Jack of all plays

10:19am Wednesday 1st October 2008

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Director Cameron Jack tells Kerry Ann Eustice why his version of The Elephant Man is a departure from his visceral yet crowd-pleasing previous stage work

The Elephant Man fits well into Cameron Jack's directing canon of dark and energetic yet very human stories. Unafraid of tackling the cult classics, Jack's directing CV takes in versions of Trainspotting, A Clockwork Orange, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Romeo and Juliet.

The Penge-dwelling, Glasgow-hailing director's (who is also a busy actor) trademark is to deliver audio-visual feasts with a fearless use of contemporary music (for example, Arctic Monkey and Heaven 17 in Romeo and Juliet) to help modern audiences relate to the material. It's a blend which massively appeals to the younger theatregoer - a skill Jack honed when teaching teenagers.

But his next venture at The Broadway Studio, Catford, while still appealing to his usual fans, will be more of a mature affair.

"I was looking at a doing a London story, something like Jack the Ripper or Sweeney Todd. And I almost went for 1984," he said "The play has its flaws, it's not the masterpiece the film is but I really wanted to take it and pull the sadness out. It's still going to be very audio-visual, with lots of music, movement and projections. But this is different. I'm expecting an older audience."

He hopes to extend his audience via a Matthew Bourne-inspired dance sequence and his usual pop soundtrack has been replaced by classical, Cirque de Soleil numbers and some movie soundtracks.

"I'm fascinated by the darker side of life," said Jack. "I probably should see a therapist, although I'd rather see a dark film."

It's clear cinema is a massive influence. His Romeo and Juliet was very Baz Luhrman and he's far more likely to reference a film than a play when discussing his work. He lets details on a few future projects slip (The Who musical Tommy was mentioned) and a stage adaptation of American History X with a hip hop/punk (The Clash, Sex Pistols etc) soundtrack could be next.

These future ambitions go further to prove how Jack enjoys challenging his audience - even disturb them a little - yet this will be a more warming experience.

"It will be dark but the main thing is to tell Merrick 's story. Yes, it is sad but I hope people will feel uplifted," he said.

The Elephant Man at The Broadway Studio, Catford. Oct 8 to Nov 2. 020 8690 0002.