Interview with Sophie Stone who plays Susan

Why did you want to do get involved with Falling?  
The relationship between the two siblings in Jack Thorne's script was beautifully tender, direct and painfully familiar in its unattainability. I was intrigued by the different paths they've taken and the language they share that keeps them tied to each other despite it. Jack always keeps his script open to moving with the people that are cast, so the room felt like an on-going conversation, that kind of artistic process always excites me. 

How would you describe Susan?  
Maternal, resilient, selfless and direct. She's someone who had to grow up fast to survive the childhood they had but isn't someone who looks back. She's hugely protective of her brother and sees his patterns of behaviours before anyone else, she wants for his happiness so much that it becomes a distraction from her own fears. 

Is Susan religious?  
No. Her parents were, and she saw and experienced first-hand the impact their particular views and behaviours had on her and her adopted brother however where she chose to move away from that world to undo the damage associated with it, David sought solace and healing in it after many years of struggle. I don't think she ever truly understood his decision, but she respected it and swallowed her feelings to support him as he navigated his journey through. If it helped keep him alive, it was more powerful than anything she could do to save him. 

It’s hinted that she had an unhappy first marriage, and we know she’s engaged again now. What went wrong, how is her relationship with her daughter and what is her fiancé like?  
She's now engaged to Simon who is kind and gentle - the opposite of her ex-Harry. She was left with a hangover of insecurity & paranoia because of Harry's abuse and infidelity, so Simon's patience and love have helped her feel safe and able to start trusting again. David was a huge part of her rebuilding her faith in relationships and letting another man back in their lives - she values his opinion and support so much. She finds it hard to be vulnerable, but David is her safe space. And she, his. Her daughters are her proudest achievements, her strength and her joy. Simon, her fiancé, is full of love for her, he knows BSL and includes her, believes in her and adores her daughters. He knows he still needs to work to earn her trust, he doesn't mind reassuring her & having patience with her insecure 'jokes', he's in it for the long run.  

What is David like as a lodger?  
For Susan, it's great. She loves a house full of family and purpose, but she worries about him and interferes in his affairs out of concern and love. David's addiction is harder to hide in a house full of inquisitive and observant people, he's in a single room, has to queue for the bathroom, shares the family car, and is climbing back up from the bottom - the dynamics couldn't be more different. They're battling inner demons but need each other and can see through the facades they put on.  

How would you describe their relationship – what has cemented their very close bond?  
They've been very close as children, but life has taken them on different paths, so for a while there was a distance and, in that distance, secrets and shame grew. They've always reached out to each other when there's been nowhere else to turn. They've been the love they've needed from their parents, for each other. Their empathy and compassion for each other's plight and circumstances helps them hold onto faith in humanity and the power of community. 

What does she make of David as a priest? 
She doesn't quite understand it, but she doesn't feel like she needs to see the value in it - it's guiding her brother and giving him a sense of purpose, belonging and ultimately love - if that's where he needs to go; who he needs to be; to find that when he feels lost, then she's not going to deny him of that or minimise it. She worries about the limitations it requires of him, though, the sacrifice and duty, and wants so much for him to have a love of his own in the way she has. She senses his yearning.  

How did Paapa get on with BSL? 
Paapa is one of the fastest learners of BSL I've seen since Lara Peake in Reunion. He has had several teachers from the Deaf community - among them, Amiee Campbell-Nottage, Ace Mahbaz, Duffy and our on-set expert Sarah Lawrence. Paapa had learnt our dialogue first in Sign Supported English (SSE: where sign language tries to follow the structure of spoken English so both can happen, though it's compromised) but after a few sessions with myself and Sarah once filming started, we tried Paapa with some full BSL, NMF (Non Manual Features - facial expressions as vital grammatical information conveying emotion, intensity and 'tone') and he instantly took to it. The language made more sense, the history between the two siblings was made clearer and more believable and Paapa looked more comfortable as if it was his world too. He worked so hard to arrive on set ready, take notes, practice and refine with inquisitive dedication but most of all, respect. He had absolute respect for the language, the culture and the people he worked with. Every achievement was a collective celebration, we all won. That's how it should be, acknowledging that BSL is a gift and those who are native to it and pass it on, are trusting you with a language that carries a lot of historical weight and oppression so it should be treated like gold dust. A privilege. Paapa was an exceptional student and understood exactly what he was holding. Every moment watching him sign was very special. 

Jack offers up these amazing two-handers and monologues. What are they like to perform? 
Jack writes characters, storylines, relationships and creates worlds in which humans in all their frailties and splendours can exist in and collide. The clues in the writing allow for specific casting but gives room for the actors to breathe their lived experiences into the characters and shape the direction. I've worked with Jack's words a few times now and have always been amazed by the versatility of his mind. He isn't afraid to show us who we are. There's an electric current that pulses through the worlds he creates and is sharply observant of human behaviours: he provides colloquial dialogue that doesn't show us the direction we're heading in, till we've arrived there, is a joy for an actor to discover and play.  

Jack has always been a champion of representing disability on and off screen. What did that mean for you specifically on Falling, and more generally what has it meant for the wider industry? 
On Falling, it's meant being able to communicate questions on authenticity and feel safe enough to articulate thoughts, an exhale of relief knowing the character and story will be looked after without pandering to pity or othering. Real people with real things to say. Generally, it has meant more accountability within production companies, people considering disabled storylines and casting authentically, it's meant more jobs behind the lens as well as in front. It's meant stronger collaborations with companies who've not felt guided or supported before and have considered it a 'risk' rather than an enrichment, to be bold rather than 'brave', to change the language and attitudes of spaces we can exist in and uplift those in the profession to higher positions, positions of decision-making, production value, to be seen and heard. It's all still an on-going process but he puts the unheard, the unspoken, the unseen in front and asks you to sit up. Hopefully, one day, it won't be a necessary request, but the standard by which we all progress from. 

What was the biggest challenge in making Falling, and could you pick out a personal highlight? 
I personally loved watching the cast and about twenty supporting actors along with a film crew in waders try and chase the notoriously fast-receding tide at Western-Super-Mare! The 're-set and run' mentality of it was like a Benny Hill scene on repeat! Also, the logistics of filming on a coach, on the motorway was a bit bonkers. Having to leave whole creative teams in a Tesco carpark, unable to do checks and watch the live feed, so returning for playbacks before going out again post-tweaks was... a task. And there were a lot of coach scenes! Adrian Scarborough, who plays Francis, and I were in-between shooting the Chelsea Detective series and yet were reunited on this job, which was pure joy, so keeping ourselves from corpsing was an added challenge. 

What would you like audiences to take away from Falling – are there particular themes it explores that interested you? 
The people involved in this show from the production team, the directors Sasha and Peter all the way through to the amazing runners, creative teams and the glorious supporting artists have made this quite an extraordinary job to work on. There was so much laughter! There was a real sense of calm and love on set which felt divine in the truest sense. I'm not religious but there were certainly moments of purity and unity that brought everyone together. A spiritual experience of sorts. I'm not alone in that; it was spoken about often. It's even written in the bylines of Jack's script. I hope that that resonates in some way: that there are all kinds of ways to feel loved and accepted and 'found' and that recognising what that might look like for you may release you from determining what it might be for others. I hope, also, that those who need support with recovering from addictions, receive it and find their way home, to themselves.