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Lucy Ellinson: 'Drone pilots are pretty bored a lot of the time' Lucy Ellinson: 'Drone pilots are pretty bored a lot of the time'
(17 days later)
For the past few months, Lucy Ellinson has been living inside the mind of an American drone pilot. She's performing Grounded, a monologue by the playwright George Brant about a former US fighter pilot turned drone operative, trying to reconcile her long, dull shifts waging war on Iraq from thousands of miles away with her off-duty life as a wife and mother.For the past few months, Lucy Ellinson has been living inside the mind of an American drone pilot. She's performing Grounded, a monologue by the playwright George Brant about a former US fighter pilot turned drone operative, trying to reconcile her long, dull shifts waging war on Iraq from thousands of miles away with her off-duty life as a wife and mother.
The play proved a hot ticket at the Traverse theatre in Edinburgh last month, and has just transferred to the Gate theatre in Notting Hill, London. This is where, in the theatre's basement offices, I meet Ellinson: she's tired after a delayed late-night train journey from Scotland, but her excitement about Grounded is undimmed.The play proved a hot ticket at the Traverse theatre in Edinburgh last month, and has just transferred to the Gate theatre in Notting Hill, London. This is where, in the theatre's basement offices, I meet Ellinson: she's tired after a delayed late-night train journey from Scotland, but her excitement about Grounded is undimmed.
"The experience of a drone pilot has, until now, been very secretive," she says. "But because of the real personal courage of drone pilots in the US who started speaking out about it, we're learning more. This play is part of that conversation.""The experience of a drone pilot has, until now, been very secretive," she says. "But because of the real personal courage of drone pilots in the US who started speaking out about it, we're learning more. This play is part of that conversation."
During rehearsals, Ellinson interviewed two RAF fighter pilots, and she is in email contact with a US drone pilot, whose description of operations is in accordance with Brant's script. This is war as soul-crushing shift work. "It sounds like a call centre," Ellinson says. "The hours are long, the toilet breaks are designated, the snack machine is a highlight of the day, and they're pretty bored a lot of the time."During rehearsals, Ellinson interviewed two RAF fighter pilots, and she is in email contact with a US drone pilot, whose description of operations is in accordance with Brant's script. This is war as soul-crushing shift work. "It sounds like a call centre," Ellinson says. "The hours are long, the toilet breaks are designated, the snack machine is a highlight of the day, and they're pretty bored a lot of the time."
Watching Ellinson perform, however, is never boring. I saw her last year in The Trojan Women, also at the Gate: she played a terrified pregnant woman handcuffed to a bed, and I could barely take my eyes off her. She's remarkably versatile, as comfortable working with scripts as with experimental, devised work, which is where her primary interests lie. She studied English and drama at Leeds university, and, now 34, has established herself as a performer and theatre-maker, working with companies such as Third Angel and Chris Goode and Company.Watching Ellinson perform, however, is never boring. I saw her last year in The Trojan Women, also at the Gate: she played a terrified pregnant woman handcuffed to a bed, and I could barely take my eyes off her. She's remarkably versatile, as comfortable working with scripts as with experimental, devised work, which is where her primary interests lie. She studied English and drama at Leeds university, and, now 34, has established herself as a performer and theatre-maker, working with companies such as Third Angel and Chris Goode and Company.
This experience of working closely with others may be why Ellinson is one of the least egocentric actors I've ever met; she admits that talking about herself makes her "squeamish". Perhaps it's also because her mind is on larger issues than her own career: she is passionate about political activism (she's wearing a T-shirt in support of the Black Triangle campaign, an Edinburgh-based group of disability activists) and about the role theatre can play in changing attitudes.This experience of working closely with others may be why Ellinson is one of the least egocentric actors I've ever met; she admits that talking about herself makes her "squeamish". Perhaps it's also because her mind is on larger issues than her own career: she is passionate about political activism (she's wearing a T-shirt in support of the Black Triangle campaign, an Edinburgh-based group of disability activists) and about the role theatre can play in changing attitudes.
Last year, in a show called Torycore, she death-screamed George Osborne's budget speech over a metal soundtrack; she also took part in the Occupy protests, and hopes to be able to tie the London run of Grounded in some way with the major international arms fair taking place in east London this month. So political theatre is far from dead, then? "Oh, I think it's needed," Ellinson says firmly. "Now more than ever before."Last year, in a show called Torycore, she death-screamed George Osborne's budget speech over a metal soundtrack; she also took part in the Occupy protests, and hopes to be able to tie the London run of Grounded in some way with the major international arms fair taking place in east London this month. So political theatre is far from dead, then? "Oh, I think it's needed," Ellinson says firmly. "Now more than ever before."
Grounded is at the Gate theatre, London W11, until 28 September. Tickets: 020-7229 0706; gatetheatre.co.ukGrounded is at the Gate theatre, London W11, until 28 September. Tickets: 020-7229 0706; gatetheatre.co.uk
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