There is nothing quite like finding yourself in the company of a writer whose use of the English language is enough to cause palpitations of the pen, whose pre-interview conversations are as interesting as they are educational. This writer has over the course of the years since he has resided in Liverpool has created some of the most insanely wonderful comedies that audiences have had the honour of seeing and with whom have fallen in love with the Big Wow company over and over again.
Speaking ahead of Robert Farquhar journey to the Edinburgh Fringe with Francis Tucker, Tim Lynskey and Matt Rutter for their performances of The Art of Falling Apart and Live Forever, you are struck by the man’s almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the likes of Monty Python, Ade Edmondson and the sadly departed Rik Mayall and all points of comedy between. For Robert Farquhar life is comedy and his writing over the years has proved that.
To take one production up to Edinburgh for a month is quite a feat, to take two is just sheer class but it is also can be a time of severe stress. Thankfully with Liverpool favourites Francis Tucker, Tim Lynskey and Matt Rutter being part of the set up and the knowledge that one of Bob’s great creations of the last few years, God’s Official, is close to being shown on the cinematic screen, stress is not on the agenda.
Catching up with Aylesbury born writer Robert Farquhar after rehearsals with Francis Tucker, the Everyman Theatre is awash with people taking in the new theatre’s surroundings. With memories of his excellent Dead Heavy Fantastic hanging in the Everyman air I ask about the Liverpool invasion of Edinburgh.
Congratulations on taking two plays up to Edinburgh! That must be quite a thrill?
Bob: “Thank you, we’re really looking forward to it. Fortunately, we’ve got them both on at The Pleasance which is a really good Edinburgh Fringe venue.”
They are on very close together aren’t they, virtually one after the other?
Bob: “Literally yes, The Art Of Falling Apart is on at 12.20pm, finishes at 1.40pm and Forever aka Di Is Dead is on at 1.50pm! They are obviously not the same actors but the same technician. Laura, from the Unity, so she’ll be running from one show to the other. As will I for the first three or four days.”
The Art Of Falling Apart and Live Forever, it’s a mind-blowing combination.
Bob: “Well, we’re very proud of both shows, and hopefully people will enjoy them. I’m not entirely sure about blowing their minds but one can hope. We’ve taken ten minutes off Falling Apart, and it’s improved it, the show gets into its stride a lot quicker.”
What I’m interested is the name change from Di Is Dead to Live Forever; why has that happened?
Bob: “Basically with that title we found the show quite a hard sell. People were unsure what the piece was. Across the political spectrum people still react strongly to the Diana issue. As a piece it’s definitely not royalist but it’s not completely anti either. Di Is Dead is a good title, and I probably prefer it, but people had an initial negative reaction to it. And it didn’t necessarily reflect the play itself. Also we’ve made sure the image sells it as a comedy far more. I wanted to emphasise more the Brit pop aspect of the piece. You know, because the character is a burnt out Britpop guy like a Liam Gallagher kind of character who finds himself swept up in all the fall out and nonsense that happened at that moment in time. I like the comic energy of those two worlds colliding. The cool world and the very not cool straight Daily Mail world. And all against the backdrop of this extraordinary moment.
Francis Tucker is again reprising the role and I’ve done some good re-writes and he has actually got 300 less words! (much laughter) The script has about 11,089 words the last time I looked, although that does include stage directions so it might be a bit less! Basically it’s a hell of a lot to learn.”
That’s an astonishing amount of words to learn –
Bob: “Yes. But he’s working very hard to get them all in the right order. I’m not sure how pleased he is with me because of all the little changes, but he’s almost there. ”
It’s possibly the best one hour play that I’ve ever seen. It’s tremendously well-paced and It’s the subject matter, it’s a dream to watch – I just love the whole ethos of the play. The amount of work that’s gone into it, I must congratulate you as the writer of the play!
