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THE WET MARINERS
We're a Shakespeare theatre troupe that pop up in the countryside to mess around with the audience and tell stories. Actor led, no director, just words and play
Who are we?
We're a company of actors who seek to tell the stories of Shakespeare with no preconceptions, no hierarchy, and no director, in just one week. We work from the text, we cast irrespective of gender or colour, and we always put the audience first.
How did we get here?
Whilst training at LAMDA, we hoped to consolidate some of our new skills by performing Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Willow Globe, Wales, in a week. It was such an enlightening experience that we now return every year. In between, our company members have performed at Shakespeare’s Globe, the RSC, the National Theatre, in the West End, and as far afield as America, India, Singapore and Australia. We are a company with a great variety of backgrounds and heritage, but it's that first week in the Welsh countryside that still inspires us most.
Why make this style of work?
We set up a manifesto in that first week that banned apologising in favour of embracing failure. This taught us to dive in head first until we discovered something we found exciting. It crafted respect and admiration for our fellow company, it gave us bold, respectful, playful, and earnest collaboration and most importantly, it placed the actor and audience on an equal footing at the top of the hierarchy.
Sharing that became vital, and is why we believe the true essence of these plays only comes out when the actor-audience relationship is just right.
