Down to Earth
by Simon Bonsor
Down to Earth - The Genesis of a Stage Play
At a conservative estimate, Down to Earth has taken about three years of tinkering. Unfortunately, I didn’t note when I first started writing, so the real figure may be more in the way of about five years! (I’ve recently found a reference to the play from 1998...). It all began - as most things do - with an idea: A what if? What if aliens were to land in your back garden?
What would happen? What if I was able to turn this into a dramatic situation which might be vaguely funny, and which someone else might actually want to come and see, if it was produced in a theatre? The problem is, I’m a very good ideas man, but my success rate in bringing ideas to fruition is pretty damned low: Finding the time is always difficult, but quite often it’s suficient to just have an idea. A lot of pleasurable idleness can be generated out of the possibility of a particular project, without any real prospect of its being turned into reality.
In this particular instance, however, the seed of a play germinated, and even if it was kept under a cloche for long periods, it persisted in growing! Right from the start I was aided by a very clear idea of where I wanted the play to go. The basic characters and situations came along quite easily, and I found myself with a ‘beginning, middle and end’ before the writing even started. From there, it’s been a slow process of working out everything in between. What became apparent to me was the inevitability of the plot. Having had a strong framework, and being blessed with some recognisable characters, for once there was the likelihood - ye gods! - of the thing one day being un-finished. I was able to work on individual bits of dialogue and fragments of stage business until the pieces began to coalesce into a proper structure with its own dramatic logic, and as I wrote, particular characters began to gain various characteristics and take on a life of their own. Hopefully, what occurs on the stage will appear to be a seamless narrative- at least it should do, if I’ve done my job properly.
This being my first full-length stage play, even at the very beginning of its writing I had performance in mind. The way the idea announced itself, I knew that I wasn’t dealing with a chamber piece, but a large cast- this might prove a problem in itself, but it was quite clearly the way it had to be written. I knew that I wanted the stage to be filled with people, but I also had to ensure that every character was there for a good reason: it’s no use populating your landscape with token figures. However, I had no qualms about going ahead and writing for a large cast, since I already had in mind the Archway Theatre to stage a production.
The Archway Theatre in Horley isn’t unique in being a theatre under railway arches, since The Player’s Theatre in London (under Charing Cross) is similarly situated, nor is it unique in terms of the numbers of productions it mounts in a year (the South London Theatre Centre manages as extensive a programme). However, where it does win out over any other company I’ve worked with is in commitment, level of expertise, depth of casting and sheer technical ability. I could write with the luxury of knowing that if my play was accepted the Archway would be able to do it justice without my having to worry.
Even the title came to me fairly readily: it was strange, however, to find both a Hollywood film and a UK TV drama series cropping up along the way with ‘Down to Earth ’ as a title. At least I knew that I’d got there first, and neither of these had any similarity to what I was writing. I was fortunate that when I’d mentioned the play to fellow drama-types at the Archway they seemed quite keen: even more so after they’d read the unfinished play.
Suddenly, I found myself directing the play, and more than that, acting in it too!! Was I typecast? Amazing how, having written the piece, there were still lines that didn’t quite work, moves that didn’t make sense etc.etc. It’s a very humbling experience to realise that you have to make space for people to move, and allow them time to speak lines: so much for what was going on in my head! Rather liberating also to know that lines could be changed - or added - with complete authority: the author was there all the time!!
Rehearsal has produced a few surprises- even for me- regarding how characters change and develop: or even get dropped completely! (ask me about that one afterwards!- it’s a long story). With any luck our show will amuse, and possibly stimulate: "..................Or else my project fails Which was to please.