Nottingham Playhouse's AMPLIFY SEASONS is bringing 'Spare Goose', "an unfiltered comedy play", to our city
The show "takes an intimate look at the complicated and nuanced nature of female friendships and how they change and grow as we move through life".
Coming to Nottingham as part of the Playhouse’s AMPLIFY SEASONS, which aims to “showcase opportunities for Midlands artists throughout the year”, ‘Spare Goose’ takes a nuanced approach to a nuanced topic.
We speak to creator Danica Corns all about it…
So, for those who might not know, what is ‘Spare Goose’ all about, and where did the idea come from?
‘Spare Goose’ is an unfiltered comedy play which takes an intimate look at the complicated and nuanced nature of female friendships and how they change and grow as we move through life. It explores what it means for someone to have your back through the twists and turns of life, even when they don’t always understand.
The initial idea was sparked by a conversation I had with a friend of mine about menstrual cups. I’d recently had an experience where I thought mine was stuck and, without missing a beat, my friend said: ‘If that ever happens again, call me and I’ll come round.’ It got me thinking about female friendships and the lengths we will (or won’t) go to for each other. And that’s when ‘Spare Goose’ was born.
It’s still very much a work in progress exploring what bonds people, especially when friends are at different stages of life, and what happens if those friendships start to break down – can they be saved?
It marks your playwriting debut, after a decade working in this sphere. Why was this the right project to launch this new stage of your career?
At this point in my journey, I’m interested in making work that sparks conversation and reflects or celebrates aspects of the world we live in – and friendships are certainly something to celebrate.
It’s a topic that feels both personal and universal because everyone has experienced the joy and heartbreak that comes with friendship and growing up. With so much colour and richness in female friendship dynamics, it’s also a topic that lends itself well to a playful, heartfelt piece which is the tone I’m hoping to strike with ‘Spare Goose’. I hope that people watch the play, have a good time and hopefully see bits of their own experiences in it.
“Humour is a great tool to navigate the uncomfortable truths about change and connection”
Your profile on the Nottingham Playhouse website talks about how you use humour as a way to delve into difficult and sticky subjects. Why do you find that this is a good way to approach challenging stories, with this lighter touch?
We have a reputation in the UK for being reserved and pragmatically unemotional, which can sometimes make talking about challenging or taboo subjects overwhelming. In my previous theatre company, we often explored difficult topics – such as abortion and inequality – and found that making people laugh helped to create a more relaxed environment for people to engage with these subjects.
While ‘Spare Goose’ doesn’t explore a difficult subject as such, humour is a great tool to navigate the uncomfortable truths about change and connection.
This is part of the Playhouse’s AMPLIFY SEASON. How did you get involved in that and how exciting has it been to be a part of?
Last year, I took part in the Nottingham Playhouse Writers’ Group, where I began developing ‘Spare Goose’. The mentoring, support and dramaturgical advice instilled confidence in myself as a writer, and developed both my creative practice and the boldness and fearlessness of my ideas, elevating my work. Since then, I've continued to develop my relationship with Nottingham Playhouse and take advantage of the AMPLIFY events and opportunities available to artists in order to continue improving my work and moving my play forward.
So, when the opportunity came up to present a section of the script to an audience for the first time in AMPLIFY SEASONS, I grabbed it. It'll give me a real sense of what's landing, what might need refining, and where I could take the piece next.
The Playhouse is a proper institution here in Notts. How much are you looking forward to seeing your debut play out on that famous stage next month?
I'm really looking forward to it. It feels like a huge milestone in the development process of ‘Spare Goose’. There was a time when just getting to the end of a first draft was the goal, and now I'm about to see part of it brought to life in front of an audience in Notts and it feels great. I’m looking forward to seeing characters that have lived in my head come to life on stage and experience them with the energy that only comes with live performance.
Do you have much experience with Nottingham’s theatre scene? To me, it feels like the blend of humour and seriousness that ‘Spare Goose’ will provide will be perfect for theatregoers in our city – was that on your mind at all when putting this together?
I'm fairly new to the Nottingham theatre scene, so I must admit it wasn't something consciously on my mind when writing. My focus has been on telling the story in a way that feels true to the characters and the world they live in.
However, I have found during my short stint of writing so far that I naturally gravitate towards a mix of comedy and heart, so I hope it will resonate with the Notts theatre crowd next month!
This is part of the FRENEMIES double-bill alongside Sugar Theatre’s ‘F*ck You, Claire’. Why do these two projects go so well together?
I'm excited ‘Spare Goose’ has been paired with Sugar Theatre’s ‘F*ck You, Claire’. They both explore the messy and emotional chaos of life, offering humorous takes on how we muddle through. Unafraid to be both funny and emotionally honest, over the course of the double-bill the audience will unpick female relationships and identity from different angles.
What’s next for both ‘Spare Goose’ and yourself going forward?
‘Spare Goose’ is very much in development, and so the next stage will be redrafting the play. I'll be using AMPLIFY SEASONS to get a sense of what's working and what maybe hadn’t landed as intended to inform my next draft. I’m hoping to finish developing the play this year and, if the stars align, look to bring the script to life as a full production next year.
Tickets for the ‘Frenemies’ double-bill at Nottingham Playhouse are available now.
(Header photo by Michael Shelford)