We chatted to Witney about Rime of the Second Sister, the last instalment of 45North‘s Written on the Waves series.
Hi Witney, could you explain what Rime of the Second Sister is about? Rime of the second sister is about two young sisters who are going through a really difficult time but find hope and understanding of their mental health and the world around them through storytelling and their wild imaginations.
How does it feel to be involved with this play? I absolutely loved bringing this story to life. I’m a big sister myself, so I used to make up stories and do lots of silly voices to keep my sister entertained so it felt like a natural thing to
do. The writing is beautiful and allowed Alice and I to play and discover these two wonderful characters.
What was it about the story that caught your attention? Once I got about a quarter of the way into reading the script I realised everything wasn’t as simple as I had first thought, the play wasn’t just about telling stories and keeping your sibling entertained. It is about so much more than that, it’s ultimately about survival and how
these two young characters are trying to navigate their feelings and emotions and I was so
intrigued by this.
It’s described as a ‘choose your own adventure audio experiment’ -how does that work? There are points throughout the play that the listener can choose which path or decision the characters make, it can be as simple as choosing the colour of a jumper or it can be something much more poignant.
How have you found the experience of recording an audio play? I absolutely loved recording an audio play, it’s so different not having to think about camera angles or stage directions and literally just focusing on the conversations between the characters. It was amazing to find how much I still used my face and body to express
what my character was going through.
By Emma Clarendon
The Rime of the Second Sister is available to listen to as part of 45North’s Written on the Waves Project here: https://www.forty-fivenorth.com/rime-of-the-second-sister