Ken Campbell says “yes”
Ken Campbell argues not saying “no” can bring about great improv.
Decor Without Production, his series of late-night shows scheduled for the Jerwood Theatre from March 2006, is in part a tribute to the improvisation and mask work led by George Devine and Keith Johnstone in the 1960s and 1970s.
Campbell says he has begun to wonder “whether it isn’t time to disband the Royal Court as a writers’ theatre. I don’t understand the worship of writers in this country,” he says, “since none of them are much good.”
… Last weekend saw the inaugural Improvathon, a 36-hour play hatched on the spot at Ladbroke Grove’s Inn on the Green between 10am on Saturday and 10pm on Sunday, with only one or two five-minute breaks in the action.
I didn’t know it was on, but supposedly it was based on the idea:
‘Don’t ever say no. Work round it. Do not say the word no … Saying yes will often bring surprises and will dig you deeper. Yes will make the world open up.’”
This is much like the Yes-man book of Danny Wallace. I think there might be something to this notion of always saying yes…
Danny said: ‘I, Danny Wallace, being of sound mind and body, do hereby write this manifesto for my life. I swear I will be more open to opportunity. I swear I will live my life taking every available chance. I swear I will say Yes to every favour, request, suggestion and invitation. I SWEAR I WILL SAY YES WHERE ONCE I WOULD HAVE SAID NO.’
… With this modus operandi making a really extended improvisation possible, the really interesting point comes about 30 hours in, says Campbell. “The lizard brain is the key,” he says, explaining that at this point in the improvathon, the performers gain full access to some of the supposedly primitive but very useful areas of the human mind.
“After hour 30, people I hadn’t thought were anything in particular became brilliant. Hours 26 to 30 were the most uniformly abysmal, but they were followed by six hours of sensations.”
I’m looking forward to seeing some stuff next year although I’m not sure I can yet quite agree with his assertion that writers here aren‘t much good. His assertion though rhymes with what Mark Ravenhill was saying about new writing….
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About me
I'm a playwright and investment analyst. I have a broad range of interests: food, gardening, innovation & intellectual property, sustainability, architecture & design, writing and the arts. I sit on the board of Talawa Theatre Company and advise a CIS investment trust on socially responsible investments.
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Recent Work
Recent plays include, for theatre: Nakamitsu, Yellow Gentlemen, Lost in Peru, Lemon Love. For radio: Places in Between (R4), Patent Breaking Life Saving (WS).
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Nakamitsu
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Yellow Gentlemen
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