We spoke with assistant director of The Great Middlemarch Mystery, Connor Alexander, about his experience working with Dash Arts on such an ambitious project.

Connor Alexander (back right) with Director Josephine Burton (back left), Production Manager Rachael Head (front right), Deputy Stage Manager Emily Davies (front middle) and Assistant Stage Manager Bethany Barrington-Davis (front left)

Could you tell us a little bit about your involvement in Middlemarch?

I was the assistant director to Josephine and helped to support the artistic vision, while working closely with the participant actors and the community cast that were involved in the production.

So were you more involved with the community cast than with the main cast?

I suppose I had my foot in both camps. Sometimes I would be with the actors, but a lot of my time was spent supporting the community cast in getting them to a point where they felt comfortable participating within the story.

you started your career in Coventry, is that right?

Yeah, in 2011 I started at Coventry University studying Theatre and Professional Practice, and graduated in 2014. Since then, I’ve been working around the city and the wider West Midlands area, building my artistry up here.

Was The Great Middlemarch Mystery quite an unusual project to see happening in the Midlands?

It was a hugely ambitious project in terms of scale. I don’t think we’ve seen anything that’s quite so detailed on such a grand scale. The amount of details that went into the production were amazing, and I don’t feel I’ve seen something of that same nature. There’s obviously a massive amount of artistry up here and there’s loads of big exciting things happening in the Midlands, but Middlemarch was unique in its inviting of people into spaces, that arent necessarily open to the public, but are part of the public’s daily visual landscape. Going into the Cathedral Dean’s living room opened up the intimacy of the city and furthered the sense of ownership to that visual landscape.

Connor Alexander in rehearsals with a community participant

Were there any particular challenges you faced when approaching this project?

Again, the scale of the project was so enormous that there was always so much to think about, so much detail needed to ensure that the authenticity was there from the get go. It was a huge juggling act, there were a lot of plates spinning at once!

I bet! Were there any particular favourite moments from the rehearsals?

My favourite part of the production was the small moments in between rehearsals where the community participants and the professional cast were hanging out and having a laugh together. It was lovely to bridge that gap between professional and participant, allowing them all to feel a part of the same world, with the same ownership over the material.

That’s lovely. Was this project particularly different to any you’ve done before? If so, in what ways?

I do a lot of outdoor work and street performance with participants so I was familiar with that side of things. But again, it was different in its logistical scale; getting all the cogs to fit together was a different sort of challenge!

Connor Alexander and cast at the first read through

Do you have a favourite thing about working with community members in theatre?

My favourite part is the surprises they throw up during the process - it’s all about accepting and embracing the chaos that different perspectives bring into the room. I really enjoy that. I also love when you can see a blooming of excitement and drive in someone, who feels more connected to the artistry. I feel the more we’re able to create these moments, the more people are going to be excited by the arts and feel it’s necessary for them. There was one participant who was really quiet in the first couple of days, but by the end they were suggesting things and talking to everyone. It was so lovely to see the excitement on their face.

Would you say that was your favourite bit about working on Middlemarch?

Yeah, working with communities and allowing them to have these moments of discovery and connection with the production and with each other was really rewarding.

Amazing! Have you got anything coming up that you’re excited about?

I recently completed a sound installation called Echoes of Invention. It was a participatory piece where we recorded different voices from around Coventry talking about dreams, ageing, afterlife and faith. It was inspired by the work of Delia Darbyshire and Barry Bermond, and I think we’re looking to tour that in the near future. We’ve also got a band camp where people can listen to the tracks online.

Sounds amazing! One last question: Do you have any advice for people working on multi venue, immersive projects?

Wow, big question. Organisation, organisation, organisation. It’s also important to build an incredibly talented and kind team around you to support and facilitate eachother in the process.