That's all for today
- Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is at the Aldwych, London, from 21 March.
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gloriasteinbum asks:
Do you enjoy collaborating with writers or would you prefer them to stay away from rehearsals and allow you to get on with it?
Guardian contributor The experience of collaborating with Katori Hall on this project has been one of its greatest gifts. She's a phenomenal woman. Sadly she's in New York so we do a lot of our communications on Skype. But when she's here her presence in the room could not be more constructive or inspirational. She comes from the same part of the States as Tina. She was born in Memphis. And it's her work that is giving this show the passion, punch, humour in the book part, that musicals sometimes struggle to find. She has really made it about something.
BenTTBlog asks:
You’ve directed Mamma Mia! on stage and on screen. If the forthcoming musical is successful, would you consider getting back behind the camera for a movie version?
Guardian contributor There's already been a hugely successful film of the first part of Tina's life. What we're excited about is telling the story of the bit of her life we don't know about, some of which took place in London. I am focused on trying to create that unrepeatable live experience that Tina gave an audience so the screen is far from my mind.
Liberclown asks:
Were there any Abba songs you really wanted to use in Mamma Mia! but couldn’t find a place for?
Guardian contributor The Abba canon is vast and extraordinary. In a couple of hours we could only include a small portion of them. The new Mamma Mia! movie, Here We Go Again, has found room for several more of the greats.
Peadar76 asks:
Are music publishers difficult to work with when clearing music, and establishing terms and conditions and royalty rates? Have any tried to renegotiate the terms of a deal once a show is up and running?
Guardian contributor This is not my job but I do know that in the case of Tina they've been great to work with and represent the many extraordinary composers and lyricists of these incredible songs (more than you'd imagine of whom happen to be women) so we really consider them to be our partners on the show.
BCedar asks:
I’d like to know if Phyllida has a Harriet Walter mask all of her own from the Henry IV at the Donmar.
Guardian contributor I was given a mask of myself by Frances Barber when we opened Julius Caesar. I looked much younger and prettier. Wearing it was certainly cheaper than Botox.
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ErinSnape asks:
I am 14 and love theatre, especially musical theatre. I really want to work in theatre when I am older, hopefully as a director. Do you have any tips on what is best to study or how to get into the field of theatre?
Guardian contributor Do as much theatre as you can while you're at school. Either at school or try to join a youth theatre. See as much theatre as you possibly can. Get involved with your local youth theatre. Training is everything. It's scandalously expensive but if you are hellbent on this wonderful world you will find a way.
Myam0t0 asks:
Beans on a fry-up?
Guardian contributor Frankly, beans on anything. And even cold out of the tin, the top ripped off at midnight at the moment of coming home and finding the fridge empty.
If there isn't fear, it's not worth pursuing
nomdinterweb asks:
It’s easy to see how impressive these productions are once they have happened. But what about the early stages of something new? Do you sometimes doubt your decisions, or do you have an intuitive sense that it will work right from the start?
Guardian contributor It starts with a very strong hunch that won't go away and grows into a fire storm in my head. There's always doubt and if there isn't fear it's not worth pursuing. I'll often see a beginning or an end or some strong images in the middle but I always know that it's an adventure into the unknown. The key is the collaborators you choose once that hunch is spoken aloud.
AnInconvenientTruth asks:
If you were only allowed to work in one medium, and in one art form, which would you choose: cinema, musical theatre, straight theatre or opera?
Guardian contributor It has to be theatre because it's the only one we can do in my kitchen without any extra help. My friend Fiona Shaw will come round and start something and we think: Let's do the show right here.
sachat asks:
It’s Friday night karaoke … What Abba and Tina Turner songs do you belt out?
Guardian contributor With a gun to my head and several Margaritas down the line, I'll have a go at Lay All Your Love On Me. But at the moment I'm practising Tina's choreography more than I am the songs and frankly if I do more work on Proud Mary I'm going to need a hip replacement.
lightandsilence asks:
Who do you prefer to work with, actors or musicians?
Guardian contributor At present I have the best of all worlds: both. And in Adrienne Warren the ultimate fusion. A rock musician to her core, with all the discipline and technique of a Broadway actress. She sets an example to everyone around her, never wastes one calorie of energy on things that aren't important and the company would walk on broken glass to carry her over the line.
Football? I prefer fishing
ForzaInterM asks:
What inspired you to get into theatre and film? And on a serious note, which football club do you support?
Guardian contributor I wanted to be an actress from about the age of five. I was hellbent on going to drama school but my mother, rightly, panicked and persuaded me to go to university on the grounds that a degree would be "something to fall back on". Whilst at college I realised I wasn't good enough or robust enough to be an actress. I started directing and felt immediately at home. PS I should support the Gunners as I live up the road. I have been to the Emirates, which was a thrill, but honestly I prefer fishing.
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BCedar asks:
I’m interested in rehearsals for big West End shows like Tina. With a few weeks to go before opening, what does your average rehearsals day look like? How will that change once performances have started? At what point do you just leave everyone to it? Do you ever go back to Mamma Mia! for examples?
Guardian contributor We're right in the thick of it and the stalls at the Aldwych looks like mission control at Cape Canaveral. We spend our mornings "dry-teching". Or plotting the technical operations without the actors. They arrive at 2 and we work until 10pm plotting all their costume changes etc Spoiler alert: Tina has several! Yesterday we had our sitzprobe, which means sitting rehearsal. It's the first time the cast sing with the band. There wasn't much sitting. It was more jumping in the air. It was electric. As for leaving the cast alone, eventually I'll have to stop being here six days a week but now that Mamma Mia! and Tina are on the same block there's no excuse for me not to be closely in touch.
