Who is Ben Rowse?  He doesn’t show up to the interview, but thankfully Adam Lawrence, playing the title role in Ben’s original, one-act, comic farce is here to tell me.

Despite it being his fourth year in Cambridge, Pilot is Ben’s first foray into the theatre scene.  The idea for this play has been brewing for some time, and the backing of Adam’s Footlights experience may have been what set his confidence issues aside at last.  After acting in the 2010 Spring Revue, People Watching, written by Ben Ashenden, Mark Fiddaman and Alex Owen, Adam had the “amazing opportunity” of performing with them in last summer’s Footlight’s Tour Show, Pretty Little Panic.  Adam tells me the trio are flying in London, and he would love to work with them in the future.

However, his attention is now not on sketches but a farce.  Pilot applies a deadpan style to a series of very surreal situations.  He says the writing is a great help in this, creating a succession of scenarios that feel like a natural progression, when the whole thing is actually quite bizarre.  The play uses only one set and is all one scene, which Adam shares with Dom Biddle and Ben Pope. He is complimentary about both, and is inspired by their dedication and professionalism. He doesn’t see the differences in age and experience as a problem: “I’m learning more from them.”

A Corpus lateshow slot is exactly right for this show.  The Playrooms provide an intimate, cool atmosphere that will have the audience feeling like they’re “in the cockpit with us”.  Now managed by the ADC, the venue has a much higher profile than when Adam first performed there.

He recalls an opening night with an audience of two – the lead’s best friend and a Varsity reviewer.  While he had his reservations about the management switch – concerned they might “stick a McDonalds in there” – he feels that far from selling out, the Playrooms remain as cosy as ever.

It is only three days since the first rehearsal, though not due to the comfy prospect of the Playrooms.  Ben wanted to spend more time perfecting the script, but Adam  doesn’t think that having a shorter amount of time to rehearse is a bad thing. It will give the cast an ideal amount of time for the play to still be fresh come opening night – any longer and there would be “a risk of losing the fizz of tension”. I look forward to the bubbles still being there on Tuesday week.