Ahead of their upcoming performances of their new play How to be the Perfect Couple at Otley Courthouse and Buxton Fringe, we spoke to real-life married couple Jon and Katie Rand of Randmade Productions about the play and what it’s like working together as a married couple.
Can you tell us what How to be the Perfect Couple is about?
Jon: It’s a comedy featuring married couple, Doctor Veronica and Professor Robert Stenk – two renowned marriage experts, who are delivering a lecture on how to have the perfect relationship while their own falls apart spectacularly, live on stage.
Where did the idea for How to be the Perfect Couple come from?
Jon: It was 100% Katie’s idea.
Katie: I’ve been teaching presentation skills training for the last 25 years, so I’m always thinking about the lecture form. At first, I just thought it would be fun to take something as formal as a lecture, and see what happens when the calm, outward persona of the two people giving it dissolves into something very childish, emotional and primal.
Jon: From there, we started to think more about couple relationships and the kinds of things that can go wrong. We thought, wouldn’t it be nice to write a comedy that actually makes people think about their own relationships?
How are you finding working together as a real-life married couple?
Jon: We met studying drama at university when we were 19, and worked really well together, so I think we sort of assumed we still would. It can get quite meta though, especially when we have a disagreement, and start quoting the characters!
Katie: Thankfully writing the play required a lot of research about improving your marriage, so some of that came in quite handy.
Jon: Yes, we should be experts in communicating successfully now, but we still have our moments.
Katie: It’s not always easy taking notes from your spouse. It’s annoying, to be honest!
Jon: Haha! Honestly though, the biggest benefit to all of this is having a shared goal, something we can do together that’s hugely challenging, but also really good fun.
When did you decide that you wanted to pursue a career in acting and theatre-making?
Jon: Despite both loving theatre, especially the whole creative process, we both drifted into other careers, eventually ending up doing voice-overs on TV and radio. Which I suppose is sort of ‘the performing arts’?!
Katie: This whole show actually came from a promise we made ourselves at the end of uni, back in 1995: that at some point, we would write and perform a play and take it to festivals.
Jon: It’s taken us over 30 years to fulfil it, but hey.
Katie: I think there’s always been a part of us that wanted to come back to theatre. It’s so wonderful at not just telling stories but creating a genuinely interactive experience, so that every performance is unique. I think that’s what makes it so exciting for performer and audience.
Jon: Unlikely to make you rich though!
Katie: Well, that’s true.
You’re taking the show to Buxton Fringe this summer. More and more Fringe festivals are popping up across the country. How important are these spaces for developing new writing?
Jon: Essential! It’s actually quite hard to find good venues willing to take a risk on new, untested shows, but festivals are absolutely key for developing new work.
Katie: Yeah, we’re also very grateful that they give more people across the UK the opportunity to experience the joy of live theatre. And a real cross-section of stuff too!
What are your future aspirations for the play and Randmade Productions more broadly?
Katie: We’d love the opportunity to work with a producer, to help us get the show in front of more people.
Jon: That would be amazing. We both have two jobs effectively. I also co-host a podcast called The Failing Writers, so time is quite scarce. Some more expertise in the promotion and production process would be incredible. But Katie’s right, from what people have said about the play, it would be wonderful to get it in front of more people.
Katie: One audience member who worked for Relate’s couple counselling service said she thought all couples should watch the show!
Jon: What a commendation. Longterm though, I’m not totally sure what’s next. We’ll see how Buxton goes first!
What can people expect from the play at Otley Courthouse and then Buxton Fringe?
Katie: They can expect a really fun night. Plenty of laughs, a bit of voyeuristic glee, quite a lot of silliness…
Jon: And a few home truths as well!
Katie: Yes, prepare to squirm when you recognise a tiny bit of yourself in the characters!
How to be the Perfect Couple plays at Otley Courthouse on 29th May for one night only, before a short run from 14th to 16th July at Underground – Spring Gardens as part of Buxton Fringe.
