In the second of our series focussing on scripted programmes produced in Scotland to mark , Radio Drama Producer Kirsty Williams introduces 'A History of Paper' by Oliver Emanuel and three lessons about Radio Drama.
What鈥檚 the point of paper?
To Speak
To Imagine
To Remember
, by Oliver Emanuel
Chapter 1: 2009
I鈥檓 a fledgling producer and is an up-and-coming theatre writer. He invites me to see a show 鈥� . We know each other to smile at, we鈥檝e shuffled past each other in theatres, but we鈥檝e never had a professional conversation. I go to the show. It rips me apart. And I know that his words are my kind of words. Olly says he wants to make radio but he needs a champion. He鈥檚 right. Every writer needs a champion.
It鈥檚 the producer who sells your work. They鈥檙e the conduit between your idea and the commissioning editor. And if they鈥檙e lukewarm about you or your idea, it鈥檚 tangible. If they鈥檙e passionate, it鈥檚 tantalising. So, lesson one: listen to radio drama. If you like what a particular producer does, it鈥檚 more likely they鈥檒l like what you do. Find yourself a champion.
Chapter 2: 2015
I鈥檓 an ageing producer and Oliver Emanuel is an award-winning playwright. He calls me and says he wants to make a radio equivalent to Videotape. We know each other inside out, we bicker like siblings and 鈥� with many plays under our belt 鈥� we鈥檙e constantly having professional conversations. He鈥檚 smart; he knows Videotape ripped me apart, he knows it鈥檚 why we鈥檙e a team and he鈥檚 playing me (and it鈥檚 working).
He鈥檚 been running in the park. The Autumn leaves make him think of paper. How paper is disappearing from our lives. And then the image of paper floating from the Twin Towers on 9/11 comes. And a thought: paper survives whilst buildings and lives collapse. It triggers something both intimate and epic. He writes it up. A simple story 鈥� boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy loses girl. But with an unusual aspiration: to tell this story via the pieces of paper that shaped their lives. And to lead us (unexpectedly) to a moment in history that鈥檚 shaped all of our lives. 9/11. He wants to tell a story not directly about terrorism, but about the grief terrorism haunts us with 鈥� that most basic and feared of human emotions.
The combination of the story鈥檚 simplicity and its aspiration is radio gold. The is 45 minutes long. You don鈥檛 have a captive audience. You have to ask for their concentration. You don鈥檛 do that with convoluted plots. You do that with rhythms of speech that arrest the ears. But more importantly you do that with characters that make us want to listen to their story. So, lesson two: find a potent but simple story and make your characters the complex thing about your script.
Chapter 3: 2016
I鈥檓 an ageing producer that can鈥檛 stop crying and Oliver Emanuel is an award-winning playwright. We鈥檙e in studio. We鈥檝e asked a real husband and wife (who are also really incredible actors 鈥� and ) to bring Olly鈥檚 words to life. We spend a day reliving young love and capturing its magic in sound. And we spend another day grieving for ourselves, for our losses and for everyone who has ever been affected by an act of hideous violence. It rips me apart (which still, after all these plays, surprises Olly. It鈥檚 not his aim. His aim is always to tell an interesting story in an interesting way.) But the process of making this piece of drama, like our passion for it, is tantalising.
Why did we put ourselves through it? For the same reason listeners stopped and listened when we asked them to. We devour drama because it allows us to explore emotions and experiences we fear, or desire, or find captivating. We devour drama because it teaches us about who we are. So, lesson three: the audience is you and me. Writing from the heart is an old clich茅, but it鈥檚 bang on. We laugh when we identify, we cry when we empathise. We share stories because we are human. And tapping into what makes us human is, ultimately, our job.