You know, last August’s Edinburgh Festival is all a bit of a blur now, but one thing we remember distinctively was the day the cast of Woody Sez came on the ThreeWeeks radio show and wowed us all with some tunes. This show is based around the life and music of Woody Guthrie, a man admired by many of either a musical or political persuasion, and a man who, if you’re not familiar with his work, you owe it to yourself to discover. If you fall into the latter category, well, this is the show where you can make that discovery. If you fall into the former, presumably you’re booking your tickets as we speak. The Woody Sez cast will be Brighton for four performances of their excellent show from 10–14 May. We caught up with director Nick Corley and three quarters of the cast, David Lutken, Darcie Deaville and Helen Russell (to be fair to the fourth, Andy Teirstein, he was hiking in the Grand Canyon with his family when we made the call – which is quite a good excuse), and questioned them about Guthrie, the show and coming to Brighton.

ThreeWeeks: For the uninitiated, tell us all about Woody Guthrie.
David Lutken: Woody Guthrie was born in Oklahoma. He became one of America’s greatest folk poets and left-wing activist singers in the 1930s and 40s. He inspired and continues to inspire generations of artists around the world with his songs of the common people.

Nick Corley: Woody wrote during a time of huge social change in America and he was often on the front lines fighting for those changes. His songs captured the spirit of the everyday people, their worth and determination to overcome. Woody’s songs are still strong and emotional and the spirit of his music continues to speak to so many people today the world over.

Darcy Deaville: He was an obsessively creative artist who lived the same life as the other poor people in the US during the depression. Because he was from Oklahoma, he experienced the historical dust storm of 1935 first hand. I think what made Woody unique was his ability to draw stories and feelings in a somewhat abstract way. As the years progressed, he took on more responsibility as somewhat of a leader of the people by educating them about, for example, unions.

Helen Russell: There aren’t a lot of folks in America who didn’t learn a Woody song or two in elementary school. That was all I knew when I started hanging around with these guys, doing “guitar theatre”. And it’s through Woody that I’ve learned a lot about some of the tough times in American history. He was a real character, a folk hero of sorts, and he continues to fascinate.

TW: Despite his being hugely influential, Guthrie is less well-known over here, why do you think that is?

DL: I’m not actually sure that he is less well-known in the UK with hits during the folk-music days from guys like Lonny Donnegan and Billy Bragg.

HR: I’d have to agree. While flyering on the High Street in Edinburgh, every fourth person’s ears would perk up when they heard Woody’s name. And surprisingly, there were a lot of young musicians who would hang around after the show to thank us for introducing them to some of his lesser known songs.

NC: We were asked to perform at a labour strike in Edinburgh last summer after one of the organisers saw the show. When he introduced us, saying we were going to sing some Woody Guthrie songs, a huge cheer came up from the crowd.

TW: Why did you decide to make a show about Guthrie?

DL: I grew up in Texas singing and playing his music and I believe that it’s important at this time for America to export art like this.

NC: The story of Woody’s life, with all of its tragedy, beauty and flaws, is incredibly moving. That combined with hundreds of great songs have made this a joy to work on.

TW: Tell us how the show works.

DL: Well, it’s four people singing and playing and telling the story of Woody Guthrie’s life... and it works pretty well.

HR: David plays Woody and the rest of us represent various people who came in and out of Woody’s life. The story is woven together with his own words. Well, most of them are Woody’s.

NC: The opening number features three rabbits and a cat. They do a short dance, more a gavotte then a cha-cha sort of thing and then they disappear into a large guitar... Actually we cut that. Touring with animals is too difficult. In all honesty, the show takes the audience on this amazing, personal journey.

DD: It’s unusual in that the ensemble on stage play multiple characters and multiple instruments and sing. It’s both a concert and a theatrical play, with no taped sound effects or canned music. It’s as organic as Woody’s material itself.

TW: How is Woody’s story relevant to today?

DL: Similar to Woody’s time, I think the voice of opposition to government policies is important and significant at home and abroad.

