Christmas creative wishes
For those of you who will be scribbling away at your ABBA entries over the Christmas period, I thought I'd address a couple of questions which keep cropping up in the comments from the blogs and in the radio drama masterclasses.
The big question I keep being asked is does your script have to be set in the North?
The answer to this is no. We don't want plays simply set in the North. We just want good, original, strong writing which reflects, gives voice to and comments on all the richness of life and thought that's going on in this part of the world in contemporary Britain. Even in the area we've outlined there's huge diversity of culture, landscape, voice - so you can't possibly identify what the Northern voice is because it is so diverse. The fact that we are looking for a Northern voice shouldn't be a limitation or something to try and write within the boundaries of, in fact, it should be the other way around. Just having roots in the area or living here now will inform that voice naturally.
As to whether your play should be happy or sad, again that depends on the writer and the writing. The ending of your play should be truthful to your story and your character's journeys. Quite recently a drama-documentary went out in the afternoon play slot which focused on suicide and the emotional impact a suicide has on loved ones left behind. It was quite hard hitting and extremely sad, but it was engrossing drama, which we received lots of positive listener feedback on, showing that a difficult subject matter, if dealt with effectively by a writer, can work extremely well in the afternoon play slot. Life doesn't always have a happy ending, and as drama makers it is really important that we reflect this (as well as the happy endings).
I also mention at the masterclasses a couple of subject matters which I suggest writers should give a wide berth to - one of them is talking animals, another is guardian angels - this is entirely my personal opinion and I would love people to prove me wrong by writing an ABBA winning play with a talking animal as the lead character who is also a guardian angel. There are always exceptions to any rule, so it would be great if writers take my 'I probably wouldn't write about' list as a challenge!
For those of you who are in the process of writing a radio drama for ABBA, then I wish you a very productive festive period. I've got quite a few masterclasses coming up in January, so I look forward to meeting those of you who will be coming along to them. We still have places for the Keswick and Hull masterclasses if you haven't yet had a chance to book on. Until that time, have a very merry Christmas and a happy and creative new year.
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