The Kreutzer is based on "The Kreutzer Sonata" by Beethoven, Leo Janacek's first string quartet and a novella by Tolstoy. For years, NZSO violist Peter Barber dreamt of bringing these three works together in some kind of performance but it was you who adapted his original idea. How did this come about?

Peter had been waiting for the idea to be taken up for over a decade and had initially been thinking of segments of the music being played between pockets of narration. However, I've long been fascinated with involving musicians in theatrical performance and was attracted to the trio of Kreutzers as a means to pursue the possibilities for interaction between music, text and dance theatre.
I mulled things over for a year and was finding Tolstoy’s moralistic rant of a novella problematic. It was only after working with audio visual designer Andrew Brettell on another production that a way through became apparent. A camera offered the perfect means for making Tolstoy’s examination of “the act of viewing” translate to the stage. I explained my ideas to Peter, who was surprised by the mix of mediums (which now included AV) but encouraged me to go ahead. 

Why do you think this is a timeless story? In 1890 Tolstoy was branded a “sexual moral pervert” for his novella, as it frankly examined the corruption of thought, society and the flesh. It commences with the biblical quote, “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery in his heart” Matthew, 5:28. 
Our times may have changed, but Tolstoy’s questions are just as provocative today. Is it possible for men and women to view each other as equals without sex intervening? Is the way in which men and women perceive each other inevitably corrupt?  

You not only adapted the story, but you are the director and choreographer too. How did you devise the piece? Due to mix of performers and busy schedules, our rehearsal time was precious. So I had to formulate a very clear structure and edit of the novella before we set out, which took many hours of deliberating and racking my brain alone in a hotel room. Musicians usually learn things in advance and come together for short periods prior to performance. Whereas actors and dancers workshop for hours to trial material. I rehearsed initially with the actor working through the text. We were then joined by our dancer for a period of improvisational time devising the movement (which was intriguing as each came with an entirely different physical training). The musicians were the last into the mix. AV was developed along the way between bouts of filming over the weekends. It is the collaboration of many talents which make The Kreutzer. I felt like a cook with a lot of good ingredients at my fingertips. 

The Kreutzer is described as a "fusion of theatre and music" so who exactly is this aimed at? Opera lovers, classical music fans, theatregoers?
Well, everyone who likes provocative theatre and good music. The wonderful thing about the first production of The Kreutzer at BATS Theatre in 2007 was we attracted such a diverse range of audience; from teenage fringe theatre devotees who had never seen classical music performed live before to chamber music purists who were delighted the aesthetics and diversity of the musicians. 

The Kreutzer was first performed at BATS in 2007 and then at this year's Auckland festival. How did it go?
The Kreutzer was a sell-out when it was first performed and likewise after our review in The NZ Herald in Auckland. From the feedback I hear people are most impressed by the interweaving of performance elements which make up the show – reactions to the story are diverse. 

What's your background – aren't you from Christchurch?
So why do you think this will appeal to Christchurch audiences? I was born and grew up in Christchurch before taking off for London at the age of 18. My parents are still there and involved in the theatre. Some of my earliest memories are of running about the Repertory Theatre searching for the ghost. I think The Kreutzer appeals on so many levels as it a combination of theatre, dance, AV and incredibly powerful classical music. Christchurch audiences are great supporters of the NZ String Quartet and will be delighted to see them in a different light, for example, Rolf Gjelsten’s amazing ability to run and play his cello at the same time.

What kind of theatre appeals to you?
That which moves me and makes me think.

 
What's next for you?
Stage Left’s next project is North:South, which we are developing with poet Glenn Colquhoun and musicians Richard Nunns and Bob Bickerton for the Going West Festival in Auckland in September and Nelson Arts Festival in October. It brings Glenn’s epic poetry cycle of gods and goddesses of Maori and Celtic mythology to the stage and is a riot of a tale told by the poet discoursing, singing, and dancing his way through a multitude of characters and literary styles – buttressed by original music. The "boys", as I think of them, are great fun to work with and the project made possible by CNZ. I am also rehearsing the opera Semele for the New Zealand School of Music. I adore Handel’s music and it is very comic piece, there has been much giggling in the rehearsal room. It opens in Wellington on July 23, the same date as CAF.

The Kreutzer
The Great Hall
6 & 7 August, 7.30pm
8 August, 1.00pm & 7.30pm
9 August, 6.00pm