Technical Difficulties begins with a school production going spectacularly wrong. What was the spark that inspired this idea?
JOE: I had a lot of disasters doing drama at school; I’m very calamity-prone. I was once compering a revue night and I introduced a choir who just didn’t come on. I had to ad-lib jokes for ten minutes, and I don’t know many jokes. I think the choirmistress hated me so she may have done it out of spite. And then twice I’ve gone on-stage for actors who fell ill at the last minute, and while no-one actively used the word “disaster” I don’t see any Oliviers on my mantelpiece.
But of course, anyone who’s done drama knows that awful stomach-drop moment when something’s gone wrong – it’s all part of the adventure. Writing a script that deliberately re-creates that moment in order to reimagine and redeem it – that feels exciting.
The show is packed with comedy, but there’s also a coming-of-age story at its heart. What were you most interested in exploring about being a teenager today?
SAM: I can’t imagine that being a teenager has ever been easy. You’re starting to be introduced to the responsibility of adulthood without any of the freedom. You’ve got pressure to succeed in your exams, which feel like the most important things in the universe, but adults want to project onto you the nostalgia of their half-remembered youth, before the bills and the boss and the back pain. Meanwhile you’re trying to work out what kind of a person you want to be, and right now in a world that feels like it’s giving up on a positive vision for the future.
But there is a hope in being a teenager – so many possibilities, and you’ve got friends around who are going through all the same things. And if you come together, you can find yourselves together, and you can be the positive vision that the world so sorely needs.
The show quickly turns into a whodunnit mystery. Without giving away any spoilers, what can audiences expect as the mystery unfolds?
JOE: I love a show that keeps audiences on its toes, so we aimed to pack the plot with little surprises. But I can safely say there are a lot of suspects. The PE teacher is angry he has to direct the musical; an embittered actress can’t believe she’s been forced to play a cactus again; and several Year Sevens have a track record of mischief, including making Tinder profiles for all of their teachers. There’s also a very suspicious bundle of rags at the back of the stage, which might be worth keeping an eye on.
BYMT give young performers a meaningful creative voice. What have the cast members brought to the production?
SAM: The BYMT team gave us a number of opportunities to develop Technical Difficulties with young people before our rehearsals began, including a workshop day in Sheffield and a zoom read-through. These were brilliant opportunities to test the material, and also discover which of our references are still relevant!
Within the rehearsal room, the cast members have brought their skills, their energy, and their physicality. Because many of them are playing characters their own age, it really feels like they have brought a lot of themselves into their performances, and it’s amazing to see these characters that we’ve spent so long with come to life before our eyes.
The production arrives at a time when conversations about arts education are increasingly important. What do productions like Technical Difficulties demonstrate about the value of investing in young people’s creativity and ambition?
JOE: I’m so grateful for the arts education I got under Labour in the noughties – every kid at my state primary got to learn an instrument, which was incredible! That’s been slowly eroded in the last fifteen years, which is frustrating because arts provide so much to young people – self-expression, purpose, community and more.
There’s something unquantifiable in the value of gathering to make art, which poses a problem in our data-driven world – so we have to tell these stories on our terms. In the UK we’re lucky to have a rich, globally-envied artistic heritage – but if we don’t nurture that it will disappear. I hope that nobody watching our stunning company of young people in Technical Difficulties will be left in any doubt about the potential and the magic of the arts.
How do you hope audiences feel as they leave the theatre after seeing Technical Difficulties?
SAM: We hope the audience will have a fun time and leave excited and energised. In particular, we’d like them to feel optimistic about this coming generation of young people and what can be done when they come together. A lot of that rests on the shoulders of our young company, and with this extremely talented bunch, we have no doubt they can bear the weight.
Technical Difficulties premieres at Hull Truck Theatre from 7-8 August 2026. Book your tickets here!