NC: Woody seemed to feel people’s pain very personally. He was then able to translate this into songs that not only gave voice to, but in turn often uplifted the spirit. The politicians may have changed but sadly world politics is much the same as the stories and situations Woody lived through and sang about years ago.

DD: It’s ironic how the United States is in the same situation today, between political decisions and the banking business. Every word in this show could be about today, just exchange the dust storm and the California migrant camps with the oil issue and the outsourcing of jobs to other countries, leaving people without jobs. The other reason I believe the show is relevant is because many people in other countries believe that Americans unanimously support this war, and that everyone in the US is well off. So being able to do this show outside of the US gives me a chance to communicate what I believe are the real people’s feelings.

HR: The tunes are simple and familiar. The thoughts are profound and timeless.

TW: Do you find your audience is made up of existing Guthrie fans, or people unfamiliar with his work? If both, do those two audience types respond differently to the show?

DL: I would say that up to now the majority of our audience know something about Woody or his music, though the uninitiated make up a good percentage too. But even the most ardent Woody Guthrie fan, I believe, will find something new about the man in this show. And that puts the two groups on a level playing field.

NC: The fans in Edinburgh, where the show made its debut last August, were great. They really embraced what we’re doing. But more surprising was the great response from the audience members who may not have even liked Woody’s music before. Hearing the songs against the backdrop of the story behind the songs gives the music a wonderful new life. Many of our audience members have been moved to tears during some songs and stand and clap in others. We had this great 10-year-old boy who came several times with his mom because he loved it so much.

TW: You were at the Edinburgh Festival last year, how was that?

HR: It was a total blast. We were in the Reid Concert Hall, known during the festival as the Cow Barn. The acoustics there were great, which is much appreciated by us, as our show uses no amplification. We would do a little pre-show busking out in the courtyard, then head inside to the theatre for the show. We had a fun crew, important with a ten-minute set-up that included prepping 15 musical instruments. The actors we shared the dressing room with were extremely amusing (there were about 35 of us preparing in a very small space) and the audiences, well they just kept growing. I was coming back from doing another gig in Aberdeen and met these great folks on the train. Two days later they showed up to see the show.

DD: I wrote a three-part story about my time there, because it was a fantastic experience for me on so many levels. The city of Edinburgh was new to me. I saw as many shows as I could, and to see so many different styles of theatre from around the world was enlightening. And the reactions of the audiences… grown men with tears in their eyes.

NC: It was so fantastic to create a show and put it up in front of an audience for the first time and get such an overwhelmingly positive feedback. It all happened very fast so we were really thinking on our feet and working from our instincts. The cast has a very diverse theatrical background and it was great to watch that come together as well. The critics were very positive. Some people came more than once, returning with their parents or bringing their kids.

DL: Let me answer with an anecdote. Two months after the festival, on the steps of a fancy hotel on the Upper West Side of New York City, a middle-aged man with a firefighter’s patch on his arm pointed to me and called to his wife, in a thick, Scottish brogue, “It’s Woody!” I felt, at that moment, as though our run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe went pretty well.

TW: Have you performed in Brighton before? Are you looking forward to being part of the Brighton Fringe this year?

DL: The last time I performed near Brighton, it was as a treble with the Royal School of Church Music Choir. I’ve been looking forward to coming back ever since.

DD: I’ve never been to Brighton and am thrilled to visit.

HR: First time for me too. Definitely looking forward to getting to know the town and figure out the way things work here. I want to get to Great Escape, which starts up right after our five-day run ends. I really like Iron & Wine and I saw that he was gonna be there.

NC: We just hope the Brighton audiences will be enthusiastic and take a gamble on coming to see us.

TW: Describe your show in three words!

NC: Organic. Entertaining. Woody.

Woody Sez, Brighton Unitarian Church, 10, 11 May, 5:20pm (6:45pm), 12, 13, 14 May 7:20pm (8:45pm), £8.50 (£7.00), fpp47