10 Questions with Matthew Seager
Matthew Seager is a writer, performer and Artistic Director of Off the Middle theatre company.Â
This week we caught up with Matthew who wrote and stars in In Other Words, a humorous and moving story exploring the effect of Alzheimerâs disease and the transformative power of music.
Interested in exploring new and exciting ways to tell important stories, Off the Middle was founded by Matthew Seager, Stephanie Withers and Euan Tyre. Having met at the University of Leeds, the trio quickly discovered their shared passion for making theatre, and have been making work together ever since.
Angela Hardie and Matthew Seager. Image: Rah Petherbridge. 1. What was your inspiration for writing In Other Words?
In my last year at the University of Leeds, I worked in a Dementia care home facilitating sensory stimulation workshops. We would play music at the end of each session that we thought might connect to a time in the teenage or young adult lives of the residents. What I witnessed had a profound impact on me. Many of the residents who seemed to be completely cognitively unaware, would stand and sing every word to, for example, a Frank Sinatra song they recognised. Subsequently, they would often be able to articulate, with genuine clarity, relevant memories and moments from their life.
Whilst at drama school at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland I shared a work in progress at The Arches, which was the first time the ideas had been presented to an audience.
2. What three words would you use to sum up the play? Music. Love. Hardship.
3. How do you want audiences to feel having watched the show?
Ultimately this is a love story. We hope, first and foremost, the audience can connect with these characters and these feelings. We want them to enjoy it. This show is about the power of music and we want that to come across. Weâre aware we tackle a serious topic, but there are also laughs and dancing and lots of Frank Sinatra.
We do feel pressure to be truthful to a topic that affects so many, so we really hope that audiences will recognise this and engage with the material. Weâd like them to leave hopeful.
Angela Hardie and Matthew Seager. Image: Rah Petherbridge. 4. Do you have a favourite line or moment in the play? âSo effectively, before weâre even born, weâre learning to sing with another person. Isnât that amazing? And he still sounded that bad!â
5. Can you tell us about your writing environment? I love writing in coffee shops because I can watch people without feeling like Iâm being watched. Itâs also not silent but not too noisy. I like the background noise.
6. If you could spend a day with a day with the characters from In Other Words what would you do together? Go to a gig. Not sure what but definitely some live music. Frank Sinatra features a lot, so does Bobby Darin. If I can do at the time the play is set then I would go and see those guys. Do some dancing.
Angela Hardie and Matthew Seager. Image: Rah Petherbridge. 7. Can you tell us about the first play you wrote? Â Â Itâs this one! Well, I think I wrote something at school about a Grandma who fights crime, but Iâm not sure Iâll count that.
8. Going on from that, what advice would you give to your younger playwriting self? Just get it down and see how it goes. Show it to people you trust and definitely donât be afraid to be bad.
9. What has been your most memorable theatre experience â either as a member of the audience or as part of the creative team? Thatâs tough as I think it changes a lot and is always a fairly recent one. My favourite play of the last couple of years I think was Yerma at the Young Vic.
10. Are there any websites, books or other resources that you find particularly useful as a playwright? Iâve been listening to the Royal Court Playwrightâs Podcast a lot recently. Itâs really interesting hearing about writersâ processes and basically reassuring to hear there is no hard and fast right way of doing things!
In Other Words Fri 1 - Sat 2 March BOOK NOW
Angela Hardie. Image: Rah Petherbridge.














