Cold Turkey in Quarantine

Holly Chapman (Alice) and Wilf Scolding (Chris) recording in Birmingham

COVID-19 has meant shelving many of the stories we had planned for The Archers in 2020. There are stories you simply can’t tell if the characters would be in lockdown, let the fact that for the first few months the actors couldn’t even record in studio together.

One story, however, suited the restrictions perfectly: Alice Aldridge’s descent into alcoholism. Not only was it about the lonely desperation of addiction and the way it can poison our most intimate relationships, but the pressures that the pandemic has imposed fed into the story as well. Even when we were forced into monologues, they gave us the unexpected opportunity to eavesdrop on Alice’s private thoughts.

It fell to me write the episodes in which Alice confesses to her husband Chris that she’s been drinking while pregnant, and her subsequent (and misguided) attempt to go cold turkey. It was gruelling to write and even more gruelling to listen to. Congratulations must go to Holly Chapman and Wilf Scolding for their brilliant performances, as well as Marina Caldarone’s sensitive direction. It’s not often you recieve a script in which a main character is locked in the bathroom, shivering and vomiting, and hallucinating on the floor. You can read a great interview with Holly and Wilf about how they recorded it here.

I’d also like to thank Action on Addiction who put me in touch with a recovering alcoholic who drank throughout all of her pregnancies. I was incredibly humbled by her candour and bravery, especially when she admitted that even having her children taken away wasn’t enough to make her want to give up drinking. (She is now happily reunited with her children, who are all fit and healthy). It is hard to comprehend the grip alcohol can have until you’ve spoken to someone who’s been there. I hope I managed to express some of that in the scripts that resulted.

For a short time you can listen to the omnibus on BBC Sounds

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Fandom nothing to joke about

George Rainsford as Dr Ethan Hardy as Doctor Who in Casualty

One of the joys of writing is entering other people’s worlds and then trying to give the audience an insight into those worlds too. It’s therefore especially gratifying to be told you’ve done a good job by those very same people. In this case it’s Doctor Who fans and the wider SF (science fiction) community.

In ‘Casualty’s Heart Warming Doctor Tribute’, Peter Nolan writes:

“…this week’s episode went beyond giving Doctor Who fans a covert wink. It established popular consultant Ethan as one of us, complete with closet cosplay. But is also effectively acted as a love letter to the Time Lord’s positive effect on the real world.”

The article goes on to say:

“This episode of Casualty stands out among other attempts to highlight a character as a fan of science fiction. It shows fandom as something that’s inspired them in a positive way, rathan than a fun quirk or even a point of mockery. It helps that new writer Tim Stimpson obviously knows his Sontaran from his Sensorites”

I have to admit that the Doctor Who team did help me get my Whoovian law right. If they happened to be watching, I hope it’s clear I’d love to write for the show…

In the meantime I’m glad I did SF fans proud. And bow ties are very definitely cool!

First trip to Casualty

It’s six months now since I delivered the shooting script, and after various calamities it seemed it might never make it on air. However, I’m delighted to say my first episode of Casualty was broadcast on Saturday night on BBC One.

Filming took place in Cardiff in February, just as Storm Dennis was leaving parts of South Wales underwater. I had to drive along flooded roads just to get to the studio. Meanwhile, at the location shoot, the high winds threatened to blow the set, as well as several extras, away. We thought that was as crazy as things could get, but then COVID-19 came along, shutting down production and delaying broadcast for several weeks.

What a thrill then to finally see it on screen! I am hugely grateful to my script editor and the rest of the production team for making writing such an enjoyable and collaborative experience. Having not dealt with location scouts and stunt coordinators before, I felt genuinely supported – which you can’t always say in this industry. Writers don’t normally attend filming, but invited myself along and was made incredibly welcome by the director and the rest of the crew.

Finally, an enormous thank you to several medic friends who I tapped up for research and insight into what life’s really like on the NHS frontline. Fiction can’t compare with the heroic work they’ve been doing through this pandemic. I was humbled before I started writing and I’m even more humbled now.

Episode 38 (Series 34) is available for twelve months on BBC iPlayer.

Ambridge in Lockdown

Tim Bentinck AKA David Archer recording The Archers at home

It’s the end of March 2020 and I’m three days away from delivering the first draft of my latest week of The Archers. It’s a really juicy one too, with revelations that will alter the lives of many of Ambridge’s residents. And then real life got in the way. I was phoned by one of the producers, telling me to down tools. With the UK going into lockdown it would be impossible to record what I’d almost finished writing. In fact, there was no prospect of it ever being recorded at all.

There seems to be a notion that continuing drama, and especially The Archers, is written in the morning, recorded in the afternoon and broadcast in the evening. In fact every block of episodes takes weeks of storylining, writing and rewriting, followed by pre-production, recording and then editing. Months of work had to be thrown in the bin and the programme reinvented in a matter of days.

