Guest Blog: 'It's a Wild Ride of a Show': Actor Aruhan Galieva on Codpieces, Blood Bags and Having a Blast in THE FAIR MAID OF THE WEST

I’m currently playing Roughman in The Fair Maid of the West at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford Upon Avon. Actually, one of the things I was most excited about was moving to Stratford-upon-Avon because there are tons of great Bat Walks but alas - it’s winter so they are all hibernating. 

I am having an absolute blast on The Fair Maid of the West. It is absolute chocka with themost disgustingly talented cast and creatives and crew - it’s bonkers. Admittedly, it is a wild ride of a show. One second someone is playing a Euphonium in a Boat, and the next minute you are watching the most stunningly sexy Flamenco performance with virtuosic dance and guitar. 

It’s especially exciting for me as I am playing two very contrasting and silly men - I mean who woulda thought I would be playing a role (Roughman) which was last played in the Swan Theatre by the late great Pete Postlewaite. What an honour.

This has meant that I’ve had a lot of time with the legend that is Claire Llewellyn from RC-Annie who is one of the best Fight Directors I have ever ever worked with. Partly, I’ve been having such a great time because as a woman, if you’re involved in fights you’re normally getting beaten up or assaulted, which can be frustrating, but it’s oft that those are the stories that are told in dramas for people playing women. This is very different.

Claire was so diligent and thoughtful. She did an amazing introductory workshop with the ensemble where we explored consent and building trust with the company, which is just so important when you are learning intricate new skills as well as potentially triggering emotive movement and language. 

Saying that - the first time I picked up a sword I felt GIDDY. Is this what actors feel like normally when they play swashbucklers? OH THE POWER! And then I saw my Cod-Piece. Now I didn’t know really what a codpiece was before I started this job - it’s a triangular jockstrap which protects a man’s *AHEM* except they became larger and more obscene as a display of wealth and masculinity. And let me tell you - I was very pleased to discover that Anna the designer gave me an enormous and BEJEWELLED codpiece!

This was an interesting thing to factor in when learning choreography for dance as I accidentally kept knocking into people, places and things with my enormous sparkly ‘member’. Especially as EJ (Emily Jane Boyle), the movement choreographer, has created some really visually exciting and super fun movement sequences in the play - which for my characters sometimes involved singing, dancing and playing the Double Bass. I had to warn EJ during rehearsals that I’m certainly no triple threat… in fact I’m just a threat… (in the sense that anything that involves me moving my arms or legs in time to a beat is quite simply: dangerous.)

I felt in such safe hands with Claire, especially as I had a LOT of technical skills to learn which have the capacity to be dangerous. I’ve got to fall through a trap door, learn how to secretly burst a blood bag and get stabbed multiple times. Learning how to fall safely through a trap door goes against all of your natural human instincts but Claire was so supportive and when we eventually got to the Swan Theatre to do it properly for the first time - I was so full of adrenaline and she took me aside and told me she was proud of me… I legit cried…! And so, I wiped my tears with pride and leapt down into the unknown*! (*a crash mat with multiple RSC Crew members helping make sure everything is safe…)

I was very fortunate that Martin Poile, the AMAZING Casting Director/ Human Being came to see my debut one-hour stand-up comedy show and then a week later asked me if I wanted to help R&D a new play written by Isobel MacArthur. Of course, I leapt at the chance. The R&D (a few days to ‘research and develop’ new ideas) was awesome. Isobel would arrive with fresh pages of scenes with fully formed characters and hilarious gags which we would play about with and explore the world of music and dance. The way she can bosh out pure BRILLIANCE as a writer is unparalleled. Especially considering it takes me a week to simply write an email, which also needs to be double checked and edited by two close friends, Mrs Google and then re-read a million times before it sees the light of day. 

Isobel has created a really special show and has gathered together such a wondrous group of people. The thing I have been most excited about is the fact that this show is such a fun night out. It’s something that my family and friends (who aren’t ‘theatre’ folk) would be able to connect with whilst having an absolute blast. Also, watching the powerhouse that is Amber James play Liz each day is genuinely magic.

It’s been amazing to look out into the audiences each night and see such a diverse range of faces looking back at me because it’s a story that everyone can understand and hopefully the reason it’s resonating with people is because they see their own lives reflected back at them. 

The Fair Maid of the West is at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until 14 January

Main image credit: Aruhan Galieva

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