INTERVIEW: Chris Urch, Playwright

BT: Chris, you trained as an actor, what spurred you on to play writing?CU: Whilst training at the Drama Centre there was this lesson called Character Analysis where I would have to create a character, write a scenario and act it out on my own in front of my peers. It was quite an exposing lesson, you wrote the scene, acted the scene and directed it yourself but I always enjoyed creating these characters and dialogue. This then spurred me on to start secretly writing plays alongside my training.

Talk to us about the process of writing your first play, Land of Our Fathers.

I’m from a small mining community and wanted to write about that as it’s personal to me. There was a tragic mining disaster in my village which inspired me to write about a collapse. As I was on commission with Theatre503 I thought it would be a great opportunity to explore this as a starting point but then challenge myself by setting it somewhere other than Somerset (Chris’ home town) and also place it in a time period I knew little about. When I stumbled upon the Welsh Male Voice Choir singing on YouTube ideas started forming.

What’s the play about?

Land of Our Fathers is set in South Wales on the 3rd of May 1979 the day of the general election that saw Thatcher take power. The play is essentially a story of survival. Six miners trapped down a coal mine – chaos ensues. Think Chilean miners but with some Welsh singing. At its heart it’s all about the relationship these men have with each other and the secrets and lies which have to be confronted and dealt with. It’s an intimate, claustrophobic pressure cooker of a play. There’s lots of black humour and a special effect which has never been done before at Theatre503.

Did you have to do a lot of research?

I was born in a different decade so yes there was much to research but that’s the fun about writing a play. I read various books and watched a couple of documentaries. However, due to setting the play in South Wales I decided to go there and visit the Big Pit which is a fully functioning mine run by ex-miners. They, very kindly, let me hang out with them for the whole day and took me down the mine itself. I threw every possible scenario at them and tried to absorb as much information as possible. They gave me some great anecdotes and the curator of the museum was constantly replying to email queries about how collapses happen and procedures, equipment, roles etc. It was very important to me to try and make the play as authentic and accurate as possible.

Do you think your career as an actor helped when it came to writing?

Definitely. I’ve never had any formal training for writing – I constantly feel a bit of a fraud – so I have to rely on my acting background. Therefore, my predominant thoughts go straight to character and dialogue. There are moments in the play where I’ve given the actors quite challenging things to do which should be exciting for the audience to watch. Also all the Welsh roles are played by Welsh actors which I’m delighted with.

You’ve been described as possibly the next Tennessee Williams by Howard Brenton. That pressure must be both exhilarating and terrifying?

I’ve been described as worst things in my time! In all seriousness I have such high regard for Howard. He is an incredible playwright, a visionary who is still at the top of his game and continues to break conventions and expectations of what theatre is and what it can achieve. I’m very flattered by Howard’s kind words and I hope to do him proud. With regards to pressure, I’m my own harshest critic. You can only do your best and the team and I have put everything into making this the best play it can possibly be. I just hope that with this play opening and Howard’s endorsement that other theatres might be more inclined to open their doors and give me a chance to better myself and have more of my work produced and staged.

How did you get a producer interested in the play?

In 2012 I applied to be on the 503 Five – an eighteen month residency. Miraculously, I was chosen as one of their five resident writers and each of us had a year to write a full length play, with one being picked to go into production. I was fortunate enough to have my play picked and Theatre503 are now co-producing it with Tara Finney and Euan Borland. It’s been a long journey getting here but hopefully it will be worth it!

Have you been involved in rehearsals?

I was in the first week to help with any questions the actors may have and I also went with them on a trip to the Big Pitt which they loved. I then went away in the second week to let them get on with it and came back halfway through the third week to tie-up lose ends ahead of previews. My favourite part is being around actors and seeing them rehearse. I love the camaraderie of it all. Especially tea breaks. Makes a change from being tied to your desk staring at a laptop.

What are your plans for the future?

In November I start a week’s research and development on a full-length play with HighTide which I’m very excited about. HighTide are a company I have wanted to work with for years and I thought their festival this year was their strongest yet. I’m also hoping if Land of Our Fathers is successful that we might be able to take it to Wales next year and then possibly tour to some regional theatres in the UK. I also want to get back on stage and act. I would love to work with Philip Ridley again, his dialogue is an actors dream to speak. It’s good to keep mixing it up though. Each discipline feeds the other but at the moment I’m just concentrating on making this play the best that it can be.

Land of Our Fathers runs at Theatre503 until 12th October 2013