Work in progress
Many thanks to Steve Harper at Theatre 503 for setting up our recent reading of my new play, Closed, last month.
I had a fascinating day working with director Bobby Brook and our very generous group of actors. As well as breathing life into the characters, we managed to test out the dynamics of the whole play and see how well it would engage the audience.
I’ve certainly learnt a lot from the experience, which I’m now trying to put into practice with a new draft of the play. My main finding was that, as the play puts itself across as a political thriller, I really need to make it thrill from the first scene and involve the audience in the goals and drives of the main characters.
I’d previously worried that the plot might be too complex, or too firmly rooted in government legislation, but now I see that the plot’s fine. What I really need to do is to make the audience care. If you can do that the plot can be as complex as you like.
The reading has also tempted me to bring a major character onstage who was previously only seen in the shadows. Quite a radical change to the play but one I really want to try out.
Meanwhile check out the Songs area of the website as I’ve been adding a few new recordings there recently.
