Daniel Jonusas - Swallows Interview

1. Why did you pick Swallows to act in? What about it spoke to you?

I saw BoxedIn’s production of Lobes, the first full-length play written by Henry Roberts, and was intrigued to see what Roberts would come up with next. I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed being directed by Oli in the past, so I jumped at the opportunity to work with both of them on Swallows! The content of the play itself, however, was the biggest hook for me. It mixes personal dilemma with social allegory in such dextrous and exciting ways, it might as well be the start of a bad joke: “three eco-terrorists walk into a shipping container…”

2. What is your background in theatre/environmentalism?

When I was around eight or nine years old my mother retrained to become an arboriculturalist. For that reason, any leisurely woodland walk has, for years now, become a minute inspection of the surrounding trees and woodland ecosystems. I’ve always found great happiness and humility in the natural environments with which I’ve interacted, so the possibility that they could diminish as a result of my own ignorant behaviour is a very sobering idea.

Some acting credits include: The Baker, ‘Into The Woods’ (2019); Richard Hannay, ’The 39 Steps’ (2019); Leontes, ’The Winter’s Tale’ (2018); Willy Loman,’Death of a Salesman’ (2018).
Directing credits include: ‘The Untold Earth’, BoxedIn Theatre presents The Greenhouse @ Edinburgh Fringe (2019); ’Macbeth’, BoxedIn Theatre (2019); ‘Closer’, Mermaids Performing Arts Fund (2018); ‘Rope’, Mermaids Performing Arts Fund (2016).

3. How is the cast/crew bonding/work? What do you like about the dynamic?

We’ve been working on Swallows since March of this year, so the team has had the luxury of time to tune into each others styles and personalities. Before touching the script, a number of weeks were dedicated to experimenting with our dynamic as a three-person cast and really getting to know each other; a number of exercises inspired by the importance of honesty in Meisner have made up the building blocks of our bonding work. As individuals, I think we benefit from each being incredibly different – whenever we encounter an obstacle, there’s an 85% guarantee that the three of us won’t agree on the details, which is very refreshing.

4. What are you most looking forward to about Fringe/The Greenhouse/Swallows?

My experience of the Edinburgh Fringe in the past has been incredibly positive, but quite limited. As a university performer, most Edinburgh runs don’t stretch over around ten days, so facing twenty-one performances is a fairly daunting prospect. However, there’s no better place to properly occupy yourself with exciting entertainment than the Fringe – some of my favourite production companies are returning with new work, so I’m itching to start running around manically trying to see as many shows as possible in August!

5. What about the character of Harry drew you into the role?

Harry is a snapshot of that personality which sees crises as an opportunity for control and attention: you can imagine him struggling to hold down a nine-to-five job, and certainly failing to maintain any form of meaningful, longterm relationships. Unlike the other two characters, environmental activism couldn’t be lower down on Harry’s list of priorities – the opportunity for chaos, dominance and social centrality are his only real reasons for being a member of the ‘Environment for People’ movement in the play. This particular kind of personality is fascinating to me, as I think it demands a great deal of denial and frantic optimism to be convincing: some of the most complex and contradictory characters in theatre are those which are very obviously one thing, yet spend their time on stage adamantly campaigning for the opposite.