Caroline Gilfillan

Writer of The Colonel directed by Sarah Weatherall

'Six of us make a good stab at imitating the half a million who marched and chanted in a demonstration to support Allende on 3 September 1973.'

Caroline on her experiences of winning The Radio Play’s The Thing
May 1st, and clusters of blossom are weighing down the branches of cherry and almond trees as I make my way to the recording studio through the streets of Dollis Hill. Inside I meet Sarah Weatherall, the director of The Colonel. We’ve spoken on the telephone about the script. She’s emailed. She’s coaxed me to write the best draft I can. I’ve cut some lines, added a scene (then taken it away again). She’s encouraged me to be specific instead of vague, to respect my characters, and generally pull the strings of the lines tighter until the whole piece is taut. I’d already substantially redrafted it following feedback from John Dryden and the two Channel 4 workshops held in April / May ‘07

Sarah has large eyes that light up her pale face. She’s carrying a bag full of props and odds and ends needed to create the soundscape of the play: plastic whistles, a cigarette lighter, a washing-up bowl, a curtain looped round a piece of wood to stand in for the banner Pablo and Elena hold when they march on a huge demonstration in support of Salvador Allende shortly before he was deposed and killed in the Chilean coup of 1973.

The first scenes we record are intimate exchanges between Pablo and Elena, young lovers from different social backgrounds. Alisdair McGregor, our sound recordist, holds the large microphone close to the actors. He gives me headphones so I can get an idea of what’s being recorded. The script demands kisses. Agnes Brekke, playing Elena, tries kissing her own hand. Too noisy. She tries kissing Pablo on the cheek. Too dry. Finally, ‘Do you mind if we just kiss?’ Martin Marquez (Pablo) acquiesces. It’s easiest.

The rain pelting the skylight has eased off, so we head for the streets to record the demonstration scene. Six of us make a good stab at imitating the half a million who marched and chanted in a demonstration to support Allende on 3 September 1973.

Alfredo, a Chilean writer who lived through the coup, coaches us on pronunciation and verifies matters of fact. Two ten-year-old girls with freckled faces and beaded hair tag along. They ask questions as another scene is recorded on the street.

‘Are they proper actors?’
‘Why are they running away?’
‘Do they escape?’

I answer them as best I can. Sadly, we can’t let them into the studio.

Other actors arrive. Daniel Cerqueira, playing The Colonel of the title, slips into the skin of a torturer minutes after he’s been humming and playing the piano. He’s horribly convincing. Makes our hair stand on end. Angus Wright, playing the part of the surgeon treating our colonel, adopts the clipped accent of a 1973 BBC reporter to read some lines of reportage I’ve scribbled at Sarah’s request. This is in case they’re needed to establish the play’s setting in time and place.

The morning’s scenes are long and complex. We’ve slipped behind schedule. Sarah starts to look worried. But the afternoon’s scenes run smoothly, easily. Throughout the recording process John Dryden, the executive producer, keeps an eye on things, occasionally suggesting retakes that will provide greater choice when the play’s edited. Yet he leaves directorial decisions to Sarah. By half past five we’re recording the last scene. All that’s left to do is to record drums, whistles and bells to be overdubbed on the demonstration crowd scenes.

Throughout, it’s a thrill hearing my words spoken by actors, though I have to bite my tongue to stop myself explaining or interfering. I’ve done the best I can, and now must hand over the play to the director and the cast. And they do a brilliant job.

Caroline on casting
My drama wasn’t easy to cast. The director had to find three actors with Chilean accents, who weren’t going to sound like stereotypes. I asked a casting director, a friend, to come up with some suggestions, and one of these was cast in the play. But the bulk of the work fell on Sarah who did a brilliant job.

Caroline on the directing process overseen by an executive production team
Sarah directed with great skill. She’d done her homework. She was familiar with the facts; she’d viewed documentary footage. She’d thought about every scene, every line of the play. John Dryden, the executive producer, oversaw the recording, but only stepped in now and then. Largely, he left it up to Sarah (rightly so) but was on hand to offer advice based on experience, where this was valuable.

