Actors Arthur Campbell and Gregor Roach met at Oxford University and quickly began developing an innovative theatrical format to help showcase emerging student talent. They came up with a fun and fast staging concept that was laced with an original competitive element. They called it Pressure.

The format is simple: Four new 15-minute plays are commissioned to reflect a specific theme and the actors and director are given just 12 hours of rehearsal time to hone their production. All plays are performed in one night, with the audience voting for their favourite via on-stage ballot boxes.

Pressure has been an instant hit since launching professionally two years ago and has sold-out all its four shows. The Chelsea Citizen attended two events last year in Hackney and was struck by the quality of the writing, the depth of the performances and by the all-round buzz that was generated amongst the audience. This is why we have worked with Campbell and Roach and their team at 2nd Quarter Productions to bring Pressure to the Chelsea Theatre as part of this year’s Arts Festival.

For one night only, the winners of the previous shows will compete in an All-Stars play-off on 18th September. In the run up to the big night, The Citizen sat down to chat with the men feeling the pressure…

 

Tell us about the Pressure format and what people can expect…

Gregor Roach: Pressure is first and foremost a competitive theatre event showcasing new writing. We get writers to submit a 15-minute play based around a specific theme, and then select four to put on as part of our night. We then attach a director and cast of actors to each one and give them 12 hours of rehearsal to bring the play to life. 

Arthur Campbell: After each performance, the audience votes for their favourite play. We tally up the votes and after the final performance the winner gets free drinks and a trophy – and the coveted Golden Skull. For All-Stars, we have taken the winning play from each of our last four nights, and they will go up against each other to be crowned “Best of the Best’!

Why the Chelsea Arts Festival and what does it mean for you to be putting your show on in Chelsea?

GR: It means a hell of a lot for us to be putting on Pressure in Chelsea. We’re honoured to join the Chelsea Arts Festival and be part of a line-up that includes Indhu Rubasingham of the National Theatre and stars like Asa Butterfield and Tamsin Greig. Both of us know Chelsea well, having spent a lot of time there in our adolescence. Although we’re both now North London dwellers, it’s fantastic to be bringing our show West to reach an entirely new audience.

What do you think of the Chelsea Theatre stage and set up?

AC: We love the Chelsea Theatre stage. Earlier this year, we went to one of the Nice n’ Spiky comedy nights and it was a blast. The stage set-up perfectly suits our show, so it’s an exciting prospect. Playhouse East, which we have used before, is very pared back. The Chelsea Theatre has a lot more to offer, especially with its tech rig. It will be fascinating to see how Chelsea can elevate the shows. 

Talk us through the making of the Pressure format…

GR: I believe Arthur came up with the specifics, including the name and the competitive aspect. It’s a common thing to put on a scratch night with lots of different writers, directors and actors, when you are just starting out in the industry, but we wanted to create a format that was more polished and thrilling in its own right.

This meant carving out the same amount of rehearsal time for all the shows, so they had parity. We also assign a theme for each show night, to help give the audiences something to focus on and make it all feel more cohesive. Limiting each play to 15-minutes gives a decent amount of time to get into the meat of a story, but it is also snappy enough to give plenty of variety within an hour. The competitive edge creates an added buzz.

Why is it so successful, what does it bring that is different?

GR: A big part of it is bringing the audience into the world of theatre, especially people who don’t feel historically like theatre is a big interest for them. I think theatre can feel like a very gate-kept, exclusive industry – so many of our friends who work in the corporate world are excited about what we do, but don’t really engage with it too often. Give the audience the chance to have their voice heard by voting for which play they like best really makes them engage with theatre. 

AC: We have a bit of a logline that expresses our philosophy around our productions:  We make theatre for those who love it – and for those who think they don’t!

We’ve had so many people, sometimes even first-time theatre goers, tell us that they didn’t know plays could be this much fun! We’ve generally found in our generation that uninitiated theatre-goers often have a preconception of theatre as boring, uncomfortable, expensive nights out. Pressure shows that theatre can be snappy, sexy and thrilling – without breaking the bank.

