For Better, For Worse
The premiere of a brand-new comedy drama from Edinburgh-based playwright, Jill Franklin. The play explores how opinions are formed and family differences negotiated, as well as changing attitudes towards domestic violence.
Small town Scotland, September 2014. Against the turmoil of the Referendum campaign, recently widowed Diane decides to shape own future. Her two adult children disagree, both on politics and Diane’s choice, exposing a family secret about their father. As the date of the referendum looms, they reassess the past and how it has shaped their decisions. Can they find a way to come together as a family before the result is announced despite their differences?
C ARTS | C venues at the Edinburgh Fringe | C aquila, Roman Eagle Lodge, 2 Johnston Terrace, EH1 2PW, venue 21
13 to 27 August 2023 at 15:50 (0hr50) Theatre (Drama, Comedy, Political, New writing, Contemporary) (recommended for ages 12+)
The play is set in a particular period, but seems to have a contemporary resonance. How far does the play look at the past, or is it more concerned with broader issues that continue to be relevant?
The original version of, For Better, For Worse, began as a contemporary response to the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum which was happening as I embarked on an MSc in Playwriting at Edinburgh Uni. I often use my writing to help me make sense of a situation and there was so much information flying around back then, I found it hard to write about anything else. With emotions running high afterwards, I put it aside, as it did not feel like audiences were ready for a referendum play. With talk of a possible second referendum last year, Jane and Mell encouraged me to resurrect the play and I redrafted it, keeping the setting in 2014. Whilst set in a very particular time period, the days running up to the Referendum, it is not a play ‘about’ the referendum, it is a play set against the referendum and about how a family deals with the emotions and buried history that the referendum itself has thrown up. I felt that whilst this gave it a ‘historical’ perspective that would help to make it reflective, the themes are universal, relevant to anyone who will recognise the dynamic of a family struggling to come to terms with strongly held, differing opinions. At the rehearsed reading we had in February in Leith Depot, our audience cited Brexit and Trump as other examples they could apply the same dynamic to, so it is open to all audiences, not just those who remember the 2014 Independence Referendum. There are a lot of metaphors within the play but I have found that those who have read the play, or seen readings, relate to the characters that represent their own opinions but are not alienated by those who do not. The referendum may have been 9 years ago but the effects continue to reverberate, the same arguments are probably still being played out in conversations across the country so, yes, there is definitely a contemporary resonance to the play.
Does the company have a particular approach to production: the emphasis being on new scripts, I wonder whether this influences the dramaturgy.
PenPal Productions grew from friendships formed while we, myself, Jane Sunderland and Mell Flynn, were studying for the MSc in Playwriting at the University of Edinburgh – hence the name of the company. We founded PenPals because of the barriers we faced as new and emerging writers trying to get our work performed. As Playwrights, we have a passion for new writing and as a female led company, one of our mission statements is to focus on putting women’s stories to the forefront and we do that in this play with an older women protagonist, something often neglected in theatre. We like to tell stories from a different perspective and bring our audiences along for the ride. We also have a fabulous team coming together to work on the play lead by our director Emma Lynne Harley. Emma and I first worked on an extract of the play for a scratch night in 2018 and so she was the obvious choice to direct when we were thinking of the Fringe. She has an insightful understanding the play, how it has evolved and how that should translate from page to stage.
What made theatre the place for you to explore these ideas?
There is something quite unique about the shared experience of being part of a live audience that Theatre has. I love sitting in amongst an audience to feel the sense of expectation and experience the changes in mood happening in real time as everyone responds to what is happening on the stage. There is a lot of emotion in this play and it feels like that needs to be explored as a collective experience. For me, the post-show discussions over a drink or a cuppa are part of the whole experience, you really want an audience to leave with questions and thoughts in their heads, and this play seems to do this to audiences. We held a post-show q&a at the rehearsed reading in Leith Depot in February, with an insightful discussion where members of the audience expressed a sense of catharsis at being able to talk about their own experiences related to the play. In theatre you are very much part of the experience as an audience member. Much as live sport and music create a special energy, an excitement, the same is true of theatre, which can be quite distinctive.
As an Edinburgh resident, how do you feel about the Fringe, and what do you think the play can achieve through it?
As a theatre maker, I appreciate what the Fringe brings and the reputation it gives the city worldwide for being open and inclusive. August can be slightly unbearable as a resident when you have to add half an hour on to any journey or you can’t get on a bus because they are full! But I do enjoy the vibe and the sense of excitement the Festival brings. It was great to see things start to come back after the pandemic as I realised how much I had missed it. I read that Edinburgh residents make up something like 40% percentage of audiences in the Fringe so despite what some of the comments on social media might say, Edinburghers do like their Fringe entertainment. As a company based here year-round and with a cast and director who are all based in Edinburgh or the central belt, we want to showcase local talent to the worldwide audience on our doorstep. We have had fantastic support from the community already as we almost doubled our target in our crowdfunding campaign, so we are off to a good start. We hope that the 40% of fellow Edinburgh Fringe goers get behind the show as well and support a local company.
How has the receipt of a Derek award impacted on your work?
From a personal perspective, receiving the Derek award was an enormous boost to my confidence, especially as it was my first play to be produced. Much of the credit also goes to Fox and Hound Theatre Company, who were instrumental in bringing my play, Hindsight, to life at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe. In the longer term, it has helped the play itself have a life beyond the Fringe. As it is about an autistic girl who has not received a diagnosis, and the struggle she faces to be accepted at school and at home, we were keen for it to be seen by those in power who can make a difference to the lives of autistic people. We were due to present the play at the Scottish Parliament, in association with the National Autistic Society Scotland in March 2020 but were derailed by the pandemic. The good news is that we will be heading to Parliament in 2024 instead, during Autism Acceptance week in March. Hopefully we will also be able to tour the play and reach more audiences beyond Edinburgh. Playwriting can often be a solitary existence and so it was incredibly rewarding to have my writing chosen from the hundreds of dramas on show at the Fringe that year. I hope that those who responded so well to my writing in 2019 will come back to see this new play and enjoy it just as much.
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