Intervu Robin Hood The Legend Re-Written

“Robin Hood The Legend Re-Written” Poster

I sit down with Hannah Simpson, director of Robin Hood: The Legend Re-Written to chat about the show.

“That’s kind of our ethos with the play: just do it! Just because you haven’t done it before doesn’t mean you can’t do it now. Just try something new every time, which has been a lot of fun!”

I ask Hannah who she is, about the show and the process behind it?

“I’m Hannah Simpson, I’m a member of Feccles Drama and I’m directing our production of ‘Robin Hood: The Legend Rewritten.’” She tells me before diving deep into the work behind the show: “Our process has mainly been a mix of traditional rehearsing and getting it down - and a lot of improv! Because we are an improv society! Even though the play is written, we decided that the best way to go about things was to try a different approach each time - and that’s really worked for us!” She explains to me that she believes that, “incorporating improv into directing has made it a lot more of a fun and accessible experience for our members.”

I ask her what makes this adaptation of Robin Hood different from the others?

“Umm…it’s faithful so far as the sheriff? And he’s on the bad side? That’s as faithful as it gets really.” She tells me laughing.

Hannah goes on, “It’s gender swapped, we went for genderblind casting to really just give the best actor the opportunity.” Furthermore, she says that, “It’s a bit meta, in the text it's gender swapped already but then there’s another layer of gender swapping.” 

There are also a lot of hands working on this production, “There are 18 in the cast…6 people doing the tech…I would love to write you a list because it’s hard to remember them all right now but we have a lot of people working on this, over 20+”

“Robin Hood The Legend Re-Written”

I ask what this is like compared to her previous work?

She hums and then tells me, “For Feccles, it’s a little different. There’s been a lot more effort that has been put into the setting to create that fairy tale atmosphere. We’ve done a lot of work with lots of different parts of Falmouth University, collaborating with the fashion course, the tech course and also just collaborating with the local community.”

She tells me something heartwarming: “We decided to incorporate puppets into the play -  and I can’t make puppets! - So I reached out to a local knitting community in Falmouth, who meet up in the Falmouth library every week, and I asked them if they would be interested in taking part…and they did! None of them had ever worked with puppets either but they wanted to have a go with it!”

“That’s kind of our ethos with the play: just do it! Just because you haven’t done it before doesn’t mean you can’t do it now. Just try something new every time, which has been a lot of fun!” She exclaims.

Why should people come and see it?

“I think people should come and see it because it’s fun.” She tells me, “People are going to have a good time. There are so many fun surprises that we’ve put into it.” She gets more enthusiastic with every sentence, “We want the audience to get involved! The whole point of the night is to just have fun and I think we’re really going to achieve that!”

“The point is for everyone to have fun, the audience and the team members.”

“Robin Hood The Legend Re-Written”

I ask Hannah if there is anything she is excited for?

She leaps at the chance to tell me that, “In Truro, in Halls for Cornwall, they’re going to do a production of “Legally Blonde” and I’m excited to see that because I love musicals and I’m excited to see what Halls for Cornwall do with that.”

I ask her if she has any advice for any other creatives?

“My main advice would be: Don’t worry about not having done it before or not having that much experience because you can always reach out for help. There will always be people who will be interested in giving you advice and mentoring you and there will always be people around that you can collaborate with. You don’t have to do it on your own. Be confident and ask the right questions, and it will be great!” She says hopefully.

I ask Hannah what’s next for her and Feccles?

She starts with Feccles,“Feccles, we have a couple murder mysteries lined up, which is always fun, and some improv showcases. We recently did a show, “Lost the Plot” Showcase in the Cornish Bank and we’re looking to do that again.” Then, she pivots, “And for me personally, I just know that I want to do more theatre.”

The instagram page for Feccles Drama can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/fecclesdrama/?hl=en

The ticket link for Robin Hood: The Legend Rewritten can be found here: https://www.falmouthtowncouncil.co.uk/events/robin-hood-the-legend-rewritten

“Robin Hood The Legend Re-Written”