Interview with Aoife Moroney-Ward | Broadening

Interview by Caomhan Keane

The premise was simple. One set of students would play the guards, the other the prisoners. A social experiment all in the name of science. Lets see what happens, they said. And we did. And it wasn’t pretty.

Based on the real life Stanford Prison experiment, which was cancelled after the first couple of days due to the level of brutality Peter Dunne’s Broadening is the perfect subject matter for the writer. Creator of the Morb film night, which has left more than one punter swearing off ever attending again, thanks to the twisted, extreme, barborous and at times, very funny violence on show, his script lef producer Aoife Moroney-Ward horrified when she first read it, though she also sensed the slight air of comedy he had laed through the script.

'It’s about human nature, what people are capeable of,' she tells me. 'You could walk away and not take it seriously. Its not gratuitous but it is still unnerving, like a horror film.'

They are eager to stress though that it’s not for the fain hearted. 'The show is essentialy about control. We are selling it that when they come to our show, they are signing a contract, beming compliant with proceedings. Were obviously not really contolling them but we want to create a sense that we are.'

'It’’s not interactive,' Dunne adds. 'We just want to get people to think about how they would act in the situation. Would they be compliant. Moment’s in this pla are really shocking. I regret inviting some family members now.'

It’s not the only film based on a social experiment and both Aoife and peter say that Tracy Martin’s The Wave is high on their list of 'Must See' shows at the Fringe, not least because she directed their last production, I Am My Own Wife.
'I always like seing The Company’s work as well,' Aoife adds. 'They market their shows really well , you never quite know what you are going to get. And even if you love it or hate it, you know you are going to get a really solid production.'

Story by EI Team | 09:00 | Friday 7th September 2012 | Theatre

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