Interview: Staging My Name is Lucy Barton in South Africa

The much anticipated stage adaption – the South African production – of My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout opened in August (2024) at the Hilton Arts in KZN, to rave reviews. Julie-Anne McDowell who stars in this new production (not a facsimile of the UK production), provides insights into Lucy Barton:

TCR: What spurred you to get the rights and stage the play in SA? Have you seen the production, starring Laura Linney in London?

Julie-Anne McDowell: I have not seen the UK stage production, despite being a huge Laura Linney fan and I am glad we could approach this SA version with no preconceived ideas. I have read the book, in fact I’ve devoured all of the books in the series, and have been a huge fan of Elizabeth Strout’s writing for years. When Charmaine Weir Smith suggested I consider this play I was unaware that it had been adapted for the stage. Knowing the book well and having been very moved by Lucy’s story I was determined that How Now Brown Cow should acquire the rights to the play and stage it. I believe it’s a story that speaks to all of us about identity, familial relationships, generational trauma and healing.  It’s a very inspiring story that started its life as a book and now has become a living breathing theatrical production. I initially balked at the idea of doing a one-woman piece but this story resonated with me on many levels.  When Charmaine (Weir-Smith) and I chatted further about her ideas for staging it, I realised that I needed to conquer my fear and embrace the immense gift of Strout’s prose and Lucy’s story. I knew in Charmaine’s expert hands we could deliver a nuanced, authentic and compelling piece of theatre.

TCR: Were you given leeway by Rona Munro and Elizabeth Strout to cut or add in things? Lucy reinvents herself in New York.  I take it that you haven’t localised it in South Africa? New York is almost another character in the book and where Lucy finds her creative pathway?

JAM: We have not added anything to the text of the script because Elizabeth Strout’s writing is deliberate and considered and very beautiful. We have had to cut some of Rona Munro’s adaptation though, being mindful of the audience and the storytelling, otherwise the running time of the play would have been close to two hours. I actually believe this current version of the play is tighter and more propulsive in its theatrical storytelling.

We have retained the New York setting yes because it is intrinsic to the story, its context and the flavour of the writing. It is the triumphant story of someone who is able to transcend her childhood in rural, remote and impoverished Illinois and succeed in a vibrant, busy, sophisticated New York City. It goes back and forth in timelines as Lucy tells us the story of her childhood, her family, her marriage and her subsequent career as a writer.  It perhaps suggests that while your physical landscape roots your foundations, it doesn’t necessarily define you and that your psychological landscape is what can shape your future. New York City and Lucy’s visible success contrast sharply with her mother and family who have remained in small town Illinois.

TCR: Insights into design and lighting, wardrobe? The Chrysler Building figures prominently as a leitmotif- insights?

JAM: The staging is a non-descript hospital room. However, with clever lighting the room transforms from night to day, from spring to autumn, from memory to present day, from a hospital room to a farmland, the interior of a truck to a fairground.  The curtained backdrop allows for large projected images to become a magnified visual of Lucy’s POV and at times overwhelm the stage with her memories. The Chrysler Building, Lucy’s beacon of hope, shines brightly dominating the hospital and the New York skyline.   

TCR: Is there music or a soundtrack? A lot of what happens, goes beyond language in the book, so wondering how you have worked with this – the feelings and turmoil which is key to the book?

JAM: Music and sound are of course integral to the story telling with carefully chosen tracks and sound effects. Elizabeth Strout uses symbolism throughout in her writing and we hope we have captured and translated the tone and the visual elements in a theatrically exciting way.

TCR: Are there voice overs conjuring up the many characters in the book? Or do you play them all?

JAM: I play all the characters in the play.

TCR: Family trauma, generational guilt and anxiety is a key theme. Can you comment how you have positioned the play in your performance? There is a lot of humour in the book – for instance the gossip by Lucy’s mom about other peoples’ failed marriages. Wondering if you heighten the humour in your production?

JAM: This is very much an examination of trauma and how people react to it. In My Name Is Lucy Barton, Strout illustrates two different ways of dealing with it through Lucy and her mother. But in fact, all characters experience a form of trauma.

Lucy’s mother copes by burying her trauma and side stepping the issue. She disassociates, denies it and hides behind a brittle shell. She projects her fear and revels in the misfortune of others. By comparison, Lucy confronts her fears, excavates her trauma, finds perspective and seeks to understand what happened and why. She then shares her story through her writing (and now with an audience) and finds connection through doing so. This is what saves her. 

The key in performing this I think is to distinguish the two women and where trauma sits in them.  How they breathe, move, sit, hold themselves, gesture, place their voice and make eye contact. They are pretty much the antithesis of one another.

Humour is necessary in this drama because the audience needs to be relieved at times and to breathe out. It provides a welcome release and allows for the contrast of light and shade.

But I guess the key is to keep it truthful.  Rooted in truth – the realism of the piece demands that of the performer.

✳ My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout, the South African production (2024), staged by How Now Brown Cow, starring Julie-Anne McDowell, directed by Charmaine Weir-Smith. Pic supplied.