Interview with April Hope Miller

Ahead of FLUSH, I caught up with April Hope Miller to talk about the themes at the heart of the production, the journey behind it, and what audiences can look forward to when the lights go up.

FLUSH has such a brilliantly specific setting. What inspired you to centre the entire play in a nightclub bathroom?

The ladies bathroom is a sacred place that I wanted to use to tell a story about women in their most unfiltered form.  Setting this play in a nightclub toilet allowed me to depict women truthfully and without judgement. Every woman has a story from the ladies bathroom; be it a notable conversation, a new friend, a drama. Many of my friendships have had defining moments in toilets. I remember a number of nights at university with people who are now some of my closest and dearest friends, huddled in a toilet cubicle holding hands and divulging deeply intimate and personal parts of ourselves. Those moments are so important to me and the fact so many of my friendships were made and elevated in toilets says an awful lot. 

In the loo, no matter who you are, where you come from, what you look like, everyone pisses and everyone shits. Period. Just by virtue of existing in that shared space, you are breaking down barriers between people.

I also think a lot of the honesty you see in women’s bathrooms is to do with safety. Women are very used to not feeling fully safe, particularly on nights out. You have always got to have your wits about you, watch your drink, watch your mates or stand in between your friend and the letchy guy who won’t leave them alone. The bathroom is not just a space away from the chaos of the night out, it is a place of safety, surrounded by women, away from the dangers that could lurk beyond.

You describe the piece as an “ode to sisterhood”. What does that mean to you?

Sisterhood is truly the life blood I live on. Not to sound pretentious or over dramatic but the connection I have with women is what keeps me sane. The sheer force of will, the power, the empathy of women will NEVER fail to amaze me, and I would be nothing without the women in my life.

FLUSH is therefore my version of an ode to what these bonds look and feel like to me. They are big and bold and chaotic. They are filled with character and personality. They are deliciously imperfect and flawed. They are the bonds that make me who I am and the way FLUSH narrativizes these connections at different ages and different levels is incredibly personal to me and my experiences thus far.

Despite what many rom-coms would have you believe, women are, in fact, unquantifiably complex, empathetic, flawed and brilliantly absurd.

 In storytelling women so often don’t get to be all these things and if they do they are often judged for them, as femininity always seems to be set and quantified through the male gaze. I wanted to explore the complexity of women, and the ladies bathroom seemed like the perfect place to do that truthfully and without judgement.

The play captures fleeting but powerful connections, why were you drawn to those short, intense moments between strangers?

I want the experience of watching the play to feel a bit like you’re on a night out. I was really drawn to the idea that the audience are in the toilets with the girls, going through the motions of their night out with them. This play is all about relatable experiences and conversations and I wanted the form to structurally reinforce and encourage connection for the audience. 

A night out is often very chaotic; the music is blaring, everyone’s pissed, you’ve spent half an hour trying to get in, get a drink or just find your mates, and I wanted to make a piece of theatre which reflected this very particular sense of chaos. 

FLUSH also deals with some really serious topics, which, when compounded by the chaos of a night out and alcohol/ substances, can be really difficult to comprehend and process. There was a very intentional choice for the form to reflect this feeling and push it even further at certain points in the show to also exemplify how powerful this space and the women in it can be in recalibrating that sense of chaos. This play is a night out and a cathartic reset all in one.

FLUSH balances comedy with some very serious themes. How did you approach getting that tone right?

I think finding that balance was always a priority of mine because that balance between the comedy and the serious things is what life is like. One minute its light and its laughs and it's wonderful. And next, it’s anything but that. It is the experience of both tenderness and trauma, laughter and tears simultaneously, and how you navigate varying periods of both is a universal human experience. Besides, the depth of our emotional capacity is only made possible by recognising that the good bits in life are made all the sweeter because they can never last and the difficult moments are temporary and there is comfort in knowing they aren’t forever 

As a writer capturing the dichotomy of that balance is incredibly interesting but also essential in reaching truth. Artists cannot expect laughter or tears as a given; they have to be earnt. and often to earn them you have to shine a light on both side by side, because isn’t that exactly what makes us human?

The show explores performative support versus genuine care, was that something you’ve observed in real life?

I think everyone has experienced a combination of performative support and genuine care. The moments that stick with me are the genuine ones. A moment that comes to mind was recently when I was at fabric and my trousers broke.

I hobbled to the bathroom clutching my trousers and started to frantically try and fix them. When I looked up, a flock of women had descended on me offering hairbands and suggestions (granted not always useful- eg ‘just take them off!’) and I watched in awe as they flitted around me trying to help, without me even having to ask. They saw a woman in a bind and wanted to help, and it was as simple as that. My friend who was in there with me kept squawking ‘It’s like FLUSH it’s like FLUSH!’ and I realized I was beaming because life was imitating art in truly the best way.

As both writer and performer, how do you navigate switching between those roles in the rehearsal room?

A huge part of being able to turn off the writer brain and focus on the acting is because of the huge faith I have in our wonderful director Merle Wheldon. We have always been completely in line creatively and so when I am in the room as an actor there is a complete trust there that Merle is holding the larger creative vision. I think without that trust, the seamlessness of switching between writer and actor would not be possible.

