Somewhere Else
My first verse drama, Somewhere Else, went off to Eastern Angles and the Future Floodlands Project last week, one of six commissions to be performed from 4 p.m. on 13 August in front of the Cathedral in Peterborough. Today I met the director, Poppy Rowley, and work on a second draft begins!
Written for two voices, it is made up of five sections to last altogether just under 15 minutes. Each section combines different verse forms and language styles, reflecting the way the characters change. I am pleased that Poppy was not fazed about one sequence written as a duet where the actors need to speak certain words simultaneously.
The story is set in the Cotswolds as floods hit the coast of East Anglia. A couple respond to the reports on the news, but, as the crisis gets worse, their own past and their concerns about the future affect their relationship.
Part of the inspiration for this work comes from the book The Secure and the Dispossessed, edited by Nick Buxton and Ben Hayes (Pluto Press, 2016), which I have been reviewing for Counterfire. We think of global warming as an issue of fossil fuel use, but increasingly the action being taken by those in power involves ramping up military and security forces, rather than looking at ways to cut emissions.
Having worked in the theatre, including directing, it is a fascinating experience to be the author with someone else asking for script changes. I know that some writers might think that this is an intrusion on their creativity, but I find it stimulating. Having multiple views feeding the creative process allows the work to become richer.
Poppy also wants more space for non-verbal activity, whereas I had been thinking of the work more as a continuous poem, so I have to add more and do it in less time! Well, I have always been able to take a full suitcase, pack more in it, and have space over, so I am sure I can do this with words too.
