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Russell T Davies: a new writer should bring back Queer As Folk
Russell T Davies believes Queer As Folk could be revived for a new generation, with a young writer at the helm.
The drama, about the lives of gay men in Manchester, was groundbreaking when it was first broadcast by Channel 4 in 1999.
Davies said he had no plans of his own to revisit the characters nearly 20 years on, as Danny Boyle has done with Trainspotting. But he said: "Do you know what they should do? They should take the title and someone who's 21 should write a Queer As Folk. A 21-year-old man, or a 21-year-old woman, or a 21-year-old trans writer.
"I'm the last person who should be doing it."
The former Doctor Who showrunner is encouraging young writers to enter The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting. He is one of the judges for this year's award, which is open to anyone in Britain over the age of 16. All scripts are judged anonymously, and the winner will have their work developed by the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. Details are available at www.writeaplay.co.uk
Here, Davies gives advice to aspiring writers and looks back at his own writing career.
On Doctor Who
"It's all about the iPlayer now. I think [the most recent series] is doing well. We keep reporting on overnight figures but I very rarely watch a programme when it's transmitted.
"Every episode is like a self-contained play. It's hard because all the rules are gone. You direct Queer As Folk and there’s a door, there’s a bedroom, there’s a kitchen, there’s a mum, there’s a dad, everything’s got to make sense. In Doctor Who you take that away. And they all have to run around and be funny and entertaining. So it was very hard work. But I had the best time of my life on that show. I loved it."
On his love for theatre and fears for its future
"I've always been a fervent theatregoer. When I was very young, my formative years were at the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre in Swansea, which is now terribly strapped for cash. It was my whole life. And that youth theatre that shaped my entire heart and soul and the way I looked at the world, the place that got me writing - that theatre has kept going for all these years, but this year finally the money has run out. You can't see a world in which that money will return. And that's terrible, isn't it?"
On art world 'elitism'
"That 'highbrow' argument is exactly the argument that people like Donald Trump have picked up. We’re living in the most fascinating age and the most dreadful age, where anyone in the arts is being dismissed as an 'elite'. As if we all sit around in opera boxes having a cup of tea with Meryl Streep."
On the hardest job of his career (and no, it wasn't Doctor Who)
Chucklevision! Do you know, it was possibly the hardest work of anything I’ve ever done. I had to write three episodes of Chucklevision. When you write one, it’s great - you pack it full of all the gags you’ve ever thought of. When you write two, you’re running out of gags. After the first script I was bleeding from the eyes. Oh, I love those two. They are such good company and such experts - like a proper vaudeville music hall act, almost. They take your script and make it funny. Happy days. I probably get more repeat fees for that than anything. It can play in any country. Chuckle is a universal language.
On the Bruntwood Prize
"I am honoured and delighted to be a judge on this. It's anonymous so that opens the door for this prize to become about new people, and new voices being heard, without anyone worrying about where you’re from or what your background is or anything. I think it’s brilliant."
Advice for aspiring playwrights
"The only advice I would ever give to someone is to get on with it. So many people sit in their bedrooms thinking of writing a play, or a novel, or even a poem, and the hardest thing you’ve got to realise is that other people are getting on with it. Your competition is writing it right now. All those people you’re jealous of because they get a commission, they get a play or something published - they are writing while you’re sitting there not writing. Life is short. There are chances out there. You might think your play will never get made but you won’t know that until you get on with it. Think of it as a competition and galvanise yourself and start writing the moment you read these words. Start now. Open that file."