The British theatrical writer Paul Sellar, on account of the greek show of his play ‘World's End', talks at click@Life, about the difficult crossword of relationships both on stage and real life.
Every theatrical writer is moved when he sees his work ‘travel' to other languages. Paul Sellar's love drama ‘World's End' which is staged at @Rouf, brought him the previous days in Athens, to meet the contributors of the greek show: the young director Ilias Panagiotakopoulos, who also has the leading role, animating along with Markella Giannatou, Maria Branidou, and Thodoris Smeros, the volatile conclusion of an erotic passion.
Sellar referred with the most heartfelt words to the greek production, praising the chemistry between the actors and the audience. When it was presented in Edinburgh 's Festival a few years ago, World's End had received positive reviews. It's about the chronicle of a traumatic relocation which within 70 minutes seals with the most definite and irreversible way the separation of a bohemian and artistic couple, Ben and Kat's.
The heroin determined to begin fresh, returns to her ex lover's house to pick up her personal belongings and confronts Ben's pain, anger and questions. What is the point in seeking answers when the relationship is broken?
Paul Sellar answers: “It would help so that we won't make the same mistakes the next time. However it is difficult to get some answers. Usually most people just leave or lie about the real reasons which led them to the separation- they don't want to be emotionally expended or they want to protect themselves from feeling guilty or they just don't want to be placed in a difficult position. They possibly don't wish to charge themselves. One of the things that I like about the play is that the characters love and respect each other enough so that they can be honest. As honest as they can be.”
The sharp dialogues of the ex lovers reveal that their relationship wasn't based on an equivalent foundation. They can't exactly remember when they stopped functioning as a team ‘against the world', and turned against each other. Commenting on their attitude, Sellar admits that we don't easily confess that we are trapped in an unfit relationship: “It is not always that easy to acknowledge that a relationship hurts us. Especially when we are still in it. After all, every relationship is based, to some point, on imbalance. Strength is always on the one's side. The one of the two tends to affect the other more or less. However this doesn't make relationships traumatic.
I think that those who stay in traumatic relationships have certain reasons: they are afraid, they feel insecure or they have a pointless love. They may believe that they don't deserve better or that they are to blame. But we can't generalize. Each relationship has its own secret…”
The new image of women in theatre.
Which perspective of erotic relationships do you think that modern theatre presents? “There was a time in Britain , during which it was very difficult for a woman to leave a relationship or a marriage, because they were financially dependent on men. Fortunately this isn't the case any more. It's not that we don't still have a long way to go, but women now get to control their lives inside or out of a relationship. Of course I speak mostly of life in England .
During the 50s for example, John Osborne's play ‘Look Back in Anger' constituted an important progress – however there too, the central image was a woman ironing, being yelled at. In the modern theatrical plays there is no… ironing. And women yell back or leave if they wish. But if we take a look at what happened previously – Lady Macbeth, all the powerful women from ancient Greece and the Bible – this is not a new situation. I regard though as important the fact that modern plays image the new position of women in relationships and workplace.
The modern theatrical texts generally demonstrate how difficult and complicated relationships are. How they are often constructed on fear, deceptive facts, compromises and lack of trust. In fact certain plays are shocking and are highly cynical. I think that Worlds End is just an honest record of a couple that compromises with the end of their relationship. After all love is the most important thing.”
Paul Sellar's heroes survive in a hostile city; they feel the pressure of vocational rehabilitation and seek a gleam of hopefulness, a refuge of emotional security. Ben has more shades: he is a failed writer, and leaves nothing to go by in his emotional blasts: from new age fashion to the current perception on social success. Referring to the modern british theatre from which his stimuli derive, Paul Sellar says: “I am open to any style and kind of theatre. What I like in british theatre is that it offers us a variety of plays as well as sets which combine theatre with art, poetry, cinema… This is very exciting. But what touches me more is the story. When I attend a good play with a strong plot I am moved- I remember the reason why I became a writer.”
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