Kings Poster Photo
How did Kings come about?
The first draft was written in 2011 when I was at The Royal Court as part of their writers programme. I had a series of meetings which didn’t work out – because it’s got disabled people in, quite frankly. It kind of got knocked on the head for a bit. I sent it to the Playhouse, and the first time round it got rejected. Thankfully, Gareth Morgan read it. He championed the play and gave it a glowing report. I owe a great deal to him. He told me to submit it again. I thought, “This is bonkers, they’ve already said no.” But I did it, and Fiona Buffini really liked it. It got a rehearsed reading, I made some alterations and redrafts along the way, and it was commissioned. It’s a really hard play to put on: you need an actor with one arm and it’s got a lot of stunts.
What’s the plot?
It’s set in Somerville House on Forest Road West, which is sheltered accommodation for men who are homeless or in difficult places in their life. The play is about a bunch of men who live there and one of them is moving on to independent living, which is the journey that everyone hopes to make. It’s the catalyst for a huge amount of change for the other residents. It’s sort of based on real life experiences. For me, it’s a spotlight on a part of life that never gets written about. Putting these people on stage and getting that story out there is a really important part of it.
You’re incorporating people with disabilities into the cast, right?
You have to because we live in a time when disabled roles are played by non-disabled actors, where black parts are played by non-black actors, and Moses is a white man. It’s something I hate. When that actor [Eddie Redmayne] got a BAFTA for playing Stephen Hawking – that role should have gone to somebody else. I know the director will have said, “We can’t sell the film without a famous, handsome young man playing that part.” I just think that’s bullshit. The Playhouse have been incredible because it would have been easier to cast an actor without either a learning or physical disability, but it’s never been an issue.
Are you implementing things like audio help and relaxed performances for disabled audience members?
To my knowledge, unfortunately, the answer to a lot of that is no. Relaxed performances are a moot point among people from various sides of the argument – there are people that are involved in the learning disabled community that think special performances for special people is not acceptable. And there are people that work in the same communities that say it’s brilliant. I’m not quite sure. My instinct tells me that we need greater levels of integration rather than people being given special shows, but that’s just a personal opinion.
With relaxed performances, the people going know to expect that there might be disruptions, so it’s more on the audience than the actual performance…
Relaxed performances affect the performers massively as well. I think the idea is that you relieve pressure from the carers, there’s no need for a “Ssh”. People who I would consider experts from this area – who teach and lecture and also directly engage on a regular basis with people with severe learning disabilities – say they need to be mixing with other audiences because it helps reinforce certain social skills.
I’ve heard all kinds of different arguments. It’s good that we’re having this discussion because the idea of a relaxed performance is a reasonably new one, so again, it comes back to progress. It’s always good to try things and see how they work out. I suppose my utopian idea is that we can sit side by side and enjoy the performance, but that’s easier said than done because you get people going “I’ve paid £45 for my ticket and I’ve got some person yelping behind me. How am I supposed to enjoy the show?”
It’s about educating people about disabilities…
And what’s interesting is it becomes less about coming to the theatre, because an additional learning experience happens on top. One thing I’ve learned about grown-ups is that it’s hard to change their minds, even with a fully comprehensive, rational, scientific argument. A show like Kings will hopefully play a part in that; the behaviour of the characters and the things that have happened to them. It’s got some really difficult moments that will be challenging for spectators and a side effect of that will be education, rather than being offended or upset.
What is it about Nottingham that draws you to set your plays here?
I don’t really write plays. I’m an actor for a living and that’s what I do. The only things that I can write about, that I’m interested in, are set in Nottingham. I’m from here, I’m proud to be from here and I know it really well. It’s full of incredible stories that haven’t been told. Along with other Nottinghamshire playwrights, it’s my responsibility to tell their stories rather than generic places and generic things. I set things very specifically – the actual locations and in-jokes are very much a part of the plays that I write about Nottingham.
I don’t think [Nottingham] has been having a particularly good time and it needs more work written about it. More importantly, it needs more work put on by the people who have the power to do so in the city, and the shows need not be about Robin Hood. I can insert jokes and references that Nottingham audiences can buzz from, but people from other places can still appreciate. Like Sleaford Mods, who fill their songs with the most inane references about the city, but still have a global audience. I was in California recently and I played a Sleaford Mods track to these kids from a small town, and they loved them. They have no idea where Top Valley is, but they get the gist of what Jason is communicating. If you’re from Notts you get a certain bonus appeal, but if you’re not, you still get the feeling.
I noticed in the synopsis it says that your play contains a Bonnie Tyler content warning – why did you feel the need to expose audiences to that?
Bonnie Tyler is inherently funny. And she was a huge icon. Even though Kings is set right now, there is something dated about the references, and the fact that a character called Wayne really likes Bonnie Tyler is just funny. If you get quite geeky, she was the original artist who sang The Best, made famous by Tina Turner. That kind of geeky, obtuse pop culture knowledge is something I thought would make people laugh.
Sounds like it’ll be a fun night out...
That’s the aim. After all I said about education, the best way to deliver that is through comedy. If people have a fantastic time, you can get those ideas and messages through easier than ramming them down people’s throats. I used to do that when I was younger, but I’ve learned it doesn’t work.
Kings, Nottingham Playhouse, Wednesday 20 - Saturday 30 March, £15/£13
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