Tonic Celebrates, Empowers and Emboldens Audiences and Creatives Alike

Lucy Kerbel and Tonic Theatre presented the fifth Tonic Celebrates event on 24 November at The Other Palace. The guests of the night were Rosalie Craig, Phyllida Lloyd, and Danielle Tarento, who opened their hearts and discussed their career paths in an empowering and emboldening evening.

Chaired by Kerbel, Tonic Celebrates is aimed at appreciating the achievements of women in theatre. Each event brings together some of the leading ladies of the industry and tackles their work and success, and this specific one was all about not being scared of trying and continuing to push through.

It was clear from the start that all three artists have great hope and expectations for the new generations, with Lloyd believing that they're more interested in working and branching out, and praising their taking command immediately instead of waiting for something to happen.

However, Craig stressed the fact that it's important to finally have a positive conversation about the struggles of female creatives, and the issues being talked about both in the creative environment itself and the press makes it healthy and balanced.

Staying strong during tougher times was a central topic. "You need to be really committed," commented Craig, explaining that it's hard to keep positive in an industry where what's given to you can be taken away immediately.

While Tarento finds her motivation in the audience and in handing over a show to them, Craig said that "the actual work itself is what interests me", and even though she questions her job every day, giving herself to creating something (especially if it's new material) is what keeps her going.

Ultimately it appeared that there's no big secret to their success, but a matter of refusing to give up and learning to embrace who you are instead of trying to fit into a mould that's toxic and unachievable. They underlined how long it took them to find themselves and how they wanted to work, with Tarento deciding to abandon acting and start producing only in her thirties, and Lloyd having her mainstream break later in life.

Tarento revealed that her position as producer gives her the control and power that she longed for and didn't have when she was just an actress. "A producer is the boss - that's how I put it," she half-joked, explaining her role and what impact it has on the whole production.

Lloyd gave a brief rundown of her career, telling how her beginnings were "a very chaotic process of learning on the job" as Associate Director first at Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham and then at the Bristol Old Vic, leading on to major success in London.

She acknowledged that empowering women has become her mission after seeing how female artists were approached, giving the example of how she hit a wall and ended up leaving when, after being offered to run The Other Place in Stratford-Upon-Avon, they turned down her request of bringing in more women and making it more diverse. She expressed how in the end it's the producers who enable and give space to progressive work, so there should be more awareness of these topics on their behalf.

Even though they have different upbringings and roles in the business, they all came together and gave the unanimous advice: "You've just got to do it!". Lloyd especially stripped the conversation of all frills and pushed young people not to be afraid to have another job to support their dreams; Tarento added candidly: "You've got to be fearless. [...] You won't earn any money, you'll lose some money, but you'll feed your soul", saying that the arts are a calling.

A powerful and constructive talk, the guests and chair all pitched in to build a healthy and encouraging atmosphere. They never shied away from admitting that sometimes theatre is a hard world to live in, but at the same time it's full of possibility if you only trust yourself and your aim is clear.

They ended the chat on an important note, reiterating how important it is to find oneself (even if it takes a long time) and to trust the instincts that come with it, leaving those gathered with buds of possibility and courage to pursue their dreams.

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