Theatre

The innovator
Will Adamsdale, 31
Adamsdale’s play ‘The Receipt’ won plaudits at the Edinburgh Festival this year. He also won the Perrier Comedy Award in 2004 for ‘Jackson’s Way’.
Where did you train?
I went to Oxford School of Drama which Chris [Branch, sound artist on ‘The Receipt’] says he thinks sounds a bit like a cult, because it’s in the middle of nowhere in a farmhouse. Obviously it’s not, and it was good – I’m really glad I did that bit of training. Feature continues

Has experimental work always excited you?
I think I’ve always liked quite messy theatre – where you see things being made, and possibly going wrong. Teetering on that knife-edge is always interesting for audience and performers. Working with Filter [a physical theatre company which experimented with sound] certainly made me aware of how to put things in front of an audience and not be ashamed.
Who have your influences been?
In Filter, everyone was into Complicité but I have influences outside theatre – right now, I’m a complete Richard Brautigan obsessive. He wrote this book ‘Trout Fishing In America’, where ‘Trout Fishing in America’ is also the name of a character.
How has moving in comedy circles affected your theatre-making?
I thought there wasn’t any difference between the two. There’s certainly not as much as punters think.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
A director really gave me a bollocking once because I’d eaten my words on stage. At the time I was quite teenage about it. But now, actually, I see he has got a point.
Who do you admire in theatre?
I like companies who improvise properly, like Told By An Idiot and Cartoon de Salvo. Obviously, Kneehigh is good – ‘The Wooden Frock’ was brilliant.
Where would you like to go in the next five years?
The only policy I’ve managed to develop is to keep doing things.