It’s also incredibly important to have clear boundaries with myself in the room, and something that is very important to Merle as well.

The show had a hugely successful run at Edinburgh Fringe, how has it evolved for its run at Arcola Theatre?

So, it is very similar to the original version but just bigger and better.  I was lucky enough to receive some really brilliant feedback following the Fringe and having the time and space to implement it was a fantastic opportunity.

In general, the script is more intentional and cohesive, the character arcs are more specific, the comedy is sharper and the arc of the protagonist has been made more specific. There are also a few more scenes and two new characters…You’ll have to come and see the show to know more.

London clearly plays a big role in the DNA of the piece, how much of your own experiences fed into the writing?

It is incredibly special to bring the show back to the city that inspired it. My nights out in London with my friends and the people I met along the way have informed so much of this play and to bring it to the Arcola feels like a really beautiful full circle moment.

Almost all of the show is inspired by real conversations or personal experience. I very much write from a place of lived experience and to varying degrees, all the characters in FLUSH represent parts of myself, my friends throughout my life and people I have met. There are also plenty of moments which are virtually verbatim… I won’t spoil it though.

I remember being 15/16 and being so desperately uncomfortable with who I was and how much I looked to the people around me to figure that out. When you’re that young, you have a continuously developing sense of morals that are constantly put under strain as a result of social pressure, and it’s a sticky few years as you figure out what your priorities are. So much of my feminist anger stems from that period in my life where so many justifications and compromises were made in the pursuit of fitting in and not appearing to be a difficult woman.

Possibly to my detriment I have virtually no filter but that is largely down to how comfortable my friends have made me feel over the years. I’ve been so lucky to have been surrounded by friends throughout my life where discussions of emotions and candid and exposing conversation was always central to our relationships. It was also only after hearing from my friends and the people in my life how many of them shared feelings surrounding issues like body image and assault that I truly felt empowered to dramatise these stories. While it was heartbreaking to see just how similarly affected so many women are by the issues I discuss in FLUSH, it’s also been quite beautiful to know you are not alone and we as women are NOT the problem. That in itself is a testament to the power of sisterhood and how it can affect your perspective.

What conversations did you and director Merle Wheldon have about shaping the rhythm and pace of the show?

We spoke at length about how we can create the greater world of FLUSH with detailed and intricate sound and lighting. We wanted the greater production to set the tone and elevate the atmosphere, mood, and emotional undercurrents within the confined, often tense space of the bathroom cubicles. We were privileged to work with the brilliant electronic duo Jacana People, who created an original composition for the play. They crafted a soundscape that’s both intimate and dynamic, perfectly reflecting the mix of vulnerability and energy at the heart of the story. Their music pulses through the space - sometimes subtle and haunting, sometimes vibrant and alive - working seamlessly with the lighting, movement, and dialogue to create a rich, immersive experience. Jack Hathaway’s stunning lighting injects the show with the energy and dynamism of the club as well as the more delicate vulnerability of internal mental states. The rhythm and pace of the show is all about the existence of multiple states of being in one space and the dichotomy of being many things at once.

Movement and spatial awareness became key tools for exploring how tensions, friendships, and chance encounters live in that space. The physical language of the piece - especially with the cast multi-rolling and playing characters from different ages and backgrounds - also fed directly into the lighting and sound design. And vice versa: the team of brilliant designers brought so many wonderful ideas into the room, whether it was a certain sound, texture, or visual rhythm. This reciprocal creative dialogue allowed us to build a cohesive, pulsating world that serves the emotional heartbeat and structure of the play.

What’s been the most challenging part of bringing FLUSH to life?

I think the number of stages you need to go through to get a piece of work realized is truly an enormous feat. The creative part is almost the easy bit. It is the administrative, logistical, interpersonal elements of getting a show on that are really difficult. Theatre is so unbelievably special and wonderful but my god is it a tough world to navigate. The lack of money and resources mean you really need people who believe in you and a dedicated team to help you bring a show to life. There is absolutely no way FLUSH would be where it is without all the people who made it happen. The entire creative team, our amazing investors, our support network, the venues; The Pleasance, The Riverside, Arcola, everything we have done is a result of their belief and commitment in the show.

I also think having so much of a stake in the show has been challenging. Writing, performing and producing the show has meant I have lived and breathed it for a number of years now. It’s very difficult to let go when it’s your child, but sometimes that is what the show needs to progress to the next level.

What do you hope people are thinking or feeling as they leave the theatre?

I hope audiences will see themselves in the characters and leave knowing that, whether it's something small and silly or something much more serious, you are not alone, you are supported and women rule the world.

A huge thank you to April for taking the time to speak with us and for sharing such a brilliant insight into FLUSH. It’s a bold, funny and deeply relatable piece that captures the chaos and connection of modern womanhood, and it’s exciting to see it return to London.

FLUSH plays at the Arcola Theatre from the 6th May - 6th June. Full information can be found via the Arcola website.