This week we spoke to Matilda Wilde and Olive Pasha. Matilda joined YEP as a Producer in 2019 after graduating from the University of Manchester in Social Anthropology and Theology and is in her final year of YEP. Olive became a YEP Director in 2019 after studying Applied Theatre and Community Drama at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. Matilda and Olive grew up together in South-East London and now, as YEP graduates, have a brilliant working relationship. The pair adapted Mike Bartlett’s Bull for the YEP Director’s Festival 2021. Bull was a huge success, selling out all three performances, and both felt the production, cast and team had more to give. Matilda and Olive are currently working on bringing Bull to the Playhouse Studio 20th to the 23rd of April.

Hiya both! What are your experiences of YEP?

Matilda: My experience of YEP has been that it’s given me the opportunity and freedom to have a real crack at producing in a supportive, low-risk space, a rarity when you’re at the start of your career as a producer.

Olive: My experience of YEP is that it has been an important and supportive space for me as a young director in Liverpool. It’s been accessible and given me connections with other YEP members that has allowed me to make this show, and I hope more.

With hindsight, how valuable was YEP as an apprenticeship for a professional role in the theatre?

Matilda: Invaluable. The level of hands-on, practical experience I’ve had developing this production over the past year has pushed me to be a better producer.

Olive: Very valuable. It gave me the unique opportunity to be a part of the YEP Directors’ Festival, which meant I could keep learning my craft in a more groundbreaking and practical way.

Tell us about a piece of theatre that’s particularly impacted you?

Matilda: I recently saw For Black Boys Who’ve Considered Suicide when the Hue gets too Heavy by the incredible theatre company Nouveau Riche which blew me away. It was one of those plays where you feel like the audience is right there with the actors, collectively breathing, leaning into the performance, feeling the simultaneous joy and rawness of the actor's stories. It was incredibly powerful. The feeling in that space the show created was special and rare and something I definitely strive to help support and platform in the future.

Olive: Faith, Hope and Charity by Alexander Zeldin at The National Theatre, London. It was an utterly necessary, uncompromising and brilliant piece of theatre. It opened my eyes to a different way of telling a story on stage, and it is how I aspire to make theatre myself. It was a window into reality, a production that was very much in present time and that is a breathtaking experience to watch live.

How does it feel to be working on Bull for the Playhouse Studio?

Matilda: Working on Bull this time round has definitely been a huge learning curve for me, but also incredibly exciting! This is my first professional production in a venue of the E&P’s size and I’m very much leading on the Producing this time, with support from the venue so lots of firsts! Successful Arts Council funding, marketing, press, production management etc. It's been a great environment to learn and develop my practice.

Olive: A dream come true to be honest. It’s a perfect space for Bull. I am extremely grateful to Everyman and Playhouse for having faith in us and supporting us, and for all the work everybody is putting into making the production happen.

What message or influence do you hope Bull will send to audiences?

Matilda: Bull touches on the themes of workplace bullying and gaslighting, which are incredibly prevalent in the UK. For instance, according to a study conducted by Kew Law, 71% of employees in 131 organisations had either witnessed or been bullied at work. Bullying amongst adults is definitely more normalised and accepted, so I hope this show highlights the commonality of the issue, whilst also offering support and resources to audiences. In the program will be information on ‘The National Bullying Helpline’, a group that has a helpline and website full of a wealth of resources and research into workplace bullying for both employers and employees.

Olive: I’m reluctant to pre-suppose an influence or message before people watch it. My only aim is that people leave with questions and thoughts. What those questions and thoughts are, I’ll be interested to know.

Have you any other projects in the making that we can look forward to?

Matilda: We’re currently collaborating as director and producer on another project, a gripping new-writing, solo play and we also have plans to work together in the future. We definitely have YEP to thank for giving us the freedom and opportunity to collaborate and learn together!

Olive: I’m directing a new play called Threads by Katherine Manners, which Tilda is producing for her Creative Producing MA at Mountview. It’ll be at Ignite Theatre Festival, with two shows in May and June.

What do you say to those who are considering booking Bull?

Matilda: I’d say go for it! Bull is an Olivier award-winning modern classic by the insurmountable writer Mike Bartlett and this production marks it’s North-West professional debut, which is very exciting!

By coming to see this play you’re also supporting a cast and team of early-career creatives based in Liverpool, supporting and collaborating on a project we’ve all put so much work and passion into over the past year. Five members of the team, including the director and I, cast members Jamie and Will, and TSM, Kaila Sharples have all come up through the YEP Program. Working with so many people who’ve benefited from YEP is so special and feels like a shining example of the essential skills and opportunities YEP equips young people in Liverpool with.

Olive: Thank you for considering us and supporting us, and please do book it. It’ll be a 55-minute unique theatre experience with an electric cast, and we hope to see you there.

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Bull will be at the Playhouse Studio Wed 20 Apr to Sat 23 Apr.
Tickets £5.