What's the main differences between writing for TV and for the stage? On stage you can't control as easily where people look. A big close-up on screen, at the right moment, even of an inanimate object, can say a lot. With stage, you have to verbally articulate more and make meaning clear in words rather than pictures. Please tell us about The Retirement of Tom Stevens... It's a play I've been sort of planning for about 15 years. At first I thought it would be my next TV piece but I soon realised it was going to be much more effective on stage as its settings are few and the piece needs a claustrophobic atmosphere to achieve its full effect. The play is the story of a Christmas gathering in Southwell, Notts between a father, his two sons and the women in all their lives. It's a black comedy. Why does working at The Lakeside "feel heaven sent"? | "I pour boiling urine out of my first floor window on top of them and it tends to quell any more choruses of Amarillo." | | Billy Ivory |
Because I've wanted to work in the theatre for an age and when I saw what Matt Aston had done with a 'Who's Who of Flapland', I knew I'd found the right director, one who is genuinely populist in his approach but isn't afraid to tackle meaty subjects. The Lakeside is the right venue for my first play too - big enough but not too big! And that feeling of serendipity continues because of the way Matt has approached the play (with absolute clarity and great passion) and the support I've had from the rest of the staff at The Lakeside. I feel most cherished. Is writing a form a therapy for you? Since I was forced to stop my preferred method of therapy, eight pints of Guinness and cough medicine chasers, yes. Which piece of work are you most proud of? No one piece, funnily enough... 'Journey to Knock' because my Mum gave it to me and I didn't ruin it. A couple of 'Minder' episodes because I was invited into a hallowed place and again I didn't ruin it. 'The Sins' because at times it's the most brilliant piece of popular writing laced with massive amounts of subtext, forcing an audience to confront big issues without even realising they are, that's been on telly in the last 30 years (in case you think I'm falsely modest). 'Night Flight' because it took 10 years and my Dad deserved a word of thanks, and 'A Thing Called Love' because I was screwed to the floor by many people who were idiots, halfwits and soulless apparatchiks and I still produced a lasting 50 minutes of telly which will stand up to scrutiny and glow in 50 years time. After the success of 'The Spirit of the Man', as a Notts County fan, are you tempted to do a play about Jimmy Sirrell or Charlie Palmer's famous goal against Forest? I still have the ticket in my wallet from that famous day when Charlie soared high above a static Forest defence (no change there then) and nodded in Mark Draper's free kick. He ran the whole length of the pitch in front of the Main Stand, more surprised than we were, I think, by the fact he'd scored. A play? That's a six part series... I've actually got an idea for a piece about Tommy Lawton as I met him a while before he died and recorded many hours of interviews with him. Just not quite cooked yet, though! After The Retirement of Tom Stevens what are you working on next? I'm doing two feature films. One for Film Four and one for Steve Wooley who just produced and directed Stoned and another play with Matt Aston and the Lakeside. Are late night revelers still keeping you awake at night? Not any more. I pour boiling urine out of my first floor window on top of them and it tends to quell any more choruses of Amarillo.
(In September 2005, Billy voiced his concerns about extended drinking hours especially for those, including himself, that live in the city.) Billy Ivory's 'The Retirement of Tom Stevens' is on from Wednesday 8 March until Saturday 25 March at the Lakeside Arts Theatre. Tickets are priced £12 (£9 Concessions). | 
