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DCFCraftDebatewithPhyllidaLloyd:live-tweets
On Monday evening, Phyllida Lloyd joined Piers Haggard at RADA Studios for the first ever DCF Craft Debate — presented by the Directors Charitable Foundation.
The event, which was presented in partnership with Stage Directors UK and Directors UK, saw Phyllida discuss her extraordinary career on both stage and screen, from the Royal Court Theatre to the blockbuster Mamma Mia!
If you missed the event, don't worry — you can catch up with all the live-tweets below.
We’re at @RADA_London for a special craft debate presented by @DirectorsCF - in partnership with @StageDirectors and Directors UK. The amazing @PhyllidaLloyd will be in conversation with @PiersHaggard from 7 - follow #DCFCraft for the tweets! pic.twitter.com/V9KdfCnWYe
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
.@DirectorsCF Chair Vladimir Mirodan introduces our audience to the work of the foundation - including the #DirectorsInSchools scheme. #DCFCraft pic.twitter.com/DqRvm5b1Cf
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida tells us about her start in directing. “It took me quite a long time to get someone who would pay me to do it - it was a struggle to get that first paid gig.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “I was very lucky that Stephen Daldry gave me the first show during his stint at the Royal Court - Six Degrees of Separation with Stockard Channing.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “Opera wasn’t a club I ever thought I’d belong to - but I was the lucky beneficiary of a period when opera was really looking to work on acting on the stage.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “In theatre the jeopardy is the silence, will the actor find the next line...in opera that’s less of an issue, but you still need to create that sense of jeopardy.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
#DCFCraft pic.twitter.com/GqxyrlSven
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
We watch a clip from Philippa Lloyd’s Gloriana, which was filmed by the BBC and shot distinctively with a single camera. #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “I knew I couldn’t just let the BBC bring cameras in and shoot...there were bits on stage and in the wings that I needed people to see, so I wrote a sort of screenplay.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
On Mamma Mia, Phyllida says they didn’t know it was going to be a hit: “It started like we were running a fringe show, almost...then it took on a life of its own.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
We watch a clip from Mamma Mia. #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Piers asks what it was like doing her first movie. Phyllida says “it was the first time I realised I was a female director. I was suddenly very aware of it.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “It certainly made me want to make sure that every film set I set foot on was more inclusive.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
We watch a clip from Phyllida’s second film with Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady. #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “For Abi (Morgan), Meryl and myself it was really a film about dementia and mortality.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “I made some mistakes with the film but it was thrilling working with Meryl...she has people on the edge of their seats literally on set. She has an incredible instinct.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Piers asks if Phyllida had reservations about Thatcher’s politics, and if they influenced her approach: “Reservations is an understatement! But we were aware that we were making a film about someone who couldn’t respond - it was a moral maze.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida introduces a clip from her production of Julius Caesar, featuring an all-female cast and a prison setting. #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
#DCFCraft pic.twitter.com/KOnJghwuCK
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Piers asks how Phyllida’s rehearsal process has changed over the years. “I’ve learned a lot from actors I’ve worked with, but it’s also been about trying to get more time to rehearse.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “It’s about trying to get the best out of everybody, not imposing a system that freezes your actors. Rehearsal style will adapt to the circumstances.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “With a film you’ve got to feel like you’re writing it once you get behind a camera, as if it only exists in your head - that makes me feel much bolder about cutting classic texts.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida shows us an early clip from an exciting new project. #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Next up for Phyllida? “I’m going to New York to work on the Tina Turner musical in the Autumn.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Now it’s time for questions from the audience. #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
A member asks whether she sees herself as an auteur. #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “I think I’ve tried to be more in control of the different elements. I like to look how a piece of writing is replying to the audience of the day, and work to use that.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Another audience member asks about how female cultures manifest themselves in theatre. #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “I don’t know if it’s female so much as gender-neutral, but I wanted to remove those hierarchies when I was working on the Shakespeare project.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
Phyllida: “If the chips are down, we can still make films on our iPhones - there is an opportunity to create things without vested commercial interests.” #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019
And that’s a wrap! Thank you so much to Phyllida for a fascinating evening, and thank you to Piers for moderating! Do make sure you give @DirectorsCF a follow and find out more about the great work they’re doing. #DCFCraft
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 1, 2019