Callisto 5 / Callisto#7: History
If, as he frequently notes, Alan Ayckbourn had begun re-writing his adult plays for children with Invisible Friends’ reworking of Woman In Mind, then the Callisto plays are arguably his version of Henceforward… for young people.Behind The Scenes: NAN Revisited
In an interview with Bernard F Dukore shortly before Alan Ayckbourn began writing Callisto 5, the playwright noted he intended the malfunctioning robot child-minder to be the same model of robot, the NAN500F, that was previously seen in his play Henceforward…. This would have made explicit the suggestion that Callisto 5 was a young people's version of Henceforward…. For unknown reasons, when Alan wrote the play he changed the character to the more overtly robotic DAMARIS.
In an interview with Bernard F Dukore shortly before Alan Ayckbourn began writing Callisto 5, the playwright noted he intended the malfunctioning robot child-minder to be the same model of robot, the NAN500F, that was previously seen in his play Henceforward…. This would have made explicit the suggestion that Callisto 5 was a young people's version of Henceforward…. For unknown reasons, when Alan wrote the play he changed the character to the more overtly robotic DAMARIS.
Although the link between the Callisto plays and Henceforward… is not as overt as that between Invisible Friends and Woman In Mind, they both feature themes of isolation, the importance of human contact / relationships and the dehumanising effects of technology in a near future world (albeit a city in the north of England in Henceforward... and one of Jupiter's moons in Callisto 5 / Callisto#7).
What the Callisto plays also share in common with Invisible Friends - and all Alan's 'family' plays - is the optimistic ending that both Woman In Mind and Henceforward... lack; Alan being particularly adamant that plays for young people can be quite dark but ultimately should be optimistic. All this illustrates the oft-quoted fact that all of Alan Ayckbourn’s plays - no matter who they are aimed at - are dealing with similar themes and issues, but the family plays just move at a faster pace.
Behind The Scenes: Video Games
Callisto 5 was the first Ayckbourn play to make use of on-stage video footage; it was shown through screens hung from the grid above the in-the-round acting space facing the audience. The footage was entirely pre-recorded as it needs to show an otherwise invisible monster wandering the on-stage set. As a result of this, in both versions of the play, the actors holding the dummy video camera have to exactly mirror the movement of the camera footage being shown on the screens, which is supposed to be a live-feed from the camera to the monitors.
Callisto 5 was the first Ayckbourn play to make use of on-stage video footage; it was shown through screens hung from the grid above the in-the-round acting space facing the audience. The footage was entirely pre-recorded as it needs to show an otherwise invisible monster wandering the on-stage set. As a result of this, in both versions of the play, the actors holding the dummy video camera have to exactly mirror the movement of the camera footage being shown on the screens, which is supposed to be a live-feed from the camera to the monitors.
Arguably, the plays - especially Callisto#7 - are also inspired by video games: made explicit by opening on an actual video game being played and climaxing with the revelation that all that has occurred has - essentially - been a game. The level-like structure of the play with a new challenge to be solved before the children can move on, culminating in a confrontation with an intimidating enemy echoes a classic game structure and would be familiar to a young audience. Alan has long been a fan of computer / video games from playing the early games in Scarborough's seafront arcades to home-computer gaming.
Behind The Scenes: Alien
In both Callisto plays, the alien creature (unseen except in the pre-recorded footage) is not mentioned in the programme nor the actor credited (in Callisto 5, this was the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round's Press Officer Jeannie Swales and in Callisto#7, the actress Sherry Booth). The original monster - in the grand tradition of '60s - '80s British science-fiction television - was created with bubble wrap with a rubbish bin for a head, which had the base cut off and a vicious set of cardboard teeth stuck around the edge….
In both Callisto plays, the alien creature (unseen except in the pre-recorded footage) is not mentioned in the programme nor the actor credited (in Callisto 5, this was the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round's Press Officer Jeannie Swales and in Callisto#7, the actress Sherry Booth). The original monster - in the grand tradition of '60s - '80s British science-fiction television - was created with bubble wrap with a rubbish bin for a head, which had the base cut off and a vicious set of cardboard teeth stuck around the edge….
Callisto 5 was published and although there is no written evidence to suggest Alan was unhappy with the original play, he had mentioned for several years he intended to revise it. This he finally did in 1999 with Callisto#7.
Although the plot follows the same course, the play introduced a sister to a younger Jem. This, Alan noted, made the play “more human” and gave more drama to the piece as Jem and Jodi face not only the alien, but their own sibling feuding which they have to confront in order to overcome the apparent threat to their lives.
Despite being considered the definitive version of the play, Callisto#7 has not been published, but it is available to produce.
Article by Simon Murgatroyd. Copyright: Haydonning Ltd. Please do not reproduce without permission of the copyright holder.