Director Roger Haines on working with Gene Wilder and becoming a mentor for Manchester directors

Director Roger Haines has worked with both the great and the good, and staged work by Stephen Sondheim and Neil Simon and directed comedy actor –  Gene Wilder in the West End. He is best known in Manchester for his excellent productions at the beloved Library Theatre. He is now a tutor at PÄI, mentoring people who want to work in the creative industries.

This culminates in the PÄI Academy Showcase, whereby aspiring producers, directors and writers get to stage four new short plays next month at the Edge Theatre in Chorlton. We caught up with Roger to find out more.

What attracted you to the role of mentor at PÄI?

My continuing desire to try and guide and help people of all ages to work in our profession…it’s not an easy time for so many in the creative industry at present, but if I can help a little, from the many wonderful experiences I have had the good fortune to be a part of, I will have a small feeling of satisfaction. I also have a great admiration for both Paris Rogers and Skäi Townsend as the founders and makers of the Academy!! I think it’s a truly wonderful addition to the Manchester scene. Also, the fact that it’s based at The Edge Theatre, which is a truly terrific space and which does some amazing work. I feel very privileged to have been asked.

What makes a piece of writing stand out for you when you read something from someone new to the game?

I think it’s a degree of theatricality. Dialogue that sounds real and natural. Frequently, the dialogue of writers who are starting out can sound quite stilted. This is, of course, to bear in mind that if the writer has deliberately written with a heightened style, it’ll be a different criteria. A good dramatic shape. A depth to the characters, that the writer has explored their background fully…that they have thought about what has preceded the first moments of their play.  Different colours within the play….if writing about the darker sides of a story to intersperse with comedic moments, likewise if a comedy intersperse with darker moments.   

The Library Theatre was such a beloved theatre. What are your best memories of directing there?

That’s a tough question…I have so many incredible memories, not least of which is working with the wonderful Howard Lloyd-Lewis. The great Sondheim musicals we did, where on some I was musical director, and others I directed. Howard and his successor, Chris Honer, gave me so many brilliant shows to direct… I *LOVED* doing the Neil Simon plays and the Brian Friel plays (both of whom I had the enormous privilege of meeting). But perhaps my absolute favourite productions were the plays I did at Christmas! I loved doing the Charles Dickens adaptations (Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations) and shows like Tom’s Midnight Garden. These shows allowed me to explore so many new and hopefully exciting visual and theatrical experiences!

What do you love about Manchester?

I came here from London after being asked to be Associate Director at the Library Theatre. I love it here because there is SO much exciting, vibrant and challenging artistic work going on!! One day, I can be at The Edge Theatre in Chorlton or 53Two in town, and the next, I can be at the Royal Exchange, Contact, Aviva Studios or the Bridgewater Hall. Also, compared to London (or Bournemouth, where I was brought up), the people are amazingly friendly! I have made some wonderful friends since moving to Manchester! It’s a great city!!!

What was it like working with Gene Wilder on Laughter on the 23^rd Floor in the West End?

Working with Gene was a truly wonderful experience!! We did this Neil Simon play together about the writing room in New York of all these amazing ‘50s comedy writers, including Mel Brooks and a young Neil Simon, who were writing for the Sid Caesar show! Gene was very honest…he hadn’t been on a stage for something like 30 years…so he needed some basic help with vocal projection in a theatre; and I always remember the day in the rehearsal room he faced upstage to deliver a gag!!! And this was a man who was a master of comedy!! So, I gently reminded him that he had his back to the audience so the gag wouldn’t land!!!  But right from the first time we met, he was very clear about the fact that he wanted his portrayal to contain recognisable Wilder idiosyncrasies within it!! And this I certainly let him develop, as long as it stayed truthful! He also introduced me to Chablis wine!!!

What can audiences expect from the PÄI Academy Showcase next month?

Hopefully, they’ll see something exciting! New plays are being produced by new producers and directed by new directors!! All involved in the course work in theatre but are now wanting to explore areas they are less frequent with under the guidance of Skäi, Paris, several guest theatre practitioners, and myself. There’s a great mix of plays, comedy, tragedy, ultra showbiz glam (!), but all exploring, in depth, truthful elements of the characters’ lives! We are performing this showcase at the Edge Theatre and Arts Centre in Chorlton, and with the massive support of the Edge, and to add that, it’s been a very exciting experience!

PÄI Academy Showcase is at The Edge from 3^rd – 5^th April, and tickets can be booked here.