Stand is at the West Oxford Community Centre

‘First impressions are the most lasting,” goes the 18th- century proverb. That’s not always true, you’ll discover if you visit Botley Road’s West Oxford Community Centre in the next few days.

The centre’s main hall has been set up for Stand, a show devised by Chris Goode as part of the Playhouse Plays Out series. As you enter the hall, a sterile scene confronts you. Against a cool grey background, six identical black office chairs are placed in a row. In front of each chair sits a minimalist, modern black music stand. Ominous music plays in the background. Altogether, the atmosphere suggests that a Dragons’ Den-type grilling of a hapless interview candidate is about to take place.

But once those chairs are occupied by six actors, things change completely, for those actors unveil six very human, and far from sterile, stories. Each actor represents an Oxford resident, who has had his or her story selected by Goode — he has interviewed each person, then used their words as the script for the show.

You never, incidentally, directly learn the identities of interviewees themselves, the names listed below are those of the actors.

If there’s a common theme, it’s protest. Michael Fenton Stevens used his skills as a photographer to promote the cause of the Jericho Boatyard redevelopment protesters, in the days when British Waterways were hell-bent on “monetising” the area: “I thought: let’s start something,” he says. Lawrence Werber joined the animal rights protesters in South Parks Road: “How dare they call it science?” he exclaims.

Cathy Tyson started her protests young by walking along a motorway: “it’s my right”, while Kelda Holmes feels strongly about climate change. She went to a climate change camp, but humorously admits she flew in an aeroplane to get there. Christian Roe first got drawn into protest movements as an Oxford University student, and ended up creating a scene at Stratford, he tells us, by fervently denouncing the RSC’s use of sponsorship money from BP.

Reflected glory: Chris Goode

Gwyneth Strong’s story is rather different. She adopted a Ukranian daughter, Aliona: “I don’t want to raise a timid child,” she told the adoption agency. Not surprisingly, she’s proud that, in due course, Aliona stood up for a homeless man being bullied on an Oxford bus.

“I found the story very inspiring, moving, surprising and shocking but that’s what the theatre is; a way of telling people’s stories,” Gwyneth told my colleague Katherine MacAlister.

Gwyneth, for long the ambitious but long-suffering Cassandra in Only Fools and Horses, met the real-life mother as she prepared to play her in Stand. How did that feel?

“I feel a real duty of care towards her — to look after her story and do it justice. It was amazing to meet her and a bit unnerving, probably for both of us, but we got on instantly. Chris must have seen a similarity in us, though, when he cast me, because I noticed it too and I could immediately visualise the story.”

Once the stories had been recorded and transcribed, the final stages of Stand were put together very quickly, Gwyneth revealed, with the actors getting their scripts very much at the last minute. But luckily she has worked with Chris Goode before.

“I’ve worked with Chris for two years and he makes amazing theatre. Monkey Bars was his last play, which got a Fringe First at Edinburgh last summer when he interviewed lots of children and then crafted a play out of it. So this is quite similar.

“But it’s quite terrifying to work that way, I’m not going to lie to you, because you have to learn the vocabulary verbatim in a short space of time, and it’s not easy to learn because Chris is very strict on body language and personal idiosyncrasies.

“So it always gets to a point when I think ‘what am I doing this for?’ Until it’s finished that is, when you remember why you’re doing it.”

As Stand reaches its conclusion, do you learn the secret of taking part in a successful protest action? One of the storytellers finishes with some very wise words of advice to future activists: “You have to take the issues seriously, without taking yourself too seriously”.

Stand
West Oxford Community Centre
Until Sunday
Tickets: 01865 305305 or oxfordplayhouse.com