Reviewing Grand Ambition’s Physical Education for us last week, I called it “quite simply phenomenal” — a raw, funny and unflinching portrait of life for Swansea’s teenage boys that had the audience laughing one moment and squirming the next.
So when the chance came to sit down with the man who directed it, I took it.
Richard Mylan is the Swansea-born actor and director who last year won Best Director at The Stage Debut Awards for Grand Ambition‘s Mumfighter. With Physical Education running at Swansea Grand Theatre’s Arts Wing until this Saturday, we talked about his roots, the company’s mission, and a script he sums up in three words as “authentic, dangerous, tender”.
Richard, thank you for talking to us. Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got into theatre?
I trained as a dancer from a very young age and my sister and I joined Gendros Amateur Operatic Society. We did Oliver! and Half a Sixpence at Swansea Grand. That’s where my love of theatre began. I then went to London to train as a dancer from the age of 12 and when I graduated, went straight into Starlight Express in the West End.
For those who don’t know about Grand Ambition, what’s it all about?
Grand Ambition tell Swansea stories, championing unheard voices and producing those stories from the community to the stage. We nurture existing and emerging talent and create professional opportunities in Swansea for creatives. Grand Ambition is a creative collective made up of Steve Balsamo, Michelle McTernan, Christian Patterson and myself.
Would you say Physical Education epitomises the company, in terms of it not just telling local stories but pushing boundaries? It’s not exactly a ‘safe’ play, is it?
Absolutely. We tell the stories that matter to our city, and those stories are often uncomfortable. Physical Education is definitely not a safe play. We feel very passionate about producing theatre that challenges perceptions and enables meaningful conversations and positive change. Change often comes from confronting uncomfortable truths.
On that note, what drew you to directing it?
Christian Patterson developed the play for the creative collective, and I have always felt connected to it. When Christian went into the West End with Cyrano, I knew I wanted to direct it and worked closely with Jonathan Houlston, the writer, on preproduction. I guess I’m connected to it because when I was a dancer at primary age, I was also into rugby, and I experienced firsthand how cruel boys and men can be when you’re just wanting to express yourself. But I’ve also been on the other side of it all growing up as a teenager in London.
What do you hope the audience will take away from this production, and what kind of an audience are you hoping to attract?
I very much hope that as many young people as possible come to see the play. But this is a play for all ages — we all went to school, we all experienced the themes within the play. I hope that young people feel seen, especially young men, and I hope that they feel it can be a springboard to further conversations around masculinity.
The cast are frankly outstanding. It must have been incredibly exciting to be gifted such talent to work with — but was there a long development and rehearsal process to get to this point?
The cast are incredible; they made my job very easy because they brought so much to the rehearsal room. But because it was such a big cast and production budgets are tight, the rehearsal period was only three weeks. So I’m really proud of what we achieved in such a short timeframe. I wouldn’t change a thing about the production.
As you say, you worked very closely with writer Jonathan Houlston, but was it a collaborative process across the board? For a play dealing with such heavy subject matter, I imagine different perspectives and inputs are very welcome?
Jonathan’s writing is so clear, and his characters are so well rounded, that we didn’t really need different perspectives in terms of the writing. All Christian Patterson and I did was make it — in Christian’s words — “leaner and meaner”. But Jonathan and I definitely worked very closely and collaboratively throughout the whole process. He was my assistant director, and he was there for every production meeting, so he learned a lot from us, and I certainly learned a lot from him.
With the Grand’s main auditorium as well as the Arts Wing, and venues such as Volcano and the Dylan Thomas, would you say Swansea’s theatre scene is in a healthy state? What more would you like to see?
I think it’s a very exciting time for theatre in Swansea and we are building something really special collectively as an ecosystem. I would certainly like to see more public connection to the work beyond the regular theatre-going public, and I would love to see more cutting-edge, future-facing arts infrastructure and technology in the city. We’re definitely going in the right direction. Swansea Council are a great supporter of the arts, and I know that’s not the case everywhere.
Finally, if you could sum up Physical Education in just three words, what would they be?
Authentic. Dangerous. Tender.
Physical Education is at Swansea Grand Theatre‘s Arts Wing until Saturday 11 July, with performances at 1pm, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets are £20, the show runs 85 minutes and is recommended for ages 15 and over.
A BSL-interpreted performance takes place on Friday 10 July at 7.30pm, and all performances include integrated open captions. Tickets can be booked on the theatre’s website or by calling the box office on 01792 475715.