Tell me a bit about your backgrounds…

GR: Funnily enough, both of us have remarkably similar backgrounds, which we only discovered after we set up Pressure together! I was born in Boston to an American dad and English mum, but grew up in Surrey. I was an avid member of my local youth theatre as a teenager. I loved history so much that I decided to study it at university. I was lucky enough to get into Oxford, where I continued doing plenty of student theatre. That’s where I first met Arthur. After university, I moved to New York for a year, training as an actor there, then back to Oxford to complete a master’s at Oxford School of Drama.

AC: My dad is also American and it’s a nice coincidence that both Gregor and I have close ties to the North-East of the US. We share a dream to ultimately take our theatre there at some point. My journey towards theatre was a little more meandering than Gregor’s. I only started acting in my second year of university. I spent most of my school years locked into music, which I went on to study at Oxford. I was a chorister at Westminster Cathedral as a kid and continued singing in choirs pretty much daily until I left my choral scholarship at New College to pursue acting. I still teach piano and music remains an enormous part of my life, but since leaving university my career-focus has been on acting and producing.

What work have you done and want to do going forward?

GR: We’re currently working on our first full-length play as a production company, with one of the writers who won Pressure. A quick shout out to Ollie Woolf – he’s a legend! Our plan is to do a run in London next Spring. We have a producer friend based in Amsterdam who is going to help us bring it there for a week as well. It will be our first foray into international theatre making.

How do you work as a team?

GR: Funnily enough, Arthur and I spent a long time delegating the responsibilities at the beginning of our work together. I naturally gravitate towards the logistics and operations side of things – making spreadsheets, ordering all the submissions and self-tapes, and arranging the rehearsal slots. Arthur, on the other hand, is the head of marketing, coming up with ideas for promo videos on socials, video editing and graphic design. It’s a difficult job for a man addicted to Instagram, but he makes it work!

AC: Gregor is a mastermind of logistics, and his stamina for admin is something to behold. I find the creative, problem-solving and people management element of producing really fulfilling. It does amaze me that despite our separate work and life commitments we have established the well-oiled machine that is Second Quarter Productions. I think we’ve landed in our roles quite nicely. It should be said that we are very comfortable leaning on each other to step-in when the other is overloaded – even if that unfortunately means I have to write a few emails here and there. 

Even though you are committed North-Londoners – Booo – do you have any memories or associations of Chelsea?

AC: There is one big one! In my late teens, I may or may not have been kicked out of Club 151 [now The Rex Rooms] on the King’s Road because an unnamed ex-girlfriend reached over the counter of the bar to steal a bottle of vodka. Let’s just say that I have not been back since!

GR: As a Liverpool fan, my first experience of watching them play was at Stamford Bridge on 31st October 2015. A friend who had Chelsea season tickets brought me along. I was sat in the Home end, and when Liverpool scored I instinctively jumped out of my seat, only to be dragged back down by my friend to save me from being beaten up by some Chelsea hooligans. 

What is the big dream for Pressure?

AC: Our dream for Pressure is to turn it into a touring, scalable production that serves as a franchise platform for emerging artists nationwide. Audiences will come because they will know that we consistently put on great work. We want to be known and respected for taking on early-career playwrights, directors and actors and for giving them their first credit out of drama school. This in turn will bring together a whole community of artists who will hopefully go on to collaborate in future on projects. We want Pressure to be an all-round accelerator for talent and theatre!

Tell me your dream casting for a Pressure play – sky’s the limit – and who would direct?

GR: Oooh, that’s a good one! I think we’d stick it on at The Globe, for that amphitheatrical atmosphere. I’d want Sam Mendes directing a farcical comedy caper about three men (Daniel Rigby, Oliver Chris and Hammed Animashaun) trying to win the hand of a fair maiden (Rosie Sheehy). 

AC: Tough to top that, but here goes! A hush-hush, one night performance in the basement bar of the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. Alexander Zeldin to direct and Gary Oldman to star in a play about a man who can’t escape the devastating familial and professional consequences of his penchant for authentic, English cask-ales.

Crikey, what amazing ideas! I hope that The Chelsea Citizen will be the promoter for both those shows. Here’s to a stunning night on the 18th…

 

All average photos © Rob McGibbon

 

 

The Chelsea Citizen presents Pressure at The Chelsea Theatre. 7.30pm, Friday 18th September. Book HERE