Stan Grant is used to war zones. His ‘crazy' next act comes close

The Age

5 days ago

Apart from the obligatory high school roles, Stan Grant has never done any acting. The veteran journalist and author wasn't expecting the call that's lead to him doing a solo show at Malthouse Theatre this month. 'It's something that I would never, ever have planned for myself. It wasn't something at all that I'd had ambitions or aspirations to do, which makes it even more of a pleasant surprise.'
The play is ECHO: Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen, and every night a different person will take up the challenge of performing the script sight unseen. It's the latest 'cold read' production from the acclaimed Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour, whose daring and playful works attract the cream of the crop from across the artistic spectrum and beyond.
Previous productions of ECHO have seen the likes of Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Whittaker, Benedict Wong and Milly Alcock sign on for the mystery role. The seven locals range from theatre actors such as Nadine Garner to musical icon David Campbell to journalists like Grant and Jan Fran.
When he was offered the role, it took Grant about 30 seconds to say yes. The spontaneity of the experience resonated with him. 'When I was a foreign correspondent I'd be dropped into volatile situations where we didn't know what was going to happen next, but we were confident in our capacity to handle whatever happened.'
Comedian Michelle Brasier will be the first to tackle ECHO in Melbourne. Though she trained as an actor, the unknown aspect of the show is its greatest appeal. 'I think that might be what drew me to comedy in the first place. I always knew there was something else I wanted to do when I was doing theatre because there's something that feels restrictive when you do the same thing every night. Whereas with this, it's so alive.'
It does make it difficult to decide what to wear, she says, but otherwise she's going in with confidence. 'Worst-case scenario I have a heart attack. But even then I've got so many witnesses to call an ambulance.'
ECHO is the third in a trilogy of works that explore aspects of Soleimanpour's life. The first, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, was written while the playwright was forbidden to leave Iran after refusing mandatory military service. Unable to travel, the play travelled for him, putting his words in the mouths of hundreds of actors all over the world.
His follow-up, NASSIM, was a similar cold read but saw Soleimanpour himself take to the stage alongside that evening's fresh recruit. Taking part in more than 500 performances of the show taught him just how versatile the same script can be in different hands.
'Tonight you do it with Tony Shalhoub, it's theatre, theatre, theatre. Tomorrow it's the announcer of the local basketball team who is 75 years old and he's an amazing guy, but his understanding of theatre is different, you know?' he says from his current home in Berlin.
Soleimanpour and his regular director, Omar Elerian, don't suggest names to perform their works. 'We decided years ago that that's the beauty of it. The producers invite whoever they want. We just give this general advice, go diverse, use different genders, ethnicities, backgrounds, because this is what it's designed for.'
The conceit might seem like a gimmick, but Soleimanpour is also one of the sharpest writers for the stage right now. I first spoke to him in 2018 ahead of the Australian premiere of NASSIM, and he was already talking about the narrative algorithms required to write a work that can be performed by anyone. ECHO pushes that complexity to the next level.
'It's more ambitious. It's very technical, filled with creative technology, it has AI. It's a beast,' he says.
It's also the first show produced by Soleimanpour's own company. Over the years he has expanded his role well beyond playwright. 'I've studied set design. I am a producer now. I am an actor. I am a writer. When we were at Stanford University, one of the technicians was not there and I sat behind the [lighting] desk, and I was giving them the light cues. They were like, 'You're the only playwright we've seen who can work the light desk.''
Loading
Soleimanpour says that the structure of ECHO is so complex that it has broken software. Were he to write it as a conventional script, it would be more like a novel. He sometimes uses the metaphor of architecture to describe his role – he creates the columns that keep the whole thing standing, and then editors and dramaturgs come in to contribute the interior designs.
The actors move in as occupants, and the audience finally arrives as their guests. He only insists on one thing: 'Do not move the columns.'
He might create the building, he says, but what unfolds inside is always supposed to be a party. 'It might be emotional, it might be exciting, we might laugh a lot or cry at the end, but it is a party.'
He wants both performer and viewer to be energised and enriched by the experience, which is why his previous work has always suggested a huge generosity of spirit and compassion for anyone who might take up his scripts. They're full of surprises, but Soleimanpour's works aren't tricks at their performers' expense.
'I always say: honest communication, happy negotiation. I think that's what's not happening in the Middle East now or in the rest of the world. The communications are not honest. They're negotiating through throwing bombs at each other.'
The open-ended nature of Soleimanpour's plays means that they are conversations between writer and performer. Given today's global landscape, Brasier is especially interested in exploring that relationship with an Iranian artist. 'All art is political. I don't know if [ ECHO ] will touch on anything at all, but just to be able to have an Iranian voice on stage is really important and exciting.'
Grant agrees: 'There's such a rich Persian literary culture and dramatic culture. That really appealed to me.'
At the same time, he has deliberately avoided seeking out reviews or interviews that might shed more light on the upcoming experience. 'I don't want to go in there with any expectations. I'd rather be really open to the experience itself. And in many ways it does mirror what I experienced as a reporter in the most vulnerable places. When you're reporting in a war zone you really don't know from one day to the next what you're going to experience and whether in fact you're going to survive.'
Dying on stage might be a little less consequential, but many people would probably think twice about taking to the spotlight with zero clue as to what they'll be asked to do. Not Grant. 'Some people have said to me, 'You're mad. What are you doing? You must be crazy.' And I'm thinking: What's crazy about it? It's really exciting. I mean, how often do you get a chance to do something like this?'
He laughs. 'I'll probably never be asked to do theatre again.'