Mike Bartlett’s Bull takes the familiar territory of office politics and transforms it into something far more unsettling; a razor-sharp examination of workplace bullying that somehow manages to be wickedly funny. Director Aoife Gregory brings this confronting work to life with Rational Animals, staging audiences on all sides of a triangular playing space designed to make the theatre itself feel hostile.
About The Production – Bull by Mike Bartlett
What is this production about?
On the surface, Mike Bartlett’s Bull is about three sales agents facing a performance review, where one of the three will lose their job. Behind this synopsis, Bull examines the secret systems behind workplace bullying – how social stratification and a lack of empathy can turn normal people into unrelenting beasts.
Why did you want to be involved in this production?
Reading Bull was unlike any script I had read before – I was both shocked at its unflinching look at bullying, and absolutely enamoured with how Bartlett manages to make such macabre material so funny. I would have been happy to see the show as an audience member, but getting to shape such a sharp narrative as director has been an unexpected joy.
What is challenging about bringing this script to life?
Bull is unique in that the vast majority of characters (if not all) don’t actually grow or change – it doesn’t have the same traditional arc that most plays do. Keeping the characters dynamic and dimensional without betraying their lack of development has been a fun challenge.
What sort of person is going to love this show?
I think anyone who enjoys a dark comedy will get a lot out of it – it has the problematic characters you just love to hate, like in ‘Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia.’ Fans of series like ‘The Thick of It’ or ‘Veep’ will appreciate the sheer artistry of some of the insults in this script as well! It’s divinely written.
What will the audience be thinking about on the drive home after this show?
If we’ve done our job right, they’ll feel guilty for laughing so hard at something so horrible.
What is going to surprise people about this production?
I think most theatre productions aim to give their audience a ‘complete’ experience, letting them walk away satisfied with their evening. Bull revels in denying an audience any comfort – it’s part of its twisted charm.
How is this production bringing something new to this story?
We’re doing everything we can to make the stage a hostile space – our playing space is triangular, with audiences surrounding our actors on all sides. We’re also taking some different approaches to scenarios in the script – and adding some unique flourishes of our own. You’ll just have to come and see to find out what I mean!
Call someone out by name. Who absolutely must come and see this?
If you have a HR rep at work, they need to see this.
Who has the best costume?
Matt Graham’s ‘Tony’ has the most interesting costume change, but not in a way that you could ever anticipate…
Is there anything else you would like to share?
In a theatre year of feel-good productions and comfortably contained stories, Bull is the perfect shock to the system to put the danger back into your theatre experience. Come be horrible people with us!
A huge thank you to Aoife for sharing insights into this deliciously uncomfortable production. For anyone ready to laugh guiltily at something genuinely horrible, tickets for Bull are available now at trybooking.com; your HR rep might want to take notes.
