Jonathan Harvey's return to the theatre
As his new play, Canary, opened in Liverpool, UK Writer spoke to Jonathan Harvey about writing for theatre, TV comedy and his long-running relationship with Coronation Street
What led you to write Canary?
I had a desire to write a stage play that documented how life has changed for gay people in Britain over the years. To thank the pioneers who went before me and fought for the relative freedoms I enjoy today. Now I know how dry that sounds so my challenge was to also make it a compelling and dramatic story. I have not had a new full-length play on for nine years, so I knew that when I returned to theatre I wanted to come back with something full of big ideas, and to repel the myth that I am just a purveyor of camp froth!
It's an ambitious piece; were you at all daunted by taking it on?
I spent a few years researching it, reading as much as I could, and of course it felt daunting – I’d set myself the task of incorporating every major event in gay history over the past 50 years, from aversion therapy to civil partnerships. When I started planning the actual story, though, I realised that this was slightly impossible and so just wrote what I felt was right for the characters I had come up with.
Do you still get the same buzz from seeing a new play of yours staged as you always have done?
I do still get a buzz, though it’s a double-edged sword. Opening a new play is so exposing, you’re saying very publicly to people ‘I think this is interesting. I think this is important. I think this is funny, dramatic etc.’ In telly you tend to watch alone. The Liverpool Playhouse seats 700 people, so the response is tangible and scary. But also it was comforting, I felt I had come home.
Was it a deliberate choice to stage it first in your hometown of Liverpool?
Well, the Playhouse was the only theatre who wanted to commission the play, so I had no choice!! But having said that, it felt right and special. I had my first play on there in its studio space in a Young Writers Festival in 1987, so it was doubly rewarding to finally get something on in the main house. Even if it did take 23 years!
How do you think theatre has changed in the city since you first had work put on there in the late 1980s?
I think theatre in Liverpool in the 1980s was innovative and exciting. I went a lot and saw first plays by people like Heidi Thomas, which were hugely inspirational. I think it dipped again in the 1990s but now that Gemma Bodinetz and Deborah Aydon are in charge it seems to have had a renaissance. That they are mounting a new play in their main house, and a new gay play at that, I think is terribly encouraging for writers. The fact that they have Kim Cattrall doing Antony and Cleopatra there later this year shows that it is an exciting, diverse company with vision.
Is it tricky switching between writing for TV and writing for theatre?
Not really, though I find plays harder and more challenging to write, so it’s about creating the space in which to do it and finding the time. Hopefully the two are mutually beneficial. I think my years in TV have made me more focused on storytelling in my plays now. The turnaround in TV is usually a lot quicker and you have to learn to write at speed, but it’s wonderful to be able to do both, of course, and to be lucky enough to be allowed to.
How do you choose which to do next?
Whatever my agent can get me seen for! I plug away mercilessly, coming up with ideas all the time. Hardly any of them see the light of day. I try to have regular meetings with all the comedy and drama commissioners for the major TV channels to keep up to speed with what they’re looking for – saves wasting time coming up with something they’re definitely not interested in.
You have maintained a long working relationship with Coronation Street - it must be an important part of your life.
It is! It’s a great show to work on, it’s a very special team of people and I feel proud of the show and the people involved.
What do you think continues to make it so distinctive?
I think the writing is superior to a lot of shows (well I would say that, wouldn’t I?) and it’s a great arena in which to have both high tragedy and high comedy within the same half an hour.
How does the show source new writers - what particular qualities are required?
You’d have to ask the producer that. The writers on Corrie tend to be incredibly experienced and have achieved some success in another field. I think the vital qualifications are a knowledge and love of the programme and an ability to create drama from the minutiae of life.
Several recent attempts to create new soaps have failed – any thoughts on what went wrong?
Gosh – no idea, possibly the market was saturated? I was a big fan of Eldorado, for my sins, which was hilariously bad to start with, but did improve. I cried when the final episode finished! Watching soaps is incredibly time-consuming, so maybe there were just too many for an audience to focus on.
Could you ever be tempted to try to create a new one?
I have tried, believe me! Years ago ITV was looking for a new soap and eventually went with Crossroads (second time around). I developed one with Yorkshire TV called Big Smoke, based around the lives of a load of people living in a block of flats in London. We made a pilot and I loved it. Needless to say, ITV didn’t!
How do you regard the climate for TV comedy at the moment – has it got harder to get commissions? Have the commissioning priorities changed? Have broadcasters become more risk-averse?
It has become really hard, I think, and I’m someone who has had stuff made recently. The BBC has just cancelled my series Beautiful People. It has done brilliantly internationally, even won awards, but it had a tough slot over here and no one seemed to know it was on. It didn’t set the world alight with its ratings, so clearly the BBC had to make way for something new. But the fact that there were eight years between my comedy Gimme Gimme Gimme finishing and Beautiful People starting shows that even when you’ve had a hit show, it’s not always easy to get another away. Television in general has got harder, the climate is tougher. No one seems to want to commission scripts any more. They just want pitches or ideas or treatments. So automatically writers stand to earn less money than they did a few years ago. Even the most successful of writers are feeling the pinch.
Do you think in terms of ambitions for yourself as a writer? Or is it just a case of taking each idea and each opportunity as it comes?
I have turned down a few jobs in the past that have gone on to be incredibly successful shows, so my ambition is to have better taste! I would love to continue working in both television and theatre, but I am more than aware that the older you get as a writer, the less people seem to be interested in what you have to say. Commissioners are always looking for the next big, young, thing, and rightly so. But I’d like to keep my job at Coronation Street as it brings me so much pleasure, and I’d like to just keep getting paid to do the one thing I love.
You were an associate producer for Gimme Gimme Gimme - are you interested in getting more involved in the production side or perhaps even show-running?
At Corrie associate producer or show-runner roles don’t exist. However, I was also an associate on Beautiful People, which felt like show-running in a way, and I loved it. I was on set all the time, able to answer any queries as and when they arose. And I was able to make sure they were doing it right! I was lucky to work with visionary producers on both Gimme and Beautiful People, who welcomed me in and insisted I had a voice, but it doesn’t always work like that. Alarm bells ring for me when I am told that the writer isn’t welcome on set or in rehearsals. It doesn’t make sense to me. We are the creators and usually know more about the piece than anyone else, so why deny everyone else access to that? I have no long-term plans to produce, however. Although if they asked me to produce Corrie I would probably get very excited!
What's next for you, writing-wise?
I am just finishing the live stage version of Coronation Street – 50 years of Corrie in one night! It’s an overwhelming task, but it’s been a joy revisiting all the brilliant stories and writing from over the years. And of course, I would love someone to offer me the chance to turn Canary into a feature film or TV series.
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