Jay Miller
Artistic Director of the Yard Theatre
The rehearsals for The Mikvah Project were in full swing when I went to Hackney Wick to interview Jay Miller, the Yard’s s founder and artistic director. His new production is a two-man act that centers around an on-stage Mikvah (a Jewish bath) filled with 18 tons of water, and explores the limits of love. The play is on until 14 March and promises to be a theatre experience of a very different kind.
Jay graduated from Newcastle University (the town where he grew up) and studied theatre arts in Paris, before coming to London in 2010. The recession and the subsequent cuts closed many doors for young artists. By founding The Yard the following year, Jay wanted to open up new opportunities and create an encouraging and nurturing space for emerging artists; somewhere where risks could be taken.
The theatre has received huge acclaim ever since. As well as winning multiple awards, its in-house production ‘Beyond Caring’ will be transferring to the National Theatre this spring. While Miller is proud and excited about the support he receives from the West End he also points out that it’s important to be at the edge of the city. “I feel that sitting outside is a more comfortable place to be. From the edge you can look in.”
In Hackney Wick’s industrial setting, Miller found the ideal place for his theatre. The Yard is nestled among run-down warehouses and constructed entirely from reclaimed and recycled materials. Its temporary nature is intentional. “The fact that it’s not a permanent fixture gives us flexibility, makes us fleet of foot,” he explains. The ephemerality of the place is very much linked to what Jay wants to achieve. “I’m trying to make work that can happen only in the theatre’. I want to make this feel like a live experience and very present for an audience. Theatre- It’s there and it’s gone. You can’t hold it”.
Jay has close family ties to the East End. It’s where his father grew up and where most of the members from that side of the family still live. Only a mile or so away from the theatre is where his great-grandfather set up shop after he and his family fled the Russian pogroms and settled down in East London’s Jewish community, so this part of London is very much in Jay’s blood.
What drew you to Hackney? It was the artistic tapestry of the area that drew me here. And the fact that it it’s on the edge. The area has a strong identity but recognizes that it is changing. I like the industrial feel of Hackney Wick. It’s a metaphor for 21st century Britain. That is very inspiring. I also like that it is changing and that it’s restless. It is welcoming and because of my family’s history I can call this place home.
Does the area influence your work? A lot, yes. The setting up of the theatre in a warehouse was really important and there weren’t many warehouse to be found in London. The space feels very epic. That influences the work. Also the people I work with, who are mostly East London-based, are a huge influence. I feel that the political angle of our work is far more dangerous here. It says more here. A lot of the work we do is about housing, low-paid work and gentrification. Those messages are so much more powerful here.
What makes you most proud? When audience members tell me that coming to the Yard is a completely new experience for them and that they see and feel the world in a new way.
What are you working on now? Other than the previous plays, the current show The Mikvah Project is about human rather than social concerns. I wanted to make a show that explores the edges of who we think we are or who we could be. I am interested in how people change and if it is trough something innate or something external. My next production will be about five young men in the British Army.
Best coffee in these parts? We do excellent tea in our office! But a good place to have coffee is the Timber Lodge, in the Olympic Park.
Where do you eat out? On Leytonstone High Road there are some brilliant Eastern European restaurants – Rumanian, Lithuanian, Latvian. They don’t speak any English and you have to point at the menu and hope what you choose is palatable. I also like the East Ham Curry Houses. Without a doubt they serve the best curries in town and are very good value.
What do you do at the weekend? I use my weekends to do my house up but on a Sunday I like to visit a gallery and go to see a film. Embarrassingly I go to Westfield because I can walk back home and chat about the film.
Anything you would change? Having a door on my theatre to stop the cold coming in; I’d like some heating, toilets that don’t block. Other than that I do worry about gentrification and the rate of change. People moving in, people moving out. I love that there are five greasy spoons nearby. We got Griddlers next door and I love the people there. How much longer will it be there? Not much, probably.
Hackney's best-kept secret? Natura Café and Pizzeria on 3 Felstead Steet, Hackney Wick and Hub67 a newly created community space for young people and local residents.
If Hackney were human? A centaur (half-man half-horse).It’s quite magical and feels like a lot of different things in one place.
Hackney in a word? Chocolate-box
This interview appeared in the March 2015 issue of E9 Magazine