Every Day any day now.
I have a new play coming out. Its an old, new play. It is, in fact, my one hit. "Every Day I Wake Up Hopeful" has been around: it debuted in Edinburgh, it did some shows in London, last year it had its Belfast debut at The Mac. This year however its going far further afield - its having an island of Ireland tour, and frankly I couldn't be happier.
I've just spent a week in rehearsals with the new production and it has been so easy. The last version suffered from an embarrassment of riches: there were pop songs, there was a giant bath, there were ideas of funerary ritual; it rained. In the theatre - it rained, on stage; noisily. Nick Berry's "Every Loser Wins" featured, as did "Requiem" by The London Boys. The fuckin' London Boys were in my first professional play!
I did not see that coming.
There is none of that this time. It is stripped back, bare, essential. The story reveals itself, the words land, the pace is dictated by the energy of the story. It works beautifully. The sad bits are heartbreaking, the funny bits, and there are still funny bits - I wouldn't do that to you - are very funny. Rhiann, the director's, instincts are exactly right (or they dovetail neatly with my own which amounts to the same thing) and script changes - an ongoing surgery - are, I think, correct. Dead wood has been mercilessly shaved away and the play is much improved for it. Leaner, better, fitter for purpose. I'm not overly precious about my writing, I used to be but I have learned not to be such a prick. I have got to the point where I relish the opportunity to be in a room and justify it to people. Its actually just a privilege to be able to talk about the play with people who are engaged with it, people who want to make it as good as possible. And that is what we're all trying to do - make it not shit!
And it really, really isn't. There has been just a week of rehearsals and its there. I can see it. The shape of the thing is perfect. It tells its story simply and beautifully. And our actor, Simon O Gorman, is incredible. His emotional intelligence, his understanding and penetration, the poetry of his voice. Even the questions he was asking of me were exactly the right questions - questions that made me think harder about it, questions that made me realise how far into the depths of it he had waded. He is utterly right for this. He is Malachy. I can't wait to see the finished piece. I think its going to be wonderful.
I mean, I wrote it, you don't have to believe me. Its back at the Mac for a couple of nights at the end of January before spreading its wings and flying. I urge you to see it, however. It will be great.
I've just spent a week in rehearsals with the new production and it has been so easy. The last version suffered from an embarrassment of riches: there were pop songs, there was a giant bath, there were ideas of funerary ritual; it rained. In the theatre - it rained, on stage; noisily. Nick Berry's "Every Loser Wins" featured, as did "Requiem" by The London Boys. The fuckin' London Boys were in my first professional play!
I did not see that coming.
There is none of that this time. It is stripped back, bare, essential. The story reveals itself, the words land, the pace is dictated by the energy of the story. It works beautifully. The sad bits are heartbreaking, the funny bits, and there are still funny bits - I wouldn't do that to you - are very funny. Rhiann, the director's, instincts are exactly right (or they dovetail neatly with my own which amounts to the same thing) and script changes - an ongoing surgery - are, I think, correct. Dead wood has been mercilessly shaved away and the play is much improved for it. Leaner, better, fitter for purpose. I'm not overly precious about my writing, I used to be but I have learned not to be such a prick. I have got to the point where I relish the opportunity to be in a room and justify it to people. Its actually just a privilege to be able to talk about the play with people who are engaged with it, people who want to make it as good as possible. And that is what we're all trying to do - make it not shit!
And it really, really isn't. There has been just a week of rehearsals and its there. I can see it. The shape of the thing is perfect. It tells its story simply and beautifully. And our actor, Simon O Gorman, is incredible. His emotional intelligence, his understanding and penetration, the poetry of his voice. Even the questions he was asking of me were exactly the right questions - questions that made me think harder about it, questions that made me realise how far into the depths of it he had waded. He is utterly right for this. He is Malachy. I can't wait to see the finished piece. I think its going to be wonderful.
I mean, I wrote it, you don't have to believe me. Its back at the Mac for a couple of nights at the end of January before spreading its wings and flying. I urge you to see it, however. It will be great.
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