All Blood Runs Red: Rehearsal Images Released
3rd February 2025
In his first collaboration with imitating the dog, Tyrone Huggins is the director for the company’s brand new touring production, All Blood Runs Red. After speaking with writer and broadcaster Nick Ahad for this feature, the pair continued their conversation in a Q&A.
By Nick Ahad, writer and broadcaster
You’re going to be in Leeds making this piece, how are you feeling about that?
It’s very exciting, I was at Leeds University there and I performed at the old West Yorkshire Playhouse. I was also on the board of Phoenix Dance theatre for many years and was part of the Geraldine Connor Foundation, so I feel like Leeds is my second home.
Given that the company has three artistic directors, how and why have they brought you on board?
I’ve known Pete (Brooks) and Andrew (Quick) for a long time, I co-founded a company with Pete in Leeds, Impact theatre and I did some set building for Andrew when he had a company. When they started working on this piece (All Blood Runs Red) they felt they needed an outside director and particularly a Black director. Also I think I’ve got a reasonable experience of going into a company of established artists and not frightening them too much.
Is the way imitating the dog make theatre something that appeals to you?
Very much. In a way, having started doing plays when I was a kid at school and then starting my own company Impact Theatre, discovering that there was another way of making theatre, that is something that has always stayed with me. I’d say two-thirds of my work is new work and trying to bring into the process of making work, new techniques.
What attracted you to this project?
I hadn’t worked with Pete since about 1985, so revisiting that was something I looked forward to and was glad to receive the invitation. Then when I started to look a little more at the story, I thought ‘woah, this is extraordinary’. The Eugene Bullard story is an extraordinary story, but so is Morgan’s story. We’re blending three stories here, Eugene’s story, Morgan’s story and the story of the character he played in the film in France.
It’s a very particular kind of company, so what is it like to join as an outside director?
I’ve got a good idea of where the company is coming from artistically. We had a production meeting yesterday and I said I’m here to bend what you do without breaking it, so I think my job is to disrupt, in the gentlest sense, their approach. I’ve seen I think five of their shows over the years, but I’ve not been in the middle of it, so I think my role is almost to go in and see what I can make with all the elements that are in the room at the same time. I’m really excited to get in the room and I’m excited to work with Morgan because I know what it is to perform a solo show, that’s something I have experience of doing.
Why was it important to have a Black director for this story?
It’s important because of the particularity of the story. Morgan is talking about stuff that affects him as a Black actor. He’s a couple of generations down from me but I can understand. Over the years I’ve worked with cultural diversity in theatre as a general thing, I’ve worked with the Arts Council and when I was on the board of Phoenix I was feeding in the understanding of what our particular experiences of being a Black performer are. Sometimes when you try to talk about your personal experience, if you’re talking to a room of people who have never had it, you can end up being a bit more cautious about it. I’m looking forward to helping Morgan; he has said it feels quite exposing, but I think working with a director who understands where he is coming from gives him another layer of security.
3rd February 2025
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