BWW Interviews: Gemma Page, Co-Writer Of HATCHED'N'DISPATCHED!

Gemma Page and Michael Kirk are the co-writers of the Park Theatre's Hatched'N'Dispatched, starring Wendi Peters. We talked to Gemma to find out about the play...

First up - how did you two begin writing together?

Michael had been talking about many of the characters in the play for as long as I can remember. As an actor - he would regale fellow actors with stories of 'Dorothy-Mavis'. Anyone who has worked on a show with him for the last 40 years will feel they know Dorothy intimately! Michael had no desire to sit down and write a play. So I said I would write it with him. He supplied all the memories, the characters and much of the situation and I organised it all into an outline. Then we started at the top and wrote completely together - mostly Michael walkiing round the kitchen 'being' Dorothy and me sitting typing being many of the other characters. It's difficult writing together because you can't go into your interior thinking place - the other person is continually interfering with your thoughts! But it does mean that you have to fight for every word so you end up with a better first draft than you would on your own!

Where did the idea of Hatched'n'Dispatched come from?

