Interview: Ronan Colfer talks “A Foray in Innocence”

July 2023

Royalty at risk, frictions at court and a romance in peril: “A Foray in Innocence”, inspired by classics and embracing tropes of tragedy and farce, is set to be a rollercoaster production at this year’s Camden Fringe. The show will be at Upstairs at the Gatehouse from 15th- 19th August as part of the Camden Fringe and here, writer and producer Ronan Colfer chats about influences and intent, the performance that has stayed with him, and why being part of the Camden Fringe is so valuable…

Let’s start at the start: tell me a little bit about A Foray in Innocence.

This play was initially me just having fun writing a period piece as well as a lot of larger than life characters. It’s set in 17th century London and involves a fictitious monarchy, but although it’s fictitious, we did draw inspiration from a lot of real historical events so as to root the story in more believable circumstances.

It mainly deals with a young prince who is forced to become king when his father suddenly dies from an assassination attack in France. While this is happening, many others see it as a chance to get rid of the current family line and put someone completely new on the throne, while others even see it as an opportunity to destroy the monarchy altogether.

I wrote the first scene of this play in 2017. Myself and a friend then performed it in New York (where I was living at the time) and a lot of the feedback I got was that it was the beginning of a larger piece, which then prompted me to write a few more scenes. Then when covid happened and the world flipped on its head, I started to look at some of my half-finished writings over the years (this being one of them) and committed to finishing at least some of them.

By the time the lockdowns ended I had a full feature length play on my hands and was eager to do something with it and eventually it got accepted into the NY Theater Festival and was staged at Teatro Latea in lower Manhattan in November of 2021, and we even managed to get nominated for ‘best play’ and ‘best director’ out of hundreds of shows. I then moved to London last year and wanted to put something on and this seemed like the most obvious choice. It’s a big piece with lots of characters so it required a lot of preparation and organising, but the Camden Fringe and Upstairs at the Gatehouse (our performance venue)have been so helpful that it made it all possible.

How does this piece relate to your previous work – is this new territory or more of a natural progression?

I think the use of poetry or poetic phrasing and speeches is something that has appeared in a lot of my written work so far, so I guess it is in many ways a natural progression, but it also feels very different to anything else I’ve written in the past. It’s very broad and ambitious in its scope, and I’m also an Irishman writing a play about a fictitious British monarchy (and staging it in London; quite ballsy if I do say so!) so the world and its characters is something I was definitely no expert on in any way. But for whatever reason, these characters and these circumstances did emerge and I just kept going with it and eventually it became a full feature length piece, and one I quite enjoy.

I’m also a big fan of the works of Shakespeare and other classic playwrights so I suppose in one way it was paying homage to that kind of epic storytelling and use of heightened language while also making it more relatable and modern for a broader audience, not just people who go to the theatre regularly.

And tell me a little about the dynamics at work between your central characters – what are the driving forces?

Hmm, interesting question. For Emilia, our young protagonist, her driving force I believe is to bring about a revolution and take down the monarchy. For George, our lovesick poet, his only driving force is his infatuation with Emilia. For our young king, Jacob, becoming what he believes a king and leader is supposed to be, and realising the difference (very quickly) about the ‘idea’ of a king versus what it actually takes to run a country and make decisions that affect an entire nation. Corsworth, he is a power hungry schemer. The head servant Charles, as well as Queen Beatrice, mostly just want peace and stability I feel.

No spoilers, obviously, but can you give us a taste of A Foray in Innocence – a highlight you find yourself drawn to?

There are moments of very powerful drama in this show and some great back-and-forth dialogue between characters that really build a lot of tension and suspense. It’s also quite plot driven which I find very engaging throughout.

And what can you tell me about your creative team?

Our Director Liam Rear has mostly worked in film but was brought up in the theatre world as his mother was an actress on the West End. He graduated from Brighton Screen and Film School in 2021 earning a degree in film production with a specialism in directing and has directed multiple short films and documentaries.

Liam has been leading the charge in the rehearsal room of this production and has also been very busy behind the scenes putting everything together. I’m very excited to see his vision for this production come to life at the Gatehouse as I know the subject matter is something he is very passionate about.

Our Costume and Set Designer Sarah Brittain Edwards has done an extensive amount of work in both theatre and film design as well as in photography (in which she has won numerous awards). She has been busy in Plymouth creating all the original costumes for this show and I can’t wait to see the actors perform in them, it’s really gonna elevate everything about the play. You can check out Sarah’s work on her website.

Our Lighting Designer Jack Hathaway is an alumni of Central and has been involved in many productions (you can check out his work here). We’ve had a couple of conversations with him about the kind of look we want for this show and I’m eager to see how his work will look on the stage. I’ve looked through photos of some of the other productions he’s been involved in and they really look great.

And then there’s me as Writer & Producer. I trained initially as an actor but always wrote on the side, and as time went on I found myself leaning more and more into it. I aim to keep doing both though as I enjoy acting and writing in their own unique way. Some of the highlights over the years where I got to combine acting, writing and producing include: In 2017, a short play titled ‘The Trapped Language of Love’ which I wrote, produced and performed in, won best short play at the New York Theater Festival. It has since gone on to be performed at many universities in the US as well as many festivals around the world, including the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018.

I also wrote, produced and acted in a short movie titled ‘A Lone Star Love’, which was released in 2020 and played at many film festivals across the US and around the globe. It did very well overall and picked up many accolades over the course of its festival run.

Quick-fire questions now. Your route into the arts?

Wanting to be an actor in films.

Best advice you’ve ever been given when it comes to theatre-making?

If you write your own work you’ll always be working.

Your own tastes and influences when it comes to theatre/ live work?

Hmm, I like interesting and engaging plotlines and characters. For me that’s the basis of a good piece of theatre or film, although maybe not everyone would agree with that…

The best thing about being involved with the Camden Fringe?

The support and buzz that’s generated around the festival and the community feel to it. Having space to try things out and develop work without the massive price tag that could come with a full independent production. Just some of the highlights…

Your first experience of theatre/ live performance?

A play I saw in Dublin City in 2011 that was performed at an old B&B that was no longer in use. It was about an older man and a young sex worker, and when the play opens, we’re escorted into the room where the performance is happening and there was just this young guy sitting on the bed. As soon as all the audience was settled, the older gentleman just burst out from the bathroom with a bloody nose and we soon discover he had just gotten punched in the face by his son.

It was a very intense and engaging piece of theatre and very raw, and the actors were great, especially the older guy (I had seen him in some other things before). I remember my jaw was literally open for almost the whole thing because I was so blown away by it. I didn’t grow up around the theatre, my love for the performing arts came mostly from films, but after seeing that I became aware of how powerful live performances can be.

So there you have it! You can catch Ronan Colfer’s “A Foray in Innocence” Upstairs at the Gatehouse from 15th- 19th August as part of the Camden Fringe. More information and tickets can be found here.