Recording on location?
Ah. This was fun. We recorded the play in The Fish Factory Studios, a music studio with several different recording spaces. The high point was marching round the streets of Dollis Hill chanting, Allende, Allende, la pueblo te defiende – the chant of the half a million demonstrators on the march supporting Salvador Allende held in Santiago on 3 September 1973.

Working with skilled sound recordists?
Our live sound recordist Alisdair McGregor was patient, persistent, careful. I’m so grateful to him. The recording was in safe hands.

Caroline’s evolution as a writer since her submission back in Feb. 2007?
For the past few months I’ve been working on a novel. In September 2007 I was selected for Escalator, a fiction writers’ development scheme run by New Writing Partnership in Norwich. Shortly afterwards I was awarded an Arts Council Grant to develop a novel. Have I given up on drama? No! I’m developing a radio drama on the life of Alfred Wallis, the Cornish painter. The experience of The Radio Play's The Thing has helped me to improve my radio writing skills. This will be put to good use as I work on the Alfred Wallis drama.

Challenges faced & surprises found
It was challenging to rewrite the drama, then rewrite it again. And again. You wouldn’t think 15 minutes of drama would require so much redrafting! Oh, but it does. A lot can happen in 15 minutes.

Caroline’s thoughts on how radio drama could work on Channel 4's Radio
An interesting question. Radio drama has a loyal following on BBC Radio 4. I’m not sure of the size of the Channel 4 audiences, but I’m sure that the quality of the drama is a litmus test for the quality of the station as a whole. I also believe that those who are impressed by radio drama tend to have loyalty to the station as a whole.

There’s a perception that Radio 4 drama is ‘cosy’ and ‘middle class’. Though the profile of its drama output has changed much in recent years, I think there’s a larger audience for drama that deals with contemporary issues and diverse populations which Channel 4 radio might appeal to.

I also think there’s scope for cross genre work – pieces that mix poetry with music, drama with song. I’d defend to the wire a space for ‘pure drama’ but there’s room for tangential, mixed, flexible forms. Last night, for example, I went to see Laurie Anderson. Her mix of songs, dramatic monologues, poems and storytelling has a place on a radio station.

I firmly believe that Channel 4’s proposed DAB radio services needs to establish its own position. Is it going to be radical? It is going to champion cross-genre work? Is it going to work in the community? It needs to differentiate itself from the grandfather – Radio 4.

further aspirations you might have for writing radio drama for Channel 4
I’d love to write more radio drama for Channel 4. Certainly the producers, Maud and John provided valuable feedback and support.

Overview of the entire process
The workshops last spring were great. Tutors were experienced, encouraging. It was a huge thrill to be selected as one of the winners. But when we were told that we had to produce the dramas ourselves, on a modest budget, I was disappointed. I don’t have the skills to produce a drama to a professional standard. I think it’s fair to say that all four writers felt like this to some degree. When Maud contacted us some months later to say that the dramas would be produced by a professional team led by John Dryden I was over the moon. I think this was a wise decision on Channel 4’s part. Now they have four excellent productions ready for broadcast.

Radio drama writers that inspire you?
I listen to plenty of Radio 4 drama, but don’t have all the writer’s names at my fingertips. Zosia Wand did a terrific play about Joseph Conrad for the afternoon play slot (The Inextinguishable Fire). I loved a play titled Bubble by Andrea Porter, which mixed poetry with drama. The play told the story of the death of her partner and unborn twins in a car accident (Andrea survived) in a way that was moving and not at all sentimental. Jimmy Chinn’s two plays Looks like Rain and Looks like Rain Again were brilliant, mordant, character led family dramas. Sort of Pinter plus warmth. I also like work by Charlotte Jones and Sebastian Baczkiewicz (Language of Angels). John (Dryden)’s work is brilliant, of course: I love its scope and soundscapes.

As regards form and genre, I’m most interested in any of the following:

• dramas about creative artists or writers (I’ve written one of these, which takes as its starting point Jacob Epstein’s sculpture, Jacob and the Angel).
• pieces which mix drama with poetry or other forms
• dramas which take on political and social issues and dilemmas
• dramas which move back and forth in time frames

And I’m perfectly happy with a voice over! (Dirty word for radio dramatists, but many successful dramas not produced to a formula do feature these).

Check out the other wining writers for The Radio Play's The Thing

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