The Ustinov theatre in Bath has got a new artistic director – and even though he’s directed Madonna on the West End in his time, he won’t be casting any B-listers in gimmicky productions of Shakespeare. Steve Wright meets the pleasingly ambitious Laurence Boswell.

In my experience, you’ll meet a theatre producer with your idea for your next play, and the answer comes back, ‘interesting, but how about something more… well known?’ OK. So then you say, ‘there’s this wonderful actor who’d be great in that role’, and they say, ‘hmmm… how about someone a bit… better known? And so you end up every time doing ‘King Lear’ with Ken Dodd.”

The Dodd/Lear pairing Laurence Boswell cites above is an apocryphal – if tickling – example of the play-safe, stick-with-what-you-know mentality he’s seen in British theatre of late. And Laurence should know – he’s been a premier-league British theatre director for 20 years, with illustrious stints as artistic director of London’s Gate Theatre and associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company. And he’s just been named, in a huge coup for Bath’s respected fringe theatre, as the Ustinov’s next AD.

Make no mistake, this is a big catch, even for a theatre as vigorous and energised as the Ustinov. Boswell’s Spanish Golden Age Season at the RSC won him widespread praise, and a similarly themed body of work at The Gate won him a Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement. His West End directing credits, meanwhile, include Ben Elton’s ‘Popcorn’ (Olivier Award, Best Comedy, 1998); directing Matt Damon and Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘This Is Our Youth’; and a revival of ‘A Day in The Death of Joe Egg’ which earned him a Tony Award Best Director nomination.

Despite trailing all that glory in his wake, when the Ustinov came knocking, Laurence didn’t hesitate. “Danny [Moar, Theatre Royal Bath director] wanted me to come up with a bold, adventurous policy that appealed to all my long-term interests. And if you say to someone, ‘go and direct the plays you want to direct’, it’s hard to say no.’”

Which brings us back to that programming policy we started with. “I’m not dismissing that celebrity casting – if you get the right mix it works fantastically, as I know. But this is a small, intimate studio where we’re going to do great works. My message to directors is not, ‘I want ‘War and Peace’ with Russ Abbott’, but ‘what do you want to do? What’s the play you want to do more than any other, what’s the novel you’d love to stage?’ And if you key into that, something really exciting happens.”

Laurence’s plans for the Ustinov are notably different from the recent fare under the (successful) tenure of previous AD Andrew Smaje. Over the next three years, the theatre will present six annual in-house productions, presented in two seasons of three productions each. Each season will install a company of actors to perform in all three plays: and all of the works will be UK premieres. The Ustinov will continue to present seasons of touring work in between the in-house productions, and to co-host TRB-wide festivals like Shakespeare Unplugged. “It’s going to be extremely different,” says Laurence of the new regime. “Until now it’s been a receiving house, with regular, really good homegrown productions. Whereas the planks of my policy are: ensemble, company, international, premieres.

“The previous policy featured a lot of very good work on new British writing. And I will continue that in time: but to start with, I want to define us as an international company, where you see things you can’t see anywhere else in Britain.” European works – classics or contemporaries – are, he underlines, relatively rare in British theatre. “The Donmar [Warehouse, London theatre] might do a German play one season, and a Spanish play the next; but I’m making a real commitment – our first two seasons will be exclusively international. It’s something we don’t do enough of in this country, and it’s easy for us to get isolated.”

Laurence’s programming will also be unashamedly bold and serious. “There’s a big movement currently towards – depending which side of the fence you sit on – either making things more democratic and accessible, or dumbing down; either opening up to [wry groan] American audiences, or selling out to America. My programme will be about a great European tradition from Euripides and Sophocles via the Renaissance to the present day.”

After this autumn’s European classics opener, what plans does he have for future seasons? “Lots of ideas are flying around. A season of contemporary world drama; perhaps a season of three novellas or short stories; maybe three very physical, dance-based productions. Because this season’s very wordy – and that’s fine, I love it. But each season will have a unique energy, so that audiences are always surprised.”

Already inked in, though, is a season devoted to the Spanish Golden Age, Laurence’s lifelong theatrical passion. “They mix serious themes, rich issues and real human dilemmas, within a fast, ever-changing story. A bit like the best Hollywood movies, they’re great works of art but also incredibly human and accessible.” Laurence’s Golden Age season at The Gate in 1992 won him an Olivier Award, and he’s directed a similar season for the Royal Shakespeare Company. “The third and finest of these seasons will happen at the Ustinov,” he says confidently.

He’ll be using a mix of established and emerging talent both on- and backstage. “I want to mix up actors and directors of my generation, experience and achievements with the stars of tomorrow. Because we need to be breaking talent, as well as breaking plays. Then it becomes a great laboratory, a powerhouse that pushes the culture forward, challenges it and offers alternatives.”

Devoting well over half the year to six shows (and six unashamedly meaty, relatively unknown shows at that) is a big punt. Nervous, Laurence? “Well, we’re offering Bath a close relationship with the Ustinov: here are these three wonderful plays, never before seen in Britain, you’ll get to know this fantastic company of actors, see them play very different roles and build up a relationship with them. It’s a big, bold offer we’re making.”

A studio such as the Ustinov should be, he says, a kind of theatrical R&D zone. “Programming the Theatre Royal means selling lots of seats, and Danny programmes it brilliantly. I’m programming a studio. There’s less commercial pressure. Instead, the onus is to justify your existence. You’ve got to be to pushing the envelope forward, doing something exciting and unique. We’re a 125-seat theatre, in a sophisticated theatre town and there are enough people out there bold and interested enough to say, ‘Lead the way.’”

THE USTINOV MONMOUTH ST, BATH. FFI: 01225 448844 OR WWW.THEATREROYAL.ORG.UK/USTINOV

Copyright Steve Wright 2011

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