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SIN is the latest work from the energetic and prolific The Outfit Theatre Company. Inspired by real life stories captured from hundreds of anonymous surveys, the show has fourteen characters each of whom embodies a different combination of the Seven Deadly Sins.  Renee Liang interviews company co-director Ema Barton.

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During the past seven years The Outfit Theatre company has been a regular producer of original new work, both scripted and devised.  Now with company directors Sarah Graham and Ema Barton at the helm, Outfit has decided to focus on new devised work, drawing on its large pool of drama graduates.

SIN is their latest and most ambitious work to date, a show which had its beginnings in a notorious anonymous survey which asked people which of the seven deadly sins they had indulged in.  

Why and how was Outfit Theatre Company formed and how has it evolved over the last seven years?

Our very first meeting took place in a crowded villa kitchen on Crummer Rd in 2007, filled with drama school students desperate not to disappear in the post uni haze into jobs we'd regret, and clear in the knowledge that we as a group had something new to offer audiences. Overall the regretful jobs haven't been all that bad, ok lies, some definitely have. But we have found that yes, we have something different to offer. Numbers. Seemingly the thing that sticks out for most audiences are our large casts. Totally not cost effective, but definitely an outfit show trademark from our family adventure shows to our scripted works.
Evolution wise we started off making an annual season of work up to five shows a year with no money and a heap of ideas. Now however we want to build on the experience we have and focus on making a higher quality work, focusing on new work that speaks to our audiences.

Why did you decide to focus only on devised work?

The Outfit's style of devised work is created by a very close knit ensemble who are empowered to offer up ideas and contribute to the process. It's not the sort of environment you can create with a scripted work. Plus with devised work we have a chance to make something incredibly current and unique. Our form of devised is always very narrative and character driven and SIN is about people who live in Auckland today. Also, we aren't saying we won't do scripted work in the future...just not right now.

Are you still doing children's shows as well as pieces for a more mature audience?

Absolutely, we will come home to our family work at some point - just not this year. Through our family adventures we found who we were as a company. (Let's just make it clear, our family shows don't only appeal to children but adults as well with the kind of humour we get in there.)  Like many theatre companies around the world the work we create will age as we, the ensemble do. Right now we are made of people in our late 20's and 30's so in a way that's where voice currently sits.

Do you have a process for making each work, or do you let the idea dictate the form?

The idea dictates the form. With SIN we wanted to use real stories so we surveyed people, had face to face interviews and had big talks amongst our cast. We took bits and pieces from our findings which inspired us. These stories forced our hand and we created from there. We also explored the seven sins themselves, personifying them and experimenting with them physically to see where that could take us.

Tell me about the genesis of SIN.

Last year we were sitting in a car at midnight, after yet another Outfit rendezvous pondering "what could our next devised show be?". We knew it had to be a big, titillating topic we could all sink our teeth into and audiences would connect with right away. We threw around subjects such as politics, the environment, divorce....but then The Seven Deadly Sins popped up. This sparked up a whole lot of conversation, followed by feverish internet surfing and idea was planted.  From there, we got the ensemble on board and the rest is a play in the making.

You must have got some amazing stories from your online survey.... what questions did you ask, and what will you do with the stories you haven't used for the play?

Yes we got back some really telling tales and quite profound viewpoints. We asked in general what people were guilty and ashamed of, what makes them happy and then more specifically what experiences / opinions they have had with each sin (Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Envy, Wrath and Pride.)

There was an emphasis on lust with sex and cheating, gluttony with food and shopping, sloth with procrastination and envy of people who were more beautiful or successful. Many people were ashamed of their bodies, or of hurting other people's feelings and also humanity and our generation as a whole. Pride was not necessarily seen as a bad thing as it can embody confidence in one's self however traditionally Pride is worst.

We have taken some of the stories that have stood out to us and considered the occupations and opinions of our participants to build 14 characters on. Any stories that weren't used might just end up in another show, you never know.

SIN Trailer #1 from The Outfit Theatre Company on Vimeo.