/ Don't hate the media, become the media.
Jello Biafra

During your research did you discover anything about the Manson cult that you had never seen before and how did your research help you write the text?

I’ve read accounts from around thirteen different people on what happened. The general structure they give is the same, but the why, how, and who are vastly different. There isn’t a clear-cut explanation behind how the Manson cult was formed and operated. However, the biggest takeaway was that there was no grand plan or simple A to B journey. Instead, you have a literal Helter Skelter of events, where one thing leads to another and eventually it all comes crashing down. But what was most interesting was the context. For example, how conservative the government was at the time, how women’s rights were regressing, how relationships between different ethnicities were reaching a boiling point, how being involved in a war in a faraway country affected the population, and finally how young people felt lost, angry and wanting to create something new and separate from the society their parents had created for them. All of which are eerily close to the world we live in today.

What have been the biggest challenges you faced bringing Heater Skelter to the stage?

I had never written a play before, and coming from a working-class, immigrant background theatre wasn’t something I watched a whole lot. But I’d seen a lot of films. That influences me subconsciously into creating something with multiple locations, scenes that stretched over a vast span of time. However translating that to the stage meant I, the creative team, and the cast had to think abstract, asking ourselves how do we create a desert with a hundred quid and a 6m by 3m stage. That was a lot of fun though in retrospect.

Do you allow yourself or your cast much flexibility once a show is running or do you prefer to stick to the show as written?

Yes to dialogue, not so much for structure. Cutting the play down to an hour meant the age-old ‘if it doesn’t serve the story, toss it in the bin’ became essential. However the lines themselves I’d written while speaking them, playing out each character as I wrote them. But I’m me, and when an actor picks it up they read it completely differently and as a result will say things differently. Through that, the lines changed a lot like how you would tailor a suit to fit you.

How important is the collaborative nature between a director and his cast?

It’s probably the most important part of the process. Like writing, directing is something new for me so I came at it like actor. That means in less vague terms that there was very little go here, do this, face that way. And a lot more of playing games, asking why, and removing the blockers we all have when performing. Also, the characterisation is completely the actors, I didn’t want to create a period piece where we imitated real life people through voice and mannerisms. Instead, the actors created the people in the situations they were in and lived through them.

Have you always had a passion for theatre and Veto Productions come about?

I think telling stories is my passion and theatre is the most immediate way to do that. Going back to campfires there is something really rewarding in feeling your audience following along, holding their attention, and then shocking them when they least expect it. That journey you take together is what makes theatre special for me. VETO Productions came about in my first year of university. After that A-Level devising thing for Helter Skelter, I dabbled at trying to write it into an actual play. Then I and three other first-years read it for fun over beer and pizza and afterward asked ourselves why we had to wait three years to put on a show. That first year of calling up venues, chipping in fifty quid each, and seeing our first audience roll in was amazing.