An Interview with the Playwright

The following interview is by Transworld Publishers.

When did you first start to write and why?

At the age of 7 or 8, I remember having to read out a story I'd written to the rest of the class and being thrilled when certain lines got laughs from the rest of the class. I think that, from then on, I always harboured a secret desire to be a writer - secret because, apart from in English, I went on to be a spectacularly bad pupil at school and (with nobody to tell me otherwise), I always assumed that anyone who wanted to be a writer, would also have to have academic status. To me, a writer was someone who wore tweeds, smoked a pipe and went to Oxbridge.

Who or what has influenced you?

The glaring inequality which I saw on a daily basis throughout my childhood and formative years has, doubtless, been something that has shaped what I do. Influences are myriad and on-going but would include (in no particular order) anon., Dylan, The Beatles, Shakespeare, Moss Hart, Ibsen, Blake, Brecht and Weill, Ayckbourn, Randy Newman, Hoagy Carmichael and (of course) Morrissey.

Where did you grow up, how did this place influence you?

I grew up in a place called Knowsley, on what was then an estate of pre-fabricated bungalows, built for munition workers on land owned by the Earl of Derby. The result of this rather bizarre setup was that, inside this tiny estate, I was brought up within an urban culture whilst, all around me were woods and fields and streams so that one had equal access to a truly rural culture. This was something that found expression in the first full length television play I wrote back in the 1970's called ' Death Of A Young Young Man'.

Did you enjoy your schooldays?

I enjoyed many of those days, but this was in spite of and not because of school. The school I attended was (in the 1950's) a County Secondary school but one which was locked in a Victorian/Edwardian time warp. As a D stream kid, I was, along with all the others in my stream, deemed to be a complete no-hoper, destined, at best, for a lifetime's work in the local bottle factory.

Beyond school, however, I loved things like music, the mystery of girls, hanging out and doing nothing and all the wonderful not-knowingness of just growing up. At least I thought I was 'growing up'. It's only now in later years that I've come to realise that we never do grow up; we grow old, that's what we do. Not grow 'up'.

What is the most interesting job you've ever had and why?

Of all the jobs I've done the only one I've truly enjoyed in writing.

If you could invite five people alive or dead to dinner, who would they be and what would you eat?

I would rather have five separate dinners, each of them a one to one with (in no order of preference):

Monday: Billy Connolly
Tuesday: Night off (recovering from Monday).
Wednesday: Yodelling Anne Widdecombe (on the basis that life cannot be a stream of endless pleasure and one should be reminded of the other side).
Thursday: Night off (recovering from Wednesday) 
Friday: Adrian Henri: To remind myself of many lovely dinners we shared when Ade was alive (and so that he can share with me what he's been up to on the other side).
Saturday: William Shakespeare (who may well be tempted to confide in me, why he chose to stop writing at the comparatively tender age of 42.
Sunday: St. Cecilia (after the week I've just had, I'll be in need of music, rather than more words).

Given the calibre of my dining companions, the nature of what to eat seems (apart from in one case) to be largely irrelevant, as long as, for me, there's no meat, shellfish or the kind of vegetarian food that's all 'attitude and no flavour'.

Who are your favourite authors?

See earlier question.

What are you reading at the moment?

Currently reading the novels of Jonathan Coe (whom I've just discovered - to my delight). I've also recently come across and greatly enjoyed the novels of William Sutcliffe. I'm also reading a biography of Dennis Potter and, Blue Coffee, a volume of poetry by Adrian Mitchell. Further reading are the scripts which (although I try to discourage it) get sent to me for opinion.

What would you like as your epitaph?

WILLY RUSSELL?
(not any more he won't)

Name your top 5 web sites.

I'm not really that into the web. Maybe ask me next time.