Film Name: Debt Meat
Director: Benji Edward
Writers: Benji Edward
Starring: Laya Lewis, Keegan Carr, Jane McDowell, Paul Tonkin, Alex McKeown
In a nation where human flesh is the only accepted currency, the economy is sacred and mercy is obsolete. When her sister is absorbed into the state’s system, one woman refuses to accept the arithmetic of sacrifice and sets out to confront the immaculate couple who profit from a machine that never makes mistakes.
What unfolds is a dangerous game played over candlelit drinks, where paperwork can kill and power hides behind procedure.
Darkly comic and unsettlingly plausible,Debt Meatis a razor-sharp new satire about the terrifying logic of a system that consumes its own.
In a new interview on Blazing Minds ahead of the plays short run at the Draytons Arms Theatre, I got a chance to ask Actress Laya Lewis a few questions about her role in ‘Debt Meat‘
Debt Meat will have a limited run at the Draytons Arms Theatre from 17th -18th May.
Q. You feature in the play ‘Debt Meat’ which is being staged at the Drayton Arms Theatre. What can audiences expect from the show?
A. What audiences can expect from the show is the unexpected. The relatability of the piece, considering the times that we live in now, I think that’s where the shock comes in, because when I read it, I feel like we live this every day, metaphorically speaking. That is the expectation. The play is parallel to your own reality right now.
Q. What first drew you to Debt Meat and made you want to be part of this production?
A.I found the script to be so telling, so powerful, especially with the character lead. That you once were optimistic, you were a child, once had dreams, but life unfortunately chips away at you bit by bit in the most extreme of ways. You are just left with a survival instinct to care for yourself and your family. I read that and that really resonated with me. I work with young people, and I’ve always been really fascinated and taken by the idea of the wonder child and the wounded child. Here we just have these wounds that go deeper and deeper in a world where you don’t get to be naive, or have childlike innocence or fun, because there is no time for that — there is only time for survival.
Q. Can you tell me a little bit about your character and her role within the play?
A. I play Lead, and she is the older sister of Sister. I feel that she has been through a lot in her life, and taking care of Sister is her number one priority. Taking care of herself, but that is in order to be able to look after her Sister. To Sister she is both parents and I think there has been very little time in her adult life for herself, for enjoyment, relaxation or to just kick back. This is a woman who has been on edge all her life since childhood because of her circumstances. She’s incredibly strong, resilient, and intelligent. She is an amazing character to play as she has so much depth.
Q. What preparations did you do for portraying the character?
A. For me, I focused on the strong women in my life. There is a woman from work, I won’t name her, but I really had her in my head when thinking about Lead. Also, this idea that the underdog comes through at the end, I like that idea and I thought a lot about strong female performances as well. I always have Charlize Theron when I think of Lead, which I know is quite random. She has the ability in such a naturalistic, beautiful way to portray such strength and resilience on screen, but it’s never too much, its always there under the surface. Performance-wise she has been a huge inspiration for my search for who Lead is. I think as well that for a play like this, so much of it coming from within and being natural is the most important thing. Looking at my own life and that level of resilience in my own life is a very important thing. I come from a working-class background, I understand that constant feeling of running up that hill, and so I think it’s just referencing that in my own performance.
Q. Are there any elements of the character which you feel reflect some of your own personality?
A. Like I just said, resilience and always wanting to better your life, but conscious forever cautious, forever on edge. I am a very anxious person and also have OCD, so I understand this feeling of expecting the worst-case scenario. So you are better prepared to fight or cope with it, and I think Lead has elements of that.
Q. Have the scenes or the way you initially planned to portray your character change from how you originally intended or from the original script?
A.I know she is quite stiff, and I play her with this tension in her body, but originally when I first read it, I imagined her a little bit bigger. There is still a softness to her which comes through in certain scenes, and I imagined that was a little bit less when I first read the script.
Q. Have you found any of the scenes challenging to perform either emotionally or from a technical perspective during rehearsals?
A. Less so that I’ve found specific scenes challenging. It’s a really thin veil between who you are and who that person is. For me in order to really connect and create that character, make them believable, make them as three dimensional as possible, I have to find that perfect middle ground between me and them. So, I think it’s just finding myself within the moments and the scenes. That’s not necessarily a struggle, but there are some moments that feel so natural to you when you are reading it and you are like, I get where I am at with this, but other times it’s all about workshopping it and finding where you fit in it.
Q. What makes Debt Meat stand out as something different?
A. What doesn’t! It’s so different, I’ve never read or heard of anything like it. It’s incredibly bleak and also incredibly reflective of the times we live in now. It’s clever, it’s so well written, Benji is such a great writer. There’s nothing quite like it as far as I know, that is for me what makes it stand out. These scenes they hold so much tension for a play that’s only an hour; you can cut that tension with a knife and that is down to great writing.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the play?
A. This is going to sound quite bad, but I hope that it’s the kind of thing that keeps them up at night a little bit, for a week or so because you are just thinking about it. Because I know when plays or films do that to me, and you just can’t sleep because you are thinking about it and its playing on your mind. You’re unsettled; it’s made you feel a type of way that you can’t just let go. That’s what I hope that they take this feeling of unease with them into their lives. That’s what it’s all about, it should feel uncomfortable to watch, we live in uncomfortable times, we live in a world where horrific things happen daily, and it should feel uncomfortable.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I have written my first play, so I’m currently workshopping that and trying get that off the ground which is incredibly exciting. So, it’s been amazing to be here with this process for Benji, it’s all very inspiring.
Q. If someone was looking to get into acting what advice would you give them?
A. I think with acting, the rest of your life filters into what you are doing, for me personally anyway. I have to find contentment and happiness outside of the craft in order to be able to give my best to acting. Don’t forget to enjoy it, enjoy the journey. It becomes this obsession with working, getting callbacks, getting auditions. It’s so difficult, but you have to try and find joy in it as well. Joy just comes from being creative and enjoying projects that are just fun, instead of always thinking about climbing the ladder. Which I know is very important, but for me it’s about finding the joy as best you can.
Debt Meat will have a limited run at the Draytons Arms Theatre from 17th -18th May.
You can find out more about the play and purchase tickets here
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!