Dramaturgy Mine: Doug Deans @ Edfringe 2017

 Put the Book Down are presenting their critically acclaimed play MINE at ZOO Southside for this year's fringe from 4th-27th. 

The play, written by Doug Deans and performed by the captivating Maisie Barlow, concerns a single mother and the night she learns her child has been arrested for a crime. A crime that's unspeakable.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

This is the first play I've written, and the idea for this originally came from a news story. When I was a teenager, like many of my friends, I used to idolise bands. There was one band in particular looked up to. This band was huge, and I wanted to be the lead singer. I wanted to have that star power. I followed every interview he gave and in one particular BBC junket, he’d brought his mother along. She could do nothing but express pride for her son.

Time went by, I grew up, my tastes changed. Then a few years ago, the band hit the news again, but this time for rather different reasons. The lead singer, the charismatic showman I had looked up to as a teenager, had been arrested. Arrested for something horrible. Truly horrific. I began following his fall from grace, looking into his arrest, researching what I could. The only thought which kept running through my mind was "what the hell must his mother be going through?"

The thought stuck with me. I wanted to tell a story from the perspective of someone who we never hear from, but who is just as much a victim as the victim. An innocent voice behind a guilty pair of hands.

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

Yes. Of course. One of the greatest pieces of advice I was given about how important performance is was this: "The most effective way of making a difference with your words isn't just spewing out the facts, it's telling a story." 

MINE trailer 2 from Doug Deans on Vimeo.

Particularly now with the world becoming more and more synthetic is it vital to have these communal spaces where we can share stories as a group, a crowd of strangers with something else in common. 

It's this sharing of ideas in a public place, be it music, poetry or theatre, that often resonate the most with people. Live performance creates the most visceral of memories.

Live performance changes lives.

How did you become interested in making performance?

Well, originally, I began writing this play for myself to perform. I was an actor looking for something to do, hence I began writing a show for me to perform. But it became clear almost instantly that this was a mother's story, not a dad's. And that's when Maisie stepped in to the picture. I don't think anyone could have carried off the role with as much conviction and precision as her.

If I can offer any lesson for anyone pursuing acting, it'd be this. Get involved in a production where you aren't acting. In any other capacity, be it costumes, writing, painting the set, lighting, anything, you see how every piece of a performance slots together, and you get a greater understanding of how a play is put on.

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

For me, it's story first and foremost. Not only story, but a way of telling it. For example, I knew when writing this play that I wanted it to be a minimal confessional monologue, with no set. It makes the performance the central focus and lets her paint the picture for each scene.

In terms of developing, I wrote as much as possible and finished the play in it's rough state. From then in rehearsal room it became an aim of cutting it and cutting it. Making cuts and edits in a rehearsal room was

particularly helpful, as the writing is put on it's feet, and you learn through doing which moments work, and which don't.

As a company, we focus on telling stories about people who wouldn't normally have their stories told. That’s our aim for our future work.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

This is our first show as a company. We're still learning who we are. I wouldn't say we have a "usual production", just stories we want to tell.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope the audience experience a story. A simple story from a perspective they wouldn't normally inhabit. I hope they talk about it afterwards, and I hope that they may leave with a little more empathy than they had when they came in.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

This is our first show as a company. We're still learning who we are. I wouldn't say we have a "usual production", just stories we want to tell.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope the audience a experience story. A simple story from a perspective they wouldn't normally inhabit. I hope they talk about it afterwards, and I hope that they may leave with a little more empathy than they had when they came in.