Director's Note

Directing Chess has been an incredible process, it’s an epic show, with a timeless story. The political tensions in Chess are as relevant today as they were when the show was conceived, we are bombarded by international political dramas and sensationalist media each time we read the news, switch on the TV or open our social media. It’s a pertinent time for Chess to be on the stage.

Amidst the political manipulations being played out, Chess, at its heart, is really a show about our humanity, our flaws, and how our emotion and rationality don’t always work together harmoniously. It’s always challenging when our emotions pull us in one direction and our morals pull us in the other, what do we believe is right? What do we want? What happens when the answers to these questions don’t line up neatly? In the end, how can you make an impossible decision?

It has been a privilege to be entrusted with a show of this magnitude, and social and political importance, and a joy to work with Footlights, who demand excellence of themselves and those who work with them.

Laura Loach