3. One Way
Summary: A look at three gay couples with 20 years between them each but one common problem- In the 60s, Robert, the son of an aristocrat who falls in love with David, a politician; In The 80s, Roberts rebellious son Mack and Damian, a charismatic stranger he meets at a club; and in the present day, Damians lovechild, Henry, and his loyal boyfriend Richard.
Best Bit: The post-clubbing conversation on a bench between Damian and Mack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWU71BHWkbA
What I Learned: 3 months after 28 Daves, the head of Drama announced a house drama competition, in which each of the 7 boarding houses, boys and girls, had to produce a short piece of drama- original or adapted. I begged for the chance to direct, but it turns out everyone expected Id do it because they couldnt be arsed. Initially the plan was to involve as much of the house as possible in a raunchy, cross-dressing musical set in Dublin called
Patricia The Stripper. Well, thank the good lord God it never came to be. I was ready to throw in the towel, as no one turned up to rehearsals, we had no costumes, no music composed, no dances choreographed, no lines learnt the pressure of GCSEs was closing in and I was just about to give it all up. But that evening, I saw a trailer. Not a film, just a trailer. It was for Tom Fords excellent film A Single Man. It threw up so many creative possibilities for me. The initial plan was to set it all during the time the film was set with the distinctive colour scheme, and to portray a gay man struggling in 60s Britain. But then I thought bigger. Its a sad fact that in schools full of people my age, there is a very ignorant and immature attitude to homosexuality. So many of my peers afraid to come out because of the abuse they may be subjected to. So I thought this would be an opportunity to explore what it was like for a homosexual man in different time periods, and do it in a realistic way. And that was the moment I feel I completely matured as a writer and director. It was also my first time directing a piece of Theatre, let alone writing and starring in it. Again, it was a new experience and a total learning curve. And so far, I can say directing theatre is a thousand times more stressful than directing film- for me at least. Trying to get believable, rich performances out of a bunch of 13-17 year-olds who find the whole idea hilarious (cue
so many crude jokes) has still been one of my biggest challenges to date. But to their credit, every single cast member surprised me when they got on stage and gave incredible performances, ignored sniggers in the audience and really got under the skin of the roles they were playing. We were awarded most innovative play, but perhaps the biggest reward of the whole experience was that a friend of mine in the audience was so affected by the audience reaction that soon after that, he came out. And that was when I realised my work had had a real effect on someone. And I dont think Ive had a reaction like that since then.