Wastwater, the latest production at the Tabard Theatre, sees a welcome return of theatre group Two Shillings & Sixpence, the group who brought Bluebird to the Tabard last year. Both Bluebird and Wastwater were written by multi-award winning Simon Stephens who also wrote The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Wastwater is set within the shadow of Heathrow where three seemingly conventional yet fractured relationships are on the brink of monumental change. A mother and a son go their separate ways. Two lovers embark on sexual betrayal. A contractual arrangement takes upon a terrifying dimension.

Christien, who starred in Bluebird, explains the title: "Wastwater is in the Lake District and is the deepest lake in England," he says. "It fits the way Simon writes, very intuitively, leaving you with as many questions as answers. The play is mysterious and disturbing, creating a complex, humane and concerned picture of the world.

"There are moments of humour in the play, but Wastwater is not an uplifting comedy and the audience won't come out laughing, but it will make them think and give them lots to talk about on their way home."

The rotating cast of Wastwater consists of 11 actors, including Selina Giles, Lisa Gorgin, Jennifer Hannah, Mark Griffin and Christien himself.

"Two Shillings and Sixpence is basically a company of actors who decided we would get together every so often to perform and raise money for charity.

"As you can imagine, we all have busy lives working on separate projects so getting together can take some organising - and hundreds of emails! But when the Tabard asked if we would come back to do another play this year, we all wanted to do it."


Christien in Wastwater

This time, however there is one major difference for Christien, who has been acting for almost 30 years in film, TV and theatre - as well as acting, he is also making his directorial debut. "I've worked with many great directors and have watched them at work and learned from them," he says.

"I love working with actors and am thoroughly enjoying directing. And as the cast is rotating and taking on different roles, I am having the pleasure of seeing another actor taking on my role."

Wastwater runs for the next month, from Tuesday till Saturday until June 4, with tickets available now online.

Sheila Profit

May 3, 2016