Those of us who live and work in Suffolk need no reminding of the county’s haunting beauty. There are places galore where nature and the possibility of ghostly apparitions go hand in hand.
A personal favourite is Dunwich beach on a winter’s afternoon, with the light failing. Walking the beach brings to mind that scary MR James ghost story, Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad. There, in my mind, is the figure on the beach seen from a bedroom window by the narrator, before it comes in search of a lost whistle.
Or Landguard Fort in Felixstowe, shadowed in the twilight as it guards the mouth of the Orwell. It's a haven still, so the story goes, for long dead soldiers and at full moon is haunted by a coach and horses that crosses the ditch where the old drawbridge used to be.
People and places, and any number of stark landscapes. That’s Suffolk for you; a place of ghosts and inspiration for those who want to be inspired by them.
Suffolk playwright Tassa Deparis gives a little shudder as we start to swap ghostly tales. I mention Seckford Hall near Woodbridge and the Bull Hotel, both reputedly haunted. We've both experienced those solitary walks along the Deben... or so we thought. Figures looming out of the mist, the river meandering through the gloom.
'I generally avoid ghost stories because I scare very easily,' says Tassa. 'This makes writing one an interesting challenge.' Always willing to make sacrifices for her art, Tassa is one of four playwrights working on ghost stories for High Tide Theatre Company, which focuses its art on East Anglia.
More Ghost Stories is a sequel to last year’s highly acclaimed Ghost Stories by Candlelight production, which toured widely in Suffolk before finishing its run at Sam Wanamaker’s Playhouse, the indoor theatrical space of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. For this year's new writers, it’s arguably a hard act to follow.
'It’s such an exciting project in terms of what’s possible,' says Tassa. 'You have to try and focus on an issue or a character that you might not usually think about.' An AI ghost perhaps, or even a phantom playwright? No surprise that she’s not giving too much away at this stage, but if all goes well More Ghost Stories should be touring at the end of the year, shortly after the clocks go back. Look out for dates.
Part of High Tide’s mission is to nurture local playwrights. Tassa came across the company’s artistic director Clare Slater when she was working as a creative facilitator for the New Wolsey’s Youth Theatre. 'Clare had just taken over High Tide and asked me to send samples of my work. I was one of four playwrights invited to participate in the company’s High Tide Rising production, a one day play-reading festival at Wingfield Barns near Diss.
'My idea was called The Bridegroom about two sisters whose relationship changes because one of them is getting married. The play explores the beauty and complexity of sisterhood; the shared history of these two sisters and how this influences their choices.' In this case the power of the text itself is designed to bring out the trauma being experienced by the sisters.
The drama of The Bridegroom evidently struck a chord and Tassa was offered a writer-in-residence post with High Tide for this year. Aside from ghostly imaginings, her next play, she says, centres on her local river and the way the landscape can create metaphors for other things. She wants to evoke the voices and representational stories that don’t always find a home in the theatre.
'As a writer you come with your own lens and set of circumstances,' she says. 'In terms of ticking boxes I always find it incredibly difficult.'
Tassa was born in Indonesia and raised in West London where she enjoyed playing with words from an early age. 'I would irritate my mother by writing on bits of tissue paper and anything I could get my hands on.' Acting and drama, she says, was also a safe space in an area which had more than its fair share of rough edges. 'It gave me a place to play and a bond with other like-minded young people which I think saved me.'
She went on to take a degree in theatre studies at Roehampton and an MA in writing for performance and dramaturgy at Goldsmiths. She moved to Suffolk because of her partner’s connections – he was brought up in Otley – but previously the couple lived in Berlin for three years. They initially went for three months but stayed on because, she says, it offered a different lifestyle and a different way of doing art and theatre.
'I really enjoyed the sense of openness that both artists and audiences came with. There is a significantly greater financial investment in the arts overall, which makes a big difference in terms of the creative risks institutions, venues and artists are given space to make.' The welcome and kindness they received made an extended stay inevitable.
Suffolk, it seems, followed the Berlin example, making her feel very at home and quickly drawing her into the local community, which has helped her both as an artist and a mother.
'We enjoyed walking by the river and would often stop off to sit in the Tide Mill at Woodbridge.' Fortune favours the inquisitive as well as the brave and Tassa ended up being offered a part-time position at the Tide Mill helping to develop its educational role – the history of the building and its environmental credentials.
'What’s exciting is coming up with ideas that might get children and young people to want to visit the building. I’m a great believer that heritage and the river and the environment are spaces that young people absolutely belong to. It’s their Tide Mill and it’s what they will inherit.'
Away from Woodbridge, Tassa singles out Snape as 'one of my favourite places in the world. It’s so uniquely Suffolk and very beautiful.' Inspiration for more drama in the making perhaps, or even a ghostly tale?
