They say write about what you know. I have Tourette鈥檚 Syndrome and OCD. So I wrote about that.
When John Davidson appeared in the 1989 QED episode 鈥淛ohn鈥檚 Not Mad鈥�, he probably became the first person to be famed simply for having Tourette鈥檚 Syndrome. He was a likeable but troubled teenager spitting, barking and shouting at inopportune moments. We sat down as family to watch it. My Dad (who also had Tourette鈥檚) and I, whilst having great empathy with John, laughed out loud at some of the situations that arose. I looked across at my Mum. She was crying, empathising more I think with the helplessness his mum must have felt. In a subsequent documentary, John showed that he was a proper funny lad and talked of how he coped with the condition as an adult. Tourette鈥檚 and OCD were now in the public consciousness and soon began to appear in drama and comedy.
I鈥檇 always wanted to write something that felt like an honest take on the subject but that steered away from the more sensationalist aspects of the condition.
For example, only about 10% of Tourettics have the coprolalia (the inappropriate vocalisation of certain words and sounds) but inevitably almost every televisual and cinematic Tourettic seems to have this trait. Obviously there have been some brilliant representations of Tourette鈥檚 and OCD in film/ television etc (ITV鈥檚 鈥淒irty, Filthy, Love鈥� for example. And for a mainstream Hollywood outing 鈥淎s Good As It Gets鈥� found a great balance between the frustration of the condition and the natural comedy that is born out of it).
I鈥檇 originally conceived 鈥淣eurotics Anonymous鈥� as 5 x 15mins to go out in the 10.45am slot on Radio 4. Each episode would focus on a different member of the support group, with a different condition (OCD, paranoia, anxiety etc), culminating in a group session in the final installment. However I鈥檇 only had one previous commission, the likelihood of sealing such a slot was extremely slim. So when I was notified of the Turn Up the Talent night, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to test run the piece. This is an evening that showcases about six samples of new writing to an audience made up of producers, actors, other writers and members of the public at Media City in Salford. At this stage the script needed to have a maximum of three characters and be no longer than ten minutes. As ever, imposed restrictions often force you to be more creative. So out went any group scenes and the focus became Iain and his relationship with his mother and his new found love interest, Anna. I鈥檇 always intended to play Iain and I wrote the part of Iain鈥檚 mother Elsie with Joan Kempson in mind. Joan is a brilliant actress with a distinctive voice- and having such a voice in your head allows you to write dialogue accordingly. With the help of Amber Molyneux and Charlotte Riches at 大象传媒 Radio Drama the piece seemed to go down well.
Having worked together on my first commission 鈥淒og Dazed Afternoon鈥�, (Afternoon Play, 2009), producer/ director Nadia Molinari and I were keen to work together again, so we began preparing a treatment for 鈥淣eurotics Anonymous鈥� soon after. The jump between ten minutes and forty three minutes however is huge. Writing this has also confirmed another suspicion of mine. I work better with deadlines. Sometimes the hardest part I find is kick-starting the engine. I鈥檓 an expert at procrastinating (one of the characteristics I share with Iain). My friend Shaun Dooley once sent me a card with a picture of Batman鈥檚 face glaring out at me. In it are two words 鈥淛ust Write鈥�.
The draft I sent Nadia and Amber had most of the final elements in, but was clumsily put together in places. The two of them were great in coming back and offering a new structure. Dropping a couple of scenes and reworking the order of events.
Whenever I鈥檓 working on anything, my Mum always jokes and asks if there鈥檚 anything in it for her: 鈥淓ven just a line, a waitress or something鈥�. Well I couldn鈥檛 exactly cast my Mum in a play I鈥檇 written. But as she was taking an interest, I sent her the script anyway. However, after she read it, she was concerned that I鈥檇 based the part of Elsie on her. The part is not based on her explicitly. But naturally you take elements of your own relationships and bits of dialogue that you鈥檝e heard and sew them into a piece because then it sets it in a reality, as those words and dynamics have come from your own experience. Similarly Iain isn鈥檛 based directly on me, yet all the characters have facets of myself that I understand. In a way, the three main group members (Iain, Beany and Preston) are all elements of perhaps the same neurological condition but heightened to an extreme to differentiate between them. Whereas Iain鈥檚 OCD represents the need for order and control, Beany鈥檚 Tourette鈥檚 is indicative of the more frenetic energy such a condition can evoke, and Preston symbolises the more fearful, tentative, sensitive side of certain neurological states.
