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Alan Sillitoe's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning is a glimpse into the life of Nottingham man Arthur Seaton, a defiant factory worker, whose life is fuelled by sex, work and booze.

Amanda Whittington is adapting the novel for the stage, which the public will be able to see in February at the Lakeside Arts Centre. We spoke to Amanda about the adaptation.

Do you think the themes of 听Saturday Night and Sunday Morning are still relevant to people 50 years on from when the novel was written?

Definitely. Arthur's way of life may have gone but if you're out in the city on a Saturday night, you'd think nothing had changed.听The old factories may be flats, the pubs are cafe bars but Nottingham's drinking culture still makes headlines.听Yet for me, Arthur drinks because he's trying to escape his fate.听He's searching for love, truth and a meaningful life, which is something I'm sure everyone can relate to.听So in that sense, the story is timeless.

Amanda Whittington

How is your adaptation different to the book and the film?

It's certainly closer to the book than the film. In the book, Arthur also has an affair with Brenda's sister, who doesn't appear in the film at all. We've focused on Arthur's relationship with the three women in his life - Brenda, Winnie and Doreen. In the play, he can talk to the audience directly, which helps tell the story in a different style.听 There are lots of other challenges unique to a theatre adaptation, not least of which is recreating Goose Fair on stage with six actors!听

What do you think Arthur Seaton would have done with the rest of his life?

I think Alan Sillitoe answers that better than I could in Birthday, the sequel to Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, which he wrote a few years ago.听I haven't read it yet because I didn't want it to colour the adaptation but I will. I imagine Arthur knuckles down to an ordinary life. He stays with Doreen, has kids, buys his council house and works at Raleigh until he's made redundant. He'd be coming up for 70 years old now, if the beer and fags haven't caught up with him.

Do you think people will become nostalgic about old Nottingham with your adaptation?

I'm sure they'll look fondly on the characters and enjoy some of the references but one of the things I love about the book is that there's very little in it to be nostalgic for. It shows Nottingham as a rough, tough, industrial city, where for Arthur, drink and sex are the only escape. His 'job for life' is a cage and all of the characters are trapped in some way, particularly the women. If they were the 'good old days', I'm glad I'm living now.

Could 听Saturday Night and Sunday Morning be set anywhere else other than in Nottingham? Is the city relevant to the story?

I think there's something quintessentially Nottingham about it but I'm not sure I could put my finger on exactly what that is. There's just a spirit or an essence that feels very true to the city and it's people. Even though Arthur could live in any Northern working-class town, I can't imagine uprooting him.听So yes, the city is more than relevant to the story.听In a way I can't quite define, the city IS the story.听

What does Alan Sillitoe think to you adapting his novel, has he been involved?

Hopefully, he's happy about it! He granted us permission to do the stage version, then very generously gave us free reign to explore and develop it. He's read and approved the script, which is reassuring, as it's important to us all that he feels we've done justice to his work. I've never met him but I'd love to and I'm hoping he might come to see it.