Interview: Meet 'Virginia Woolf' - A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN's Naomi Wright

Literary lovers will be delighted to know there's a unique new theatrical event starting this week - a site specific performance piece that examines the life and works of Virginia Woolf. The brainchild of Naomi Wright (who will play Woolf in the production) the show is a fully immersive production that features an all female cast and crew and will take place in Toronto's historic Campbell House.

Set in 1928, the show will feature Woolf delivering her iconic text for the very first time while guests are treated to a reception that includes live music, cash bar and light refreshments. To help create the uniquely hands-on experience, the audience will be encouraged to explore the library, read newspapers from 1928 and peruse Woolf's living quarters to get a better feel for the woman behind the iconic works.

As Wright explains, "This is a chance for the audience to get to know Virginia Woolf like never before. She was an extremely complicated woman who was well ahead of her time. She was a literary giant and we're thrilled to bring her words to life in one of the most historic houses in Toronto." BWW sat down to talk further with Wright about the project's evolution over the last decade, interpreting a character like Virginia Woolf, the role of gender in the arts and the unique nature of the show:

First off, how did you get the idea/inspiration to do this show? And given that it started as a work in progress in 2003 - could you tell us a bit about how it's evolved over the last decade? Do you plan to take it further?

I first read this script when my director Sarah Rodgers asked me to work on it with her as part of her Master degree at UBC 10 years ago. I had just graduated from the BFA Acting program. Someone saw the piece and suggested we submit it for the Uno Festival in Victoria. We did our little paired down version of the show and we couldn't believe the response. We sold out our three shows and the audiences were very kind.

Since then, about once a year, Sarah and I talk about mounting a full production of the show. It is finally happening!

You've got an all-female team working with you - was that intentional? Is there a reason you wanted to be surrounded with females to tackle this project?

It was not intentional actually! Not in the sense that we said "this is gonna be an all female show!" But when I was writing the grants for this show I cam across a very disturbing study that had been done by a woman at Princeton (I've said Harvard in another interview - and just re-read the study and it's actually from Princeton!) She found that 80% of plays produced in the US were written by men, and she wanted to find out why that was the case. She found a few different reasons but the most disturbing was this: she sent an identical script to Artistic Directors and Literary Agents around the country, half of them had the name of a male author (eg John X), and half the name of a female author (Mary X). Mary's script received far more negative reviews than John's - although it was exactly the same script. And she found that that statistic was mainly being driven by female ADs and Literary Agents.

I don't understand it. I don't think that we can necessarily conclude that across the board women don't help other women. But in A Room of One's Own Virginia Woolf says "Women are hard on women, women dislike women." So it's an idea that has been around for a while.

So when Sarah and I were gathering our team, although we didn't mandate that we would only bring women on board, we had this study in the back of our minds.

Virginia Woolf is not only iconic, but in many ways she's a complicated classic. One of my favourite kinds of women. How did you prepare to portray her? Is it difficult going in and out of such a complex character?

Virginia Woolf thinks and writes giant thoughts which is similar to the way Shakespeare writes. There is one big thoughts with little eddies along the way to the end of it and that is hugely challenging. In terms of portraying an icon - you can really only read what you can read, and arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can, and then tell the story. We aren't trying to impersonate Virginia Woolf because I think that would get tiresome to watch. There is an inner emotional life that we talk about, and things that we have learned about her that colour these words. But at the end of the day - this is a profound piece of writing - and it's my job to get out of it's way and let you hear it.

How did you choose Campbell House as a venue and what unique aspects does it bring to the production?

I had heard about plays being produced at Campbell House and about what a unique venue it is. I arranged a meeting with Liz Driver who is the curator there, and as soon as I walked in I thought that it would be the perfect place to do a site specific production of the show. The Campbell House is so full of history and we want to evoke that feeling in our show. I pitched A Room to Liz and she like the idea so much that she came on board as an associate producer.

Campbell House plays a giant role in our show - it is all dressed up to BE Girton College. We have an hour long immersive pre-show where our audience can look about the house and interact with all sorts of things. Newspapers from 1928, books that Woolf talks about in A Room, her letters and diary, as well as a cash bar and light refreshments.

You will have many items on display for guests to look at, touch and read during the show - are they authentic? How did you source them and choose what you would incorporate into the show?

All of the newspapers articles - except for one (see if you can find it) - are authentic. We pulled them from an internet archive. They aren't all from the same paper, but they were all written in 1928. We have created our own layout and will print them with the kind support of Staples who is one of our sponsors. The letters are from Virginia Woolf's Collected Letters and also those of Vita Sackville West. The books are brilliant and amazing to have some more obscure writers that Woolf talks about that unfortunately I had never heard of before. Margaret Cavendish and Rebecca West for example. All of the books are unfortunately not pre-1928. Our little co-op just couldn't afford those. First editions can be very expensive! Maybe one day is a well funded theatre wants to mount the show ...

Can someone who knows nothing of Virginia Woolf enjoy a show like this (and possibly even learn something from it)?

Absolutely. This show is essentially storytelling. It is very anecdotal. We actually will have a lit fire in the fireplace so it's one of those, gather round and let me tell you this amazing story.

What has been the most rewarding part of the Woolf journey so far and ideally, what do you hope is the biggest message people take away from this show?

The ideas in A Room of One's Own are very powerful and very universal. I believe them very deeply. The major point is that everyone deserves to have the chance to express themselves completely, and that it is important to stake a place for yourself in the world. That we never internalize what other people tell us our limits should be. That we have the courage to speak our truth even if all of society is against it. These are issues that are still very current. You need only open a newspaper or go on facebook to read about the abuse and oppression toward gay and lesbian people in Russia, about women fighting for the right to drive in Saudi Arabia, and so on to see that. And I guess the most rewarding thing for me is that for one hour, I have Virginia Woolf's words to articulate it.

When and Where?

A Room of One's Own

The Campbell House Museum

Nov 13-24

Wed-Sat 7PM, Sun 2PM

Cost: $20 includes light refreshments, cash bar and the show. For tickets please visit aroomofonesown.brownpapertickets.com

To learn more, please visit: aroomofonesown.ca
Get social: @roomofonesownTO facebook.com/aroomofonesown

Photo Credit: Emma McIntyre