Tim Supple calling the shots on a makeshift stage

A lanky, soft-spoken British artiste who loves not to stage Shakespeare in ?typical ways?, TIM SUPPLE is one of the leading theatre directors across the globe. The former artistic director of London?s Young Vic has also steered several plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Of them, The Comedy of Errors came to Calcutta some summers ago. Supple has also worked in theatre and opera in the US and Europe, West Asia and Far East. He spoke to Reshmi Sengupta at the British Council in Delhi before rehearsals on Friday.

Of all Shakespeare?s plays, why did you choose to stage The Dream with Indian actors?

In England, The Dream is a commonly staged play and it?s very familiar there. I would have done it in the UK but when I travelled through India for a year and met so many actors, I knew I had to do it with Indian actors. I felt the play would benefit from the variety of performers and The Dream embraces all these differences. I knew bringing together so many people of different languages and backgrounds would be difficult, but I was sure it would be easy if we had a strongly crafted piece of work.

What were you looking for when you auditioned actors across India for the final 22-member cast?

I needed actors with the flexibility and openness to use their individual skills. I didn?t want them to have any preconceived notions, like Shakespeare is done in this way or that way. I also needed them to be in good spirits. I have travelled thousands and thousands of kilometres and met hundreds and hundreds of actors and finally I chose those who excited me the most. And despite seven different languages, we have achieved levels of understanding with each other.

You didn?t limit your cast to English-speaking actors only? Why?

I would have missed out on a lot. You know, the English-speaking actors in India act more or less like those in Britain. The non-English-speaking actors interested me the most.

How did you make sure the stylistic use of diverse art forms didn?t overshadow the content?

I am here to tell the story of A Midsummer Night?s Dream and my priorities have always been the scenes and the story. That?s how I guess I could manage not to lose focus of what I wanted in this play. I was offered so much in the rehearsals and we used only that which was needed in the play.

The play has taken two years to create?

I spent six months planning the project, one year travelling ? auditioning actors and then choosing the final cast ? and then six months designing and conceiving the play.

Do you feel the final product of The Dream is what you had in mind when you started off?

What you saw last night was very different from what we have in rehearsals. It will be different because we are building theatres wherever we are going. But in essence, yes it feels it has been what I had thought.

Is this your most ambitious project till date?

Well, I can say that I have never had greater pleasure in the past 20 years of being a theatre director. The work has an epic sweep.

Finally, why did you resign as artistic director of Young Vic?

In England, theatres like Young Vic are subsidised and they usually have a history. To make that your own theatre, you need to be there for 10-20 years. I resigned because I also wanted to do opera, films and I needed to travel. Sticking on would have meant neglecting Young Vic, which was like my other family.