What shows or projects have you done with ETT?
Othello.
Finish the sentence: Touring is important because…
Stories were born to travel.
Where is home for you?
London
Where is your home away from home?
Bristol
How did you bring home with you on tour?
As a designer, I don’t get to tour as such but I always bring a couple of books with me for tech week, but they’re mostly ornamental as there’s never time to read them.
Which city was your favourite to visit on tour with ETT?
I only went to Oxford with Othello for tech week, but it’s a good ‘un.
What gem did you discover on tour with ETT?
Oxford covered market – great for food, coffee or just a wander.
What are your touring essentials?
I always without fail forget my toothbrush so that should really be my essential.
Touring is important because stories were born to travel.
People deserve to hear your story and you deserve to tell them.
What’s your go-to recipe whilst on tour?
Late night cheese on toast.
Which artist(s) do you most admire and why?
Rachel Whiteread, Ai Weiwei, Olafiur Eliasson, Anthony Gormley. I love sculpture and installation art for its ability to immerse you in a piece of art.
What music inspires you?
I’ve been listening to a lot of Laura Marling during lock down. She’s been keeping me sane.
What image or video inspires you?
I’m in love with the ‘Be a Lady They Said’ video starring Cynthia Nixon
What piece of writing or quote inspires you?
‘One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star’ Friedrich Nietzsche
What, for you, makes a good piece of art?
Something that makes you want to have a conversation about it.
What have been your career highlights so far?
The day I got to drench the set I made for a short film with fake blood (made of strawberries and chocolate). It was horrific and delicious, and amazingly cathartic.
If you were cast away on a desert island, which 5 plays would you take with you and why?
Gimme 5 Ibsen plays.
Please can you tell us what you would say to emerging artists to encourage them to take their work on the road or join an ETT tour?
Because people deserve to hear your story and you deserve to tell them.
Window or aisle seat?
Window.
Favourite way to travel?
Train.
If you could have any superpower, which would you choose?
To fly.
Our industry is currently experiencing an incredibly challenging time. Do you have any recommendations for others of how to stay hopeful and creative during this time?
It is a mad time. I think it’s really difficult to be creative right now but I’ve taken the opportunity to make those things for friends and family that I’ve always wanted to make. I think our loved ones often miss out so much on our creativity because of how much work we have to take on as a theatre maker to stay afloat, so I’ve really enjoyed getting to make those things I want to make, and not the things I have to make. It’s not groundbreaking but it’s a small, happy-making way to spread some love.
It is a mad time. I think it's really difficult to be creative right now but I've taken the opportunity to make those things for friends and family that I've always wanted to make.
Alex Berry’s biog:
Alex Berry graduated with an MA in Theatre Design from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2014. She previously trained at the Royal Northern College of Music and Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag, as a clarinettist.
She was a finalist in the 2015 Linbury Prize, working with Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, and exhibited her design at the National Theatre, London.
She is passionate about storytelling and currently working on a project for children exploring hearing loss and identity.