Bob: “Cheers Ian! I’m really pleased with it, just the way it positions itself, it’s very funny and very moving at the end and creates some of those moments of that week. It’s an affectionate but very in your face satire. I think it’s probably the only piece of drama in which a man masturbates whilst watching the funeral of Princess Diana as a form of protest but then he can’t go through with it as he’s crying too much. I think that’s probably unique. ”
That reminds me of one of the characters in The Stand by Stephen King who talks about that subject amidst all the destruction!
Bob: “There’s not been too many pieces written about the Diana moment though! The biopic recently that looked awful. I think positioning it from a Britpop angle will sell it at the Festival. That and the fact that it’s very funny.”
How important do you think Edinburgh is to the Liverpool comedy scene because a lot of things from Liverpool do tend to go up there?
Bob: “Well I think a lot of things from everywhere tend to go up there. It’s just a great forum and market place for your work and I don’t know where else we’d get such a run of performances for both those shows. Edinburgh and The Pleasance in particular is a place where a whole variety of people can potentially come to see your shows. It’s just an amazing testament to something, Britain’s creativity, even though it’s so big and expensive. It’s like London, I don’t understand how it carries on. The sheer numbers are mind boggling. Apparently there’s 3,139 shows in Edinburgh this year. And that’s not including the Music Festival or the Book Festival or the real main Festival proper. I don’t even know if that number includes the Free Fringe shows! Keddy and Gill (Keddy Sutton and Gillian Hardie, Caz N Britney: Scottie Road) are going to be there and quite a few friends are dropping in.”
I’ll be up there too for a weekend so I’m going to try and find something to see!
Bob: “Give me a ring and we can meet up!”
Talking of things to watch, having watched the play God’s Official at The Unity that you’ve turned this wonderful play into a film – why and how as a writer do you feel about it?
Bob: “It’s been ongoing for several years and then it was due to happen last October but then it fell through literally the week before. Andy the producer has made it happen through sheer hard determination and effort. We originally had the conversation about three years ago and then I wrote a screenplay, did a few drafts of it and Andy started the whole ball rolling. We got interest. Matt Wilde who directed my play Dead Heavy Fantastic came on board and he grabbed the opportunity He’s never made a film before but he’s done lots of theatre directing and he was great. I’m glad it got cancelled in October though as I think we’ve ended up with a much better cast. Warren Brown from ‘Good Cop’, Greg Mchugh from ‘Fresh Meat’ and Alistair Petrie are the leads.”
I’ve been privileged to see a small part of the film, and I’m pleased for you as a writer but it’s all so different from the theatre work. How as a writer have you managed to change that context?
Bob: “I think when you watch the film you would probably guess that it was originally a play. But you have to try and make it as filmic as possible. There’s the dream sequence, the smashing up of the telly, Degsy now called Wigsy tries to drown himself in a canal, and when he goes underwater, he has a vision of a referee holding up a red card. The chase sequence now happens at night. There are loads of changes from the play script. We have footage of a real football crowd. It was a huge learning curve and was a very positive collaborative process and experience. I do understand theatre more, but hopefully this won’t be my only ever film. ”
Could you have imagined filming something like Live Forever or any other shows you’ve done?
Bob: “Not really. Dead Heavy Fantastic maybe. But I’m writing two new screenplays. One is a gangster thing set in a dead end seaside resort, and the other is a comedy horror set in the seventies. Very genre pieces but with my take on them.”
To see both Live Forever (Formally Di Is Dead) and Big Wow’s The Art Of Falling Apart at Edinburgh’s The Pleasance during The Fringe book by telephone on 0131 5566550. Tickets for The Art of Falling Apart and Live Forever are priced between £6 and £11. Performances are every day except 12th August. There is also a chance to see both plays at the Unity theatre before they go to Edinburgh. Live Forever is on 25th July and tickets are priced at £8. The Art of Falling Apart is on 28th July and tickets are also priced at £8.
For tickets contact the Unity Theatre Box office on 0844 873 2888.
Ian D. Hall
