Inside the Boys' Club
Finding Callistro
by Emma McQueen
When Brave New Productions first approached me to direct Callistro the Great, a South American political comedy with (at the time) an all male cast, my first thoughts of excitement were also tinged with those of trepidation. What did I know about military dictatorships and Communist regimes? And how the heck could I make something so delicately controversial into a rollicking good time? The thought of relating to an entirely masculine cast also raised some concern, as I knew that if I were to create this world with them, it would need to be harsh, and chauvinistic, and altogether… male. Would I, with my female perspective, be able to recreate the boys’ club atmosphere that permeates every scene?
