I’m a big P.G. Wodehouse fan - largely because of the Fry and Laurie TV version which also starred the excellent actor, Robert Daws. I went to see Daws play the writer himself in Wodehouse in Wonderland at York Theatre Royal in a script by the award-winning writer William Humble. I have a tonne to say about the brilliance of Wodehouse but Stephen Fry (who narrates the Wodehouse collections for Audible) does it better. If you want to dip you toe into a fascinating writer’s life then listen to this short but sweet audio.
It struck me that Humble’s script had a simple but risky dramatic structure. It was a show of two halves; the first act was light and the second dark. There wasn’t a plot in the conventional sense. The jolly character of Wodehouse regaled the audience with light and mischievous anecdotes, peppered with songs, in the first act. I wondered if the lack of conflict or obstacle made this more of a light lecture than a play and I was pretty sure that unless something changed in the second act it would wear a little thin. But Humble is too good a writer for that. He ‘seeded’ ideas in Act 1 that were to turn very dark in Act 2 . Likewise, in the second Act there was light amidst the darkness. It reminded me of the Yin-yang symbol in which opposites balance each other out but also contain a little of their opposing force within themselves. Years ago I saw a brilliant production by Riding Lights Theatre Company on the life of Dick Turpin which used precisely the same structure.
It’s risky because sustaining an entire act in which there are no obstacles and in which ‘all is well with the world’ is very hard to do. Scenes without a problem tend to run out of dramatic tension pretty quickly. Yet, if you can sustain a scene of sweetness (with a hint of what’s to come) when the ‘dark half’ finally arrives it is so much more powerful because of the contrast. Shakespeare knew this and he often would write a comic scene immediately before a tragic end. The sweet makes the sour more sour and the sour makes the sweet more sweet.
Whether you’re writing or improvising material you may want to steal this idea. Write or improvise two scenes which follow each other. Keep the first light before heading into darker territory. Crucially, though keep a little sour in that ‘light’ first scene and put a little sweetness when things go dark. The balancing out of opposite dramatic tones makes for some powerful effects.
I never want to see anyone and I never want to go anywhere and do anything. I just want to write. I just sit at the typewriter and curse a bit.
P.G. Wodehouse
Making A Scene: Yin Yang
For Writers & Improvisers:
Time: 30 minutes - 60 Minutes
Tools: A timer. Something to write with. Pen, Pencil, Phone, Typewriter (curse a bit if you want), anything…. For Improvisers use a physical space.
Instructions: Write/Improvise a 2-hander. 1 page long/ 4 mins long. It’s set at a funeral which should be referred to. Keep the scene as light and jolly as possible. Find one moment to hint at the true pain underneath. Do it somewhere in the middle but then bounce back into the previous dramatic tone.
Now write a second one. This time it’s set on a honeymoon. Keep the scene as heavy and sad as possible. Find one moment to hint at the true love underneath. Do it somewhere in the middle but then bounce back into the previous dramatic tone.
This Week’s Useful Useless Thing
P.G Wodehouse was largely concerned with writing work that gave people joy. I will write more on Wodehouse another time - but his characters are largely innocents and as Evelyn Waugh said ‘They are still in Eden’. Here are two of his most famous characters - Jeeves and Wooster. The world is light (but tinged with dark material; fascists and child abduction!) but kept light in that the plots are usually centred around trivial things (the obtaining of a milk jug) which the ridiculous characters take deadly seriously. The main goal of Jeeves is usually to prevent Wooster wearing tasteless clothes - a joke that, for me, never gets old. I hope it raises a smile or two…
Paul’s Plugs
Here are some links to stuff I have made or am making:
Shattered
For 8 years I had the privilege of playfully making plays with Out of Character Theatre Company as their Artistic Director. I was so excited to be asked by their current AD (the brilliant Kate Veysey) to write a show based on devising from the company. We did a bunch of playing to come up with Shattered show in which a mysterious fog turns the world upside-down. It’s for one night only at York Theatre Royal on Thursday 25th May at 7.00.
Innovating
I had a blast writing this and it was wonderful to play in the archives of York Explore - so many hidden stories there! In celebration of Local History Month the drama is back and free for you to listen to!
Inspired by the history of the City of York’s coaching inns, INNovating is a three-part audio drama that evokes the sounds and stories of these vibrant places of hospitality for travellers in the 1820s, stopping off on their journey along the Great North Road.
This free audio drama is a binaural experience, best listened to through headphones.
The first 15 minute episode can be listened to on Friday 5th May with the remaining two episodes dropping on Friday 12 and 19 May. Go plug in!
For more information to to www.innovating.co.uk
If Walls Could Talk
I was commissioned to write some filmed and audio monologues for Fairfax House in York as part of the brilliant If Walls Could Talk exhibition. The mini-dramas explore how Lady Ann Fairfax was demonised for her faith, her gender and her struggles with mental health; much to everyone’s surprise she was far less fragile and far more capable than people imagined. It runs until November.
Farewell
A good friend recently invited me to watch a classic Preston Sturges romantic comedy - The Lady Eve (1941). It was filled with great jokes, fantastic leads and a wonderful supporting cast. It was entirely refreshing to see that it was the male lead who kept tripping over things rather than what we tend to get now (shout out to Sandra Bullock & Jennifer Aniston movies) where we usually see the female protagonist be awkward and desperate. It goes to some unexpected places and gave me a dose of joy. Check it out.
Jean: Why should I marry anybody that looked like that? When I marry, it's gonna be somebody I've never seen before. I mean, I won't know what he looks like, or where he'll come from, or what he'll be. I want him to sort of... take me by surprise.
Charles: Like a burglar.
Preston Sturges