Here it is, the genesis of all that was to come here at Williams Creatives. Written and directed by Joshua Williams alongside Lee Samuels as the Assistant Director and choreographed by Hannah Castledine. ‘On the Surface, We Smile’ is a gritty peek at what is behind closed doors, told through thought-provoking and totally captivating storytelling.
On the Surface, We Smile is about the perception of people around us and the lengths we will go to, to hide the truth underneath. Jackson and Lisa are two best friends who comment on others around them including a Victim of Sex Trafficking, A Domestically Violent Couple, A Family Plagued by Alcoholism, An Unconventional Relationship and A Couple who have Given Up Hope.
Joshua began writing the play three years in 2015 and after a successful run in April 2017 in Loughborough, performed again with a two-night run at Melton Theatre on the 6th and 7th November 2018. The effect the show has had on audiences has contributed to the amazing opportunity of touring the UK in 2021.
Reviews
“Just wanted to say a huge congratulations for ‘On The Surface, We Smile’. I went to the first showing tonight (6th Nov) and l found it intense, thought provoking, emotional, and extremely truthful to many situations. The direction was superb from yourself and Lee Samuels. It is overtly obvious the amount of time, rehearsal, and dedication, that all those involved have put into this.”
Audience Member, 6th November 2018 at Melton Theatre.
Williams Creatives have recently completed a stellar run for it’s debut show On The Surface, We Smile. Jackson and Lisa, two perfectly normal best friends, chat about life whilst their acquaintance’s hidden stories pan out on stage. However, the play goes on to demonstrate that the biggest secret of all may be hidden in plain sight. The show directed and written by Joshua Williams has a challenging and ambitious subject surrounding secrets and morality, which proves no issues to the actors and actresses on stage who portrayed their characters fantastically. Many other season productions fail to capture any emotions from similar subjects. However, On The Surface, We Smile saw some incredible raw emotions, which at times brought the audience to tears. The props used for the play were incredibly simple but well adopted with no more than a chair being used for some scenes. Music was excellently placed with a great choice of songs to invoke emotion and tension. On The Surface, We Smile was an incredible theatre experience which stands seriously well against any major theatre companies’ productions, and is testament to the hard work of everyone involved. Don’t be fooled by the fact Williams Creatives is new in the game it’s likely it won’t be too long before they’re an industry powerhouse.
Ellis Harris – Cross Counties Radio, 6th November 2018 at Melton Theatre.
“Such a fantastically emotive play!”
Audience Member, 7th November 2018 at Melton Theatre