Shooting Rats

Fanshen Theatre Company: First Bites - Friday 2.30pm

Peter Turrini  is one of Austria's most performed contemporary playwrights, and his plays have been translated into more than 30 languages. Shooting Rats is his first play, and was written in strong Viennese dialect - the English version was translated for a production in New York, set in New York. Turrini mains that in order to do this play, 'you have to create your own version, relocated to the time and place of its performance'...'with different productions, basic changes in the ending of the play have often taken place. I find that good, and leave it up to the people producing the play to find their own ending'. 

Rachel Briscoe co-directed and adapted the script from the original version. The script went through many drafts, and the intention was to create a version which respected the essence and structure of Turrini's original, which would make sense in 2009, and would be dramatically effective. The directors used workshops with young people in order to develop 'complex, nuanced characters who defy stereotype and are motived by a whole range of things - in their lives and the world they see around them.

Fanshen Theatre Company is led by creative directors Dan Barnard and Rachel Briscoe. It is committed to introducing and promoting daring international voices within the UK theatre scene. They believe that through experiencing internationally-influenced work, people can widen their horizons beyond a purely UK-centric world view - something which they believe to be important in an increasingly culturally diverse society.Fanshen is supported by Oval House Theatre. Old Vic New Voices and Arch468. Shooting Rats is also supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum. 

Rachel Briscoe is a director and writer. As a director, she was winner of the Old Vic New Voices Theatre 503 Award, and has worked with several international companies; as a writer, she took part in the Royal Court Young Writers' Programme 'Rough Cuts'. Rachel will workshop and discuss the issues involved in adapting and producing Shooting Rats with students who have seen the production.