I’ve just completed my first BBC commission and it goes out on TV (TV!!) tonight. The only person more excited than me is my Mum, who has already alerted most of the greater Belfast area. Splendid Isolation is a brilliant opportunity created by BBC Arts and the Lyric Theatre (and hugely appreciated by an out-of-work freelancer). I’m still not a hundred percent sure they didn’t ask me by accident.
I am a Belfast-based writer and director. I got married in February. In March, we went into lockdown, so the last four months have been like a very intense “honeymoon”, with dwindling toilet paper supplies and a killer virus outside. (So romantic. Exactly how I pictured it.)
In the first week of lockdown, with the bulk of my work cancelled and at a bit of a loss, I wrote a short mockumentary about a couple – Karen and Simon – now forced to work from home together. I persuaded my husband, Damian - (reluctant but resigned) - to film it with me in our tiny house. We called it Just the Two of Us.
Karen is desperate to keep her 'team' focused and find something productive to do. Husband Simon tires quickly of the novelty of working from home and throws himself into his hobbies. In the midst of a global pandemic, their biggest challenge is spending time together.
We put the film online, shared it on social media, and got a really positive response. Then I went back to panicking about having no work and feeling guilty for not being more productive.
A month later I got a call from Jimmy Fay, Artistic Director of Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, outlining a really exciting joint project with BBC Arts and BBC Arts NI to commission 6 short films about lockdown. They had seen our ‘Karen and Simon’ film and wanted us to make another one. I was so delighted to be asked (this would be my first BBC credit) – and thrilled to be included in the intimidating company of writers like Lisa McGee and David Ireland.
I’d been thinking about possible Karen and Simon storylines in the previous few weeks - I felt there was lots more in the characters. Our friends had been calling to offer their own lockdown micro-dramas as plot points, and my real-life husband, Damian and I had been racking up a few of our own. (He’s a bit of a Karen. Sadly, that makes me Simon).
So I boxed up the unfinished thousand-piece jigsaw we’d been tripping over for a month, and wrote the script for Just the Two of Us in two days.
To avoid the restrictive filming regulations it made sense to shoot it ourselves, using the same techniques we used on our last film - Damian and I passing the camera back and forth, using sneaky editing to make it seem like we had a camera crew filming with us. This way we were able to develop the script as we shot, working out better lines and smarter visuals.
Initially reluctant about appearing on TV in his pyjamas and a handlebar moustache, Damian gradually embraced the role of Simon and offered up a million great ideas. It was a really fun, collaborative project for a cúpla newlyweds.
We received fantastic support from the Lyric and the BBC – who patiently talked us through tech specs, lent us equipment, and coached us through an online transfer.
While I had heard the same advice repeated for years – “Just make it yourself - show them what you can do” – this was the first time I’d properly put that advice into practice, and now I only wish I’d done it years ago. I feel so lucky to be part of such a fantastic programme and can’t wait to see the other films.
I was especially excited to be part of this partnership between BBC and Belfast’s Lyric Theatre because I already have a connection to each.
I have been writing for theatre since 2015 and have benefitted enormously from the support and mentorship of the Lyric’s New Playwrights programme; Prime Cut Productions’ Reveal project; and Pan Pan’s International Mentorship. My work has been performed in Belfast, Dublin, and New York. Two of my plays are currently being translated to Spanish.
In 2018 I was invited to join Belfast Voices – a writers development scheme run by BBC Writersroom. This fantastic programme of mentorship and support was pivotal for me in terms of learning and developing a new skillset (screenwriting, series structure, pitching, talking to grown-ups about tv).
I got the chance to develop a script with the wonderful Vanessa Haynes, (script-editor extraordinaire) who wholeheartedly nurtured me and my story. Working with Ness was a turning point for me and my writing is so much the better for it.
I’ve been applying to everything I can over the last two years, often gearing writing projects towards the opportunities available (writer schemes, development programmes, script competitions). Mixed results. Sometimes a swift rejection (so fun), sometimes I’d be lucky enough to reach a longlist or a shortlist. Followed by a swift rejection.
Though frustrating, this was all invaluable experience, helping me to become a better writer, and making sure that when the right opportunity came along I was ready for it. The skills I developed through Belfast Voices equipped me to understand what to do and how to do it.
It’s so brilliant that BBC Arts have found a way to support artists with these sorts of commissions during lockdown, especially when work has been cancelled and a lot of freelancers have fallen through the cracks of the Government support schemes.
We had a really positive sign-off Zoom call with the producers of the project, who were so supportive and trusting the whole way through the process. I feel really encouraged and excited about the future.
Splendid Isolation is on BBC Two NI on Thursday 25th June at 10pm and BBC Four on Tuesday 30th at 10.30pm and Wednesday 1st July at 11.20pm. (Don’t worry – my Mum will text everyone reminders).
Watch ‘Just the Two of Us’ from 10pm on Thursday 25th June
