The UK premiere of Sideways
The iconic novel, which inspired Alexander Payne’s Oscar-winning film, Sideways has been adapted into a West End stage show at St James’ Theatre. I spoke to Rex Pickett, author of the original novel, which he adapted for this show.
Sideways follows Miles, an anxiety-ridden writer struggling with his recent divorce, on a trip through California’s wine country with his soon to be married friend Max, himself desperate for one last fling first. Much of the comedy stems from these unlikely friends, equally flawed in different ways, and their wine-fuelled escapades. Fans of the film will no doubt remember the “I’m not drinking f**king Merlot” line, among many other laugh-out-loud moments.
I was curious how this film, in essence a road movie, would transition to the static confines of a stage play and how they would replicate the beautiful visuals of the Santa Ynez Valley. Pickett mentioned that the amount of set changes and transitions was the most difficult technical aspect of this play. The novel is written from the first-person perspective of Miles, with him an ever present throughout the novel and the faithfully adapted film. Despite the large number of scenes and locations, Pickett maintained the same narrative style throughout this play, despite admitting that he broke every rule in theatre.
This enables the audience to follow Miles throughout the ups, and mainly downs, of his tumultuous journey through the pinot regions of Santa Monica. A revolving stage was used to transition to new locations and sets with minimal interruptions to the flow. It was a nice touch for the stage hands to be dressed as waiters in the wineries. Like the novel, this play is largely character and dialogue driven, with the simple set design focussing all attention on the characters. Despite this, some of the beauty of the film and the novel is understandably lost.
I asked Pickett about how the actors approached taking on the characters, which had such acclaimed performances in the film by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church. He explained how much the characters had evolved throughout the process of bringing this play to life. Daniel Weyman and Simon Harrison both bring their own slant and idiosyncrasies to these characters and avoid impersonating Giamatti and Church.
Pickett was clearly enthused by working with these actors and said it was one of the most rewarding experiences of his career. They workshopped the play collaboratively, with Pickett describing the atmosphere as harmonious and inspiring. This is his first stage play and I don’t think it will be his last. He mentioned falling in love with the vibrancy of the London theatre scene and was clearly impressed by the credence and input that the writer receives throughout the process.
Following an acclaimed sold out premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse, this brand new production of Sideways, directed by David Grindley (Journey’s End, The American Plan, Daytona) runs at St James’ Theatre until 9th July.
Written by Martin Stocks | @Stocks1986
