Goldfish for sale!

(This is our first audience coming into the space. They were excellent.)

We opened on Saturday at the beautiful Beacon in Greenock and it was a triumph. The fish fished, the audience enjoyed, and dads were swapped.

It's been a crazy month. This was always going to be a technical show what with it being promenade but that's without counting on all the other things that are discovered in rehearsals. It's been a real privilege as well as challenge to find cunning ways to incorporate all the amazing ideas of Lu and the cast. It feels as if the whole process has gone in a flash and I'm still trying to work out the best bits.

And on a technical note...

I want to take a second to send a high-five to all the splendid folk that you don't see but without whom the show just wouldn't happen. Fi Fraser (production manager), David Sneddon (Company Stage Manager), Neil McLean (Technical Manager), Kylie Langford (Wardrobe Supervisor), Katy Lonsdale (Wardrobe Assistant) and Sarah Wilson (Technician) worked almost without pause last week to get us ready for the audience. A nicer bunch of smiley people who have little reason to smile you could hardly wish for. Writers, directors and actors get their names in the reviews but without this lot, we wouldn't be anywhere at all.

Goldfish is now on tour throughout May. Look out for us.

Goldfish rehearsals - Week One

And we're off.

The cast and crew of Goldfish gathered at our rehearsal room on Monday for the first readthrough of the script and a look at the final model box. Having only had the text for a few days, the actors were brilliant and it went as well as these things can.

It's always a terrifying moment when you hear the script for the first time. You can never be certain that the words that worked in your head will work in other people's mouths. But the rest of the team laughed and were quiet in all the right places so that's a good start.

The rest of the week has been a refining of the text and design. I've done another four (or is it five) drafts since Monday and on Friday we had the entire the National Theatre of Scotland team in to hear the final (fingers crossed) readthrough before we lock the script next week.

My personal highlight of this first week was going to visit the pupils of St Brides Primary. Attentive and funny and curious, they gave us excellent notes on the first scene. The best question came from an 8 year old boy who looked the director straight in the eye and asked seriously: Have you got a dog?

Short stories to download

The excellent AudioGO have two of my short stories to download. Both were originally written for BBC Radio 4.

Songbirds is read by Robin Laing and is my (rather bizarre) response to the theme of Twitter.

Elvis In Prestwick is read by Laura Fraser and is a story set on the day of Presley's only visit to the UK.

Have a listen and let me know what you think.

The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish

So it's official. I am now working on the new National Theatre of Scotland production of 'The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish' by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. I wrote a first draft two weeks ago and this week I am working on the second. It's a(nother) quick turn around as we begin rehearsals at the end of the month. It's just a bit too exciting.

We begin previews at The Beacon in Greenock on 25 April before touring Scotland. I will post more info regarding dates when I have them.

(Pic taken from original picturebook illustrated by Dave McKean)

Spare Room Blog

I wrote a blog for the Scottish Refugee Council about The Spare Room. You can read it here.

The Spare Room on BBC Radio 4

Ach so I've been busy and haven't had time to update this blog. Lots of exciting things to report but firstly and most excitingly is that my new play, The Spare Room, will be broadcast on Friday 22nd February on BBC Radio 4 at 2.15pm.

We have a great cast in Babou Ceesay (as Michael) and Candida Benson (as Stephanie) with my frequent partner in crime Lu Kemp directing. I wrote the play in three weeks in Scotland in January and we recorded the first weekend in February at Broadcasting House in London.

The reason for such haste is that it was a 'rapid response' commission where I was asked to write a play about a current affair or news item. It's been a lot of hard work and a lot of fun to get a piece written (and good!) in such a short space of time. Last year I wrote a 15 minute play in a week, this year a 45 minute play in three. (Yes I'm now fearing the call to write a two hour drama in a month!)

The piece of 'news' I chose as my inspiration for The Spare Room was the Stop Destitution Today campaign by the Scottish Refugee Council. I would obviously love it if you listened to the play but whether you do or not, please check out the petition here and think about signing.

With thanks to Suzi and Jamie at SRC for their time and notes.

In the country (part two)

So the first draft of The Spare Room is complete. I sent it last night to my director, Lu Kemp, and she will give me notes today.

The reason for the swift turn around is that this is a rapid response play. I was commissioned to write this a week before Christmas and we record it on February 2. That's roughly 6 weeks to research, write and redraft. It's the same length as an ordinary Afternoon Play (45m) for Radio 4 but its written in response to a current event.

As I've said before I love writing quickly. It feels the most honest and fun way to write. The tricky bit is to get it right.

I have two days left in the beautiful countryside of Dumfries and Galloway. I will have to make the most of it.