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Suddenly the ocean of traffic parted and I got into work 30 minutes early. A bit concerned that script 6 might be short I knocked off a quick additional scene as I waited for the other actors to turn up. I had it written in 15 minutes and it was pretty funny. Maybe I should just write the whole thing like this. When I think how hard it was to write some of this and then bang, writing comedy in almost real time. It might not even make the show if the episode isn’t too short.
But the lesson is, writing is easy. Hope you’ve picked that up.
We recorded the 5th episode, a bottle episode, which you don’t really need to do on radio. A bottle episode is where the characters are kept in one place, usually to keep costs down so that you can afford to spend a bit more on some more ambitious ideas. Of course, on radio all episodes cost pretty much the same as changing scenes takes very little time, but it’s nice in a series of 6 to have a different feel and it was also a slightly easier episode to write as there are only four characters in it (for most of the script), so there was a time budgetary nature to it (though still needed to come up with developments and back references so it wasn’t quite as easy as I’d hoped). Best of all though, aside from my entrance and exit, my character was sat down for the entire episode. We did the whole thing in one morning (aside from a short final scene which we’d done on Monday). And what a delight to be sitting amongst Phil Davis, Alison Steadman and Fenella Woolgar all knocking it out of the park.
And then five or six more scenes after lunch and one by one, with a wave and a hug the cast disappeared and then there were just two more scenes, then one and then we were done (and praying we hadn’t forgotten anything in the mismatch of scenes recorded out of order). And without much ceremony I was out the door and in my car for a surprisingly easy Friday evening drive home. My work is mainly done, though I might have a say about what we edit out for time. There’s still editing and post-production, but for me, the war is over. Can’t believe I did it. My gut said it couldn’t happen. Never trust your gut. Your gut is stupid. That’s why it ended up full of food rather than full of thought.
I think it’s the funniest series of Relativity, though there’s some drama in there too. It’s being broadcast in July, which is a bit further away than I thought, rendering some of the middle topical jokes probably obsolete.
You can catch up with series 1 (illegally) here.
The drive home was surprisingly easy too - maybe I should commute every day. I picked up some doughnuts for the kids and we ate them just before their bedtime. My daughter has never been so excited to see me return. But she knew I had doughnuts. Good to be home though and I have a few weeks where I don’t have too much in the diary, so hopefully lots more playing and ridiculous conversations to come. Though not many doughnuts for me. They are never as nice as you think they’re going to be, Or hardly ever. Yet still I keep thinking they will be.
But as I am not drinking champagne, it was nice to raise a doughnut, say cheers and celebrate another job done.
Another bonus RHLSTP, this time with Mike Wozniak
Oh Ambassador, you're really spoiling us.