Some of the tics and rituals that feature in the play are part of my own repertoire. Others are from friends or people I鈥檝e met, heard about. Some are imagined. Well into the writing process I decided to look to see if any actual support groups existed. I thought it only fair that I attend one, as there are often little details in a reality that may add colour to the imagined world. I was upfront about why I wanted to come along and the group kindly let me take part. They explained that people鈥檚 confidentiality had to be respected which I fully understood. It was interesting to see the dynamics of such a group and just the shape that the evening takes. It was obviously beneficial to some of those in attendance. We all have our own way of dealing with our OCD and Tourette鈥檚. I鈥檝e learnt to personalise mine. I鈥檒l often refer to 鈥渕y Tourettes鈥� and previously used to visualise it as a battle between two sets of knights in armour, one black, one white, fighting for control over my tics and physical togetherness. I鈥檝e been lucky, in that I鈥檝e always had supportive friends and family and that I鈥檝e tried to turn the Tourettes into a strength where possible (I believe, for example, that the scatter gun erraticness of it can benefit my ability to ad lib during Stand Up).
When it came to casting, Verity May Henry had played Anna at Turn Up The Talent and been great so I heard her voice when I wrote that rest of that part. And John Henshaw鈥檚 part was also written for him. But strangely I didn鈥檛 have specific actors in mind when I wrote Preston and Beany. I When Nadia suggested Graeme Hawley, I immediately went 鈥淏rilliant. Of course鈥�. But casting Beany was much harder. He had to have the most distinctive energy and voice in the play. Frenetic, charming, annoying but ultimately likeable. In a way he had to drive things along. Your brain then reaches out, hoping it鈥檒l hit on the right person. Then I suddenly thought- Michael Smiley! A great actor and brilliant comedian. And he said yes. Sometimes you just get lucky.
In radio, you have one readthrough (for timing) and then you鈥檙e straight into recording. By the afternoon of the first day, we were behind and so we began recording the first run at a scene, without even rehearsing beforehand. This actually gave the scenes an immediacy and everyone was so switched on by then, that we鈥檇 often capture it on that first take.
One of my favourite bits is sourcing the music. Music can often inform a scene, and even provide inspiration for it. I was on the 大象传媒 comedy 鈥淚DEAL鈥� for 7 series, and Graham Duff would write all the music (and there was a lot of it) into all the scenes that required it. I do this where I can but sometimes there are gaps. Sometimes there are copyright issues (we couldn鈥檛 have Rodriguez). Sometimes these copyright issues force you to come up with something better. (Preston bringing over a Geoff Love album is funnier than my original choice of Miss Saigon). But particularly on radio, the music and sound can really help shape what you have and the story you want to tell. It鈥檚 like creating an aural aesthetic for the piece.
I wasn鈥檛 there for the edit days but Nadia kindly kept me up to date, particularly with reference to the music. When they鈥檇 finished, Nadia sent the finished play over. Now, as an actor I find it hard to watch anything I鈥檓 in first time around, because it鈥檚 so distracting. On a second viewing, you can watch it with more objectivity and you know there aren鈥檛 going to be any surprises (I鈥檓 often looking for any rogue twitches that may have escaped onto the screen). So when listening to something you鈥檝e written, it鈥檚 worse in a way, because there鈥檚 no let up- you鈥檙e constantly having to readjust to how things have actually ended up, as opposed to how you heard them in your head. But very often, these are happy adjustments. And when you have a great cast, the odd ad lib gets in and that keeps things fresh for you too. I could appreciate it a lot more on a second listen. And Nadia and Steve (the editor) have done such a great job at keeping it tight and pacey.
Overall, I鈥檓 happy with the result. I鈥檓 really grateful to the cast and the brilliant production team- Denise, Steve, Amber and most importantly Nadia for being constantly supportive and full of good ideas and direction. Oh and listen out for the Waitress in the Restaurant scene. She only has one line in it. Well, one word actually. But she鈥檚 good in it. Nice one, Mum.
is a Manchester born Actor (Games of Thrones, Ideal, Pramface) and is the writer of and lead in his new Radio 4 Afternoon Drama - available to listen on
Neurotics Anonymous was developed and commissioned as a result of being performed at - a new writing showcase run in partnership with 大象传媒 Audio Drama North and writersroom. It takes place at MediaCity, Salford, and provides a platform for local writing and acting talent to profile their work. It is a targeted scheme only open to a select group of invited writers to apply, who have either come through a writersroom scheme/talent search or are being developed / have a relationship with Audio drama North or writersroom.