The resilience it takes to make theatre: Interviewing the founders of ‘Revels in Hand’
Evie Robinson from Pi Media interviews Melanie Fullbrook and Lucy Eaton, the founders of an actor-led production company that creates intimate theatre for private audiences.
In the current transition into post-lockdown life, London has seen the gradual reopening of many West-End theatres. For an industry that has suffered innumerable losses as a result of the pandemic, the re-emergence of theatre seems to be a hopeful sign of the return to some sense of normality.
Pi Media caught up with Melanie Fullbrook and Lucy Eaton, the founders of Go People Productions (their public theatre production company) and Revels in Hand (the branch of the company that provides bespoke at-home theatre).
Graduates from Guildhall and LAMDA respectively, Melanie and Lucy founded Go People back in 2014. They shared details of their journey, from conceiving the initial idea for the company, to putting their plans into action. Upon graduation from drama school, Melanie remembers having a strong awareness of the cruelty and cut-throat nature of the theatre industry. Though she had an agent at the time, she had a longing to make her own work as both an actor and director. It was, in a sense, by chance that she caught up with university friend Lucy at a friend’s hen party, where the duo discussed creating their own company, with Lucy having been out of drama school for two years longer than Melanie and feeling similarly disillusioned with the industry. Their plan and vision for the company was unfinished and hazy: all they knew for certain was that they both had a passion and drive to make work. Setting their intentions to create something, they began to reflect on what they were excited by. Starting off as a theatre company who dramatised books, their sense of direction evolved over the next year through their experiences of putting on shows.
“Knock on every door because for every ten, twenty or thirty rejections you get, you just need one person to say yes.”
Melanie and Lucy rehearsed and put together their first play in 2014, intending to perform it at a small theatre in Waterloo. But when the venue fell through due to unforeseen water damage, they resolved to postpone the show and perform it to a small circle of friends instead. It was when a friend of theirs reached out and offered their parents’ Covent Garden flat as a venue to stage the play that their idea of private at-home theatre was first coined. After a friend of Lucy’s who worked in Digital PR invited press to the show, the Independent wrote a double-feature on what they deemed to be the next best thing: a London-based theatre company offering bespoke and intimate theatre for private hire. Thus, Revels in Hand was born.
Both Go People and Revels in Hand had a dramatic rise in output and success during their first two years of existence, through Melanie and Lucy putting on various public productions and private at-home theatre experiences. Despite these successes, they shared their thoughts on the huge financial risk in making theatre as young people. Harbouring an immense awareness of the risk, pressure, and responsibility involved in starting their own company, Melanie and Lucy’s story is full of examples of taking risks. But they also emphasised their fortune in having people who believed in what they were doing: the reason they landed their first major gig for Revels in Hand at the Shangri-La hotel was because a particular manager loved their passion and was imaginative enough to give them a chance. Finally landing the Shangri-La for their company launch after every other five-star hotel they tried turned them down, Revels in Hand went on to stage several more years of ticketed public seasons there. Melanie and Lucy’s lesson to pass on from this experience: “knock on every door because for every ten, twenty or thirty rejections you get, you just need one person to say yes.”
With Go People entering its eighth year of success and Revels in Hand celebrating its fourth, it is safe to say that Melanie and Lucy have succeeded in creating the theatre company they envisioned. But speaking honestly about how the company came to fruition, both women confessed that Go People was born out of a rocky time in both of their lives. They emphasised the importance of taking the fire and anger from rejection and turning that into something positive, ensuring they did not lose their love for creating theatre along the way. Adapting to find enjoyment in their craft and hard work, they both learnt how to build personal resilience and never take no for an answer.
Reflecting on what they wish for people to learn from their experiences, both Melanie and Lucy emphasised the value they place on supporting and engaging with young people. Their overriding piece of advice was to take every opportunity, and never stop doing the things you love; even if personal or financial circumstances mean you must turn to other forms of income, be sure to still pursue what you love on the side (in a frivolous and fickle industry such as theatre, it seems having other interests and incomes is vital for most people). Lucy shared her thoughts on using the contacts you have built throughout your life to your advantage, even if these seem unrelated to your chosen field, urging young people to make the most of connections and relationships, and to “climb to the top with other people beside you.” Most importantly, do not underestimate the small steps in your journey: learn everything from everyone, and celebrate the small wins.
Melanie and Lucy stressed the importance of normalising changing your mind about a particular career path. It seems there is a certain expectation or belief amongst young people that the career you choose upon graduation is the one you must stick with forever, but both women urged me to shake off this attitude, sharing their own journeys involving multiple career changes and experiments. Despite the ups and downs of making their company, the sheer joy and passion that both Melanie and Lucy have for their work is clear. Their infectious passion and sense fulfilment at what they do serves as an inspiring reminder of the importance of pursuing the things that we love.
Read more about the work of Melanie and Lucy by visiting their company websites:
Go People Productions: https://www.wearegopeople.com/
Revels in Hand: https://www.revelsinhand.com/