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We shot an armed robbery at a service centre and no one noticed
Enodoc asks:
I love The Threepenny Opera, but the only production I’ve seen that really worked on stage was the one you directed at the Donmar in 1994. Can you talk about your feeling for that work and offer some thoughts about that production?
Guardian contributor Wow, that was a wild show. And we had a lot of fun making it. We started with the premise that MacHeath and his gang were on the run in London and we filmed Tom Hollander all over the city as if on CCTV. We had no budget whatsoever and I remember shooting an armed robbery in a service station in Islington on my Handicam using prop guns and Chucky masks and nobody seemed to take a blind bit of notice. If you got a gun out now you'd be quickly behind bars. We even managed to get Anneka Rice to interview all the "homeless" who were in their sleeping bags in Russell Square. The lyrics by Jeremy Sands were genius. It all climaxed with MacHeath "dying" on a TV game show...
Tina Turner's fashion legacy is seen in Beyoncé and Rihanna
Rainbowfairy55 asks:
How difficult is it for young women today to understand and or empathise with Tina’s choice of stage outfits, which empowered her, given that there were few choices for women (especially black women) to voice their talent when Tina was a young woman?
Secondly, in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, does Tina parody herself or at least least send herself up the way Tina herself seemed to when she became famous?
Guardian contributor You can see the legacy of Tina's costumes for her stage performances in many of the female singer stars of today. Beyonce or Rihanna, say, who would regard Tina as a muse or mother figure. Interestingly Tina never thought of herself as sexy or a siren in any way but as the warrior leading the charge. She saw her dancers as the sensual element in her performance. Tina never parodied herself and nor do we parody her. We aren't trying to do an impersonation of her. If anything, Adrienne Warren (playing Tina) is using her own astonishing vocal talent to conjure Tina in front of our eyes. Sometimes you think, close your eyes and she's in the room.
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TheShiftyShadow asks:
Do you prefer building sandcastles or snowmen?
Guardian contributor Both are a bit like making theatre. Here today, gone with the next tide. Actually, I prefer a good snowball fight to getting sand in my eye. But I love the sea so much that just the word sandcastle makes me feel happy!
This is a momentous time for theatre
dfic1999 asks:
Looking back on the Shakespeare trilogy at the Donmar, what do you think is the future for gender-inclusive (or gender-balanced) casting in classic plays like Shakespeare’s?
Guardian contributor We're at the beginning of a momentous phase of theatre history and indeed society at large. It's a conversation it's been thrilling to be part of. We began the project obsessed by what divided men and women but by the time we got to our third production, The Tempest, we looked at Prospero as neither a man nor a woman. Just a human. Harriet Walter said she had more in common with Brutus than she did with Cleopatra. Actors will begin to be judged for their human characteristics rather than on the basis of their gender. This might mean a man in a theatre company is better casting for Hedda Gabler than a woman. Of course it won't overturn all established norms. But it will help us hear old stories in new ways, make women in audiences feel less alone and provide some more jobs for the girls!
Read more on Lloyd’s all-female production
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MarthaCostello asks:
Were there any challenges for you in making sure the all-female element of your wonderful Donmar Shakespeare trilogy worked as well as it did? Do you have any tips for directors (or aspiring ones) who want to know how to do gender-inclusive Shakespeare?
PS: Your Tempest at the Donmar is by far one of the most wonderful Shakespeare experiences I’ve ever had! Looking forward to seeing the cinema versions eventually.
Guardian contributor The project evolved over five years. I cut the plays before we began rehearsal so we wasted no time arguing about which of Shakespeare's words we would use. We had great support from our producers and everyone at the Donmar. Long rehearsal periods. And a rehearsal room in which everyone's voice was heard. There were many times when we were completely up a gum tree. But the power, trust and great good humour of the group got us through. We are very excited about Caesar going out on BBC2 and The Tempest and Henry IV going on to iPlayer. We are intending to make the films free online to schools and prisons after the broadcast.
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Directing is as much about listening as about talking
Liam Quane asks:
Do you have any directorial advice?
Guardian contributor Directing is as much about listening as it is about talking. Be thoroughly prepared but don't be afraid to let go of your best ideas when someone in the room has a better one. Don't be afraid to say: "I don't know." The idea will come. But it may not come until the very last inch. Think of the world.
Liam Quane asks:
Do you have any advice on set/stage control? Actors, crew etc.
Guardian contributor Hello! Learn the names of all 100 crew around you. And never raise your voice!
Phyllida Lloyd is with us now
Follow along here.
Phyllida Lloyd webchat – post your questions now
Not many directors have done Wagner’s Ring cycle, a hit jukebox musical and had an Oscar-winning film. But we’ve come to expect the unexpected from the phenomenal Phyllida Lloyd. She has, says Fiona Shaw, an “unparalleled gift at playfulness mixed with serious profound thinking”.
Her Abba musical Mamma Mia! is still a favourite in the West End, almost 20 years after it opened. It has run on Broadway since 2001 and been a hit around the world. Lloyd made her film directing debut with an adaptation, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, which became one of the most successful British movies ever. She then directed Streep’s Oscar-winning performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (2011).
She has for years put women centre-stage in the theatre, most notably with her hugely acclaimed, prison-set Shakespeare Trilogy, performed by an all-female company. Now, she is directing one of this year’s most anticipated shows, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, in London’s West End.
Phyllida will be taking a break from rehearsals to join us for a live webchat at 1pm GMT on Tuesday 13 March. Post your questions about her career in the comments section below.
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Thanks so much for the questions - this has been fun and almost taken my mind off my day job. I hope some of you will get to see the show and enjoy it!