The new regime would involve the actors recording their parts from their own homes, often in makeshift tents built from blankets and duvets in order to muffle outside noise. The drama would be told through monologues, or as we called them ‘voiced thoughts’. Since many of the stories we were in the middle of couldn’t be told effectively this way, they had to be scrapped and new stories dreamt up. We only had a few weeks worth of episodes in the can, so the new ones needed to be written at extraordinary speed: two or three days for the first draft; a couple more for the second; and that was it. The scripts were sent to the actors and they recorded them a few days later.

Since then the pace has slowed a bit and we’re now moving towards reintroducing dialogue. Like the rest of the world, however, it’s going to be a while before Ambridge gets back to normal. Nonetheless, it been remarkable seeing the team overcome the biggest crisis in the show’s history. Having kept going for almost seventy years it’ll to take more than a global pandemic to stop The Archers!

My latest lockdown episodes will be broadcast on:

21st & 23rd July 2020

10th & 11th August 2020

16th & 15th September 2020

‘The Archers’ wins Mind Media Award

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending the 2019 Mind Media Awards at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. ‘The Archers’ had been shortlisted in the Soaps and Continual Series category for Elizabeth’s depression storyline, specifically the two-hander therapy episode that I wrote. The awards are intended to celebrate the best portrayals and reporting of mental health issues in the UK. And what do you know? We won!

We were up against TV behemoths ‘Coronation Street’, ‘EastEnders’ and ‘Hollyoaks’, as well as Welsh language drama ‘Pobol y Cwm’. We genuinely weren’t expecting to win, so it was slightly surreal when we found ourselves taking to the stage, especially one that had just been graced by personal hero Shane Meadows, who won in the Drama category for ‘The Virtues’. It was so pleasing that our intimate, slow-burning, unshowy exploration of depression had been recognised.

Even more importantly, it was great to be part of an event at which people, many of whom would be regarded as ‘high achievers’, were brave and comfortable enough to talk about their own experiences of mental health. Fellow Brummie, David Harewood won the Speaking Out Award for doing just that in a recent BBC documentary about pyschosis. Afterwards we talked to various people about how much the storyline had meant to them, including one lady who explained that she felt her mother only understood her own battle with depression after hearing the episode. It’s humbling to be reminded of the impact mere ‘stories’ can have on real lives.

I must finish by thanking Editor of ‘The Archers’ Jeremy Howe, who had the idea of doing the two-hander, Kim Greengrass who directed the episode, and of course Alison Dowling for her extraordinarily moving performance as Elizabeth. It was an amazing opportunity to explore a character that the audience has known for over fifty years and to partly justify the controversial decision to kill off her husband Nigel eight years ago. The ripples of grief can go on and on, and only ‘The Archers’ could let it play out for so long.

You can watch the ceremony by following the link below (our category is about an hour and a half in) and if you need advice about mental health do vist the Mind website here. The message of the evening was to be kind to one another, but first and foremost be kind to yourself.

Watch the 2019 Bupa Mind Media Awards

Deputy Chair Deja Vu

From left to right: Ellie Peers (General Secrectary), Lisa Holdsworth (Chair) and Sandi Toksvig (President)

Having done one three-year stint as Deputy Chair of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain I thought I’d done my bit. It hadn’t been the easiest of times, involving an entire restructure of the union and finding a replacement for our outgoing General Secretary. So when it was suggested to me I might return to the role I can’t say I was immediately thrilled. I love the Guild but the role is voluntary and it had taken up a lot of time!

I was therefore delighted to discover that our hard work first time around had paid off and the Guild is in an even better state than I had dared hope. We have more staff, sound finances, a growing membership and a fantastic General Secretary in the shape of Ellie Peers. Even more excitingly, our new President (or mascot as she calls herself) is the wonderful Sandi Toksvig. How could I say no to coming back?!

So at last week’s AGM I found myself back behind the table, this time deputising the fearless Lisa Holdsworth. In the other Deputy Chair’s chair (as it were) is fellow West Midlander, William Gallagher. In fact all three of us hail from outside the capital (Lisa is a proud Yorkshirewoman), which I think is a jolly good thing (even if it gives the travel expenses budget a battering)!

It’s genuinely great to be back. One of things I value most about the Guild (alongside the pension scheme and fee negotiations) is feeling part of a community. Writing professionally can leave you feeling lonely and insecure so it’s great to be among people who are going through the same thing. Yes we may all be freelancers, but by working together we can make things better for everyone.

Find out more about the WGGB here: writersguilg.org.uk

You can contact me on union related matters at: depchair2@writersguild.org.uk

Back Behind Bars

Following an acclaimed sell-out run last year, I’m delighted to announce that Behind Bars: Ghosts of the Lock-Up is returning to the infamous Birmingham jail this July. Not only that, but I’ll be taking over directing duties from the wonderful Jo Gleave.

It’s the first time all eight Bold Text playwrights have collaborated on a single show. We’ve each taken a character from the building’s past, including Tommy Tank (a notorious and hilarious drunk), Evelyn Miles (one of the UK’s first female police officers) and even Sarah Bernhardt (the word-famous French actress). My character is Fred Ratcliff, a World War I veteran who gets mixed up in the police force’s last ever strike. You can read more below, but if that’s already whetted your appetite you can BOOK YOUR PLACE IN THE CLINK HERE!

