Interview: The Summer House writer and actor, Neil Haigh

Neil Haigh is one of the writers and performers of The Summer House, a new comedy coming to the Unity next week. Produced by London's Fuel Theatre, it is the story of  three men on a lads' holiday in the Scandinavian wilds. Among other work, Neil is known for his association with improv and storytelling group Cartoon de Salvo, and previously lived in Iceland, the inspiration for The Summer House, as one of the co-directors of the Icelandic Takeaway theatre company.

 You’ve only just started touring The Summer House – how’s it going so far?It’s at a very exciting stage, we’re still making changes to the show as we go along. And we’ve just had an interesting four weeks devising it. It’s been a show we’ve been looking to do for two years, on and off. The four of us [director John Wright and writer/ performers Haigh, Will Adamsdale and Matthew Steer] have worked together on other projects and seen each other’s work before. So it’s exciting to finally come together at the same time and have the opportunity to work on it. What’s it all about? The initial starting point was that of three characters who were on some sort of stag do or holiday, at the tail end as the last ones standing, and they end up in a remote house one of them owns in Scandinavia. Not your usual lads’ getaway destination.I used to live there and was fascinated by the mythology, landscapes and all the myths and legends, and on the face of it, how it’s quite a macho society. Most people have second homes in the countryside they use during the summer. Just a one hour drive away from the cosmopolitan feel of the city, and you’d be out in the wilderness with the mountains and volcanoes. The production is quite notable for it’s all-male cast.Initially, we were very conscious of the fact, but that’s all part of theatre. Our piece is very funny and very light in its approach, but on lots of levels it’s hopefully quite disturbing in some ways, about what happens to men when there’s no women around. Touring theatre - a good time to be doing what you do?It’s vital those places - like the Unity, or Hull Truck, or the Ustinov in Bath - have access to new and interesting work that’s being developed and adapted, both from the audiences' point of view and that of the venue. But of course, we need the funding to be able to make these shows and put them on the road. It’s kind of the only way you can really develop your work as artists. If you stop that, you stop the next generation of talented people who will end up running big theatre companies and the big buildings. The Summer House is on at the Unity Theatre on March 29 & 30.