Since 1891, tens of thousands of people have passed through Birmingham’s Central Lock-Up on their way to court, prison or even the noose. What brought them to this desperate point in their lives? And what memories have they left behind?

Eight of the region’s leading writers will resurrect the ghosts of The Lock-Up’s past, summoning them back to the cells, stairways and corridors where they once walked. As you move around the building you’ll meet robbers and drunkards, prostitutes and murderers, as well as the policemen and pioneering policewomen who held the keys.

Beware! The past still has lessons to teach us. Those who dare to enter The Lock-Up get taught those lessons well. Feedback from the original shows in 2018 include:

“Fabulous show! Informative and emotional, thought provoking, amazing acting and writing” Audience member

“Sent shivers down my spine several times. Loved it!” Audience member

Duration approximately 1 hour with a chance to look round and visit the shop after. Not suitable for children under the age of 12.

Please be advised the Lock-Up is an old building and is not suitable for visitors with mobility issues. Flat shoes are advised and no short skirts . Pictures may be taken during the shows for publicity purposes. There will be some chairs in each area but the show mainly consists of standing for short performances and moving around the building.

A Life in Twelve Minutes

Alison Dowling, who plays Elizabeth Pargetter

Structurally, it’s one of the simplest episodes of The Archers that I’ve had to write: one scene, two characters, that’s it. In truth it was one of the hardest. A few months earlier Editor Jeremy Howe got in touch to talk about the Elizabeth Pargetter depression story. What he really wanted to do was give an entire episode over to her first therapy session. Would I like to write it? I was determined to show that mental health problems often have very deep roots, even if they are triggered by current events. It meant mining fifty years of the character’s history and then trying to fit it into twelve minutes.

Normally a script is sixteen or seventeen pages, but this one came in at just fourteen. Once in studio, Alison Dowling’s performance as Elizabeth was so extraordinary and emotional we had to cut another two pages to give it the room it deserved. I think almost everyone in the production were moved to tears by it at some point, whether during the recording or listening to the final version, and I know many listeners were too. Alison was helped by Lorna Laidlaw who played her therapist and provided just the right kind of support, both as the character and a fellow actor. I’m immensely grateful to them, as I am to the director, Kim Greengrass.

The episode was extremely well received by listeners, such as this posting on Facebook:

“What I heard was brilliant, careful, beautifully observed scriptwriting by a master of that art, made real by two actors working at the top of their game. Top class work.”

However, I’m particularly proud of the comments made by Una Cavanagh, Governor of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy:

“I was so pleased that the part of the session we listened in on was portrayed in such an authentic, professional way. … I applaud the actors and the scriptwriters for handling this so brilliantly with such a great deal of sensitivity and I hope that it will highlight just how supportive counselling can be. It is very important to the profession that this is portrayed in such a powerful and realistic way.”

You can read more about the Elizabeth’s story here.

BOLDtext break free with Lock-Up show

 

This autumn the playwrights collective I’m a member of are taking a brief hiatus from doing shows at the Birmingham Rep to tell the story of the city’s old Victorian Lock-Up. Since 1892, tens of thousands of people have passed through the jail on their way to court, prison or even the noose. What brought them to this desperate point in their lives? And what memories have they left behind?

BOLDtext’s writers will resurrect the ghosts of The Lock-Up’s past, summoning them back to the cells, stairways and corridors where they once walked. As you move around the building you’ll meet robbers and drunkards, prostitutes and murderers, as well as the policemen and pioneering policewomen who held the keys.
Beware! The past still has lessons to teach us. Those who dare to enter The Lock-Up get taught those lessons well.

You can buy tickets at www.lockupbehindbars.eventbrite.co.uk

Duration approximately 1 hour. Not suitable for children under the age of 12.

Please be advised the Lock-Up is an old building and is not equipped with modern disabled facilities. Flat shoes are advised.

Presented in association with the West Midlands Police Museum.

Supported by Arts Council England and the Sir Barry Jackson Trust.

Bringing it home to Brum!

 

During my time as Deputy Chair of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain I was keen that we should reach out to the whole of Britain more. It’s bad enough that the industry is so London-centric without my union doing the same. Having completed the maximum three years allowed, I stepped down as an officer but obviously my message had been heard. For the first time in Guild history our AGM was held outside London. Even better it came to my home city of Birmingham. How did that happen?! I have to admit that I was little nervous as I walked towards the magnificent Library of Birmingham where the AGM was being held. Would people actually turn up now we weren’t in the capital? It’s was therefore a relief to walk into a packed room and even more gratifying to learn that it was one of the best turnouts ever.

During the AGM I was elected as Chair of the West Midlands branch, a position I held before becoming Deputy Chair of the Guild. I’m really pleased to be able to focus back on my region again, especially now that we’ve proven you can succeed outside London!

You can read a full report of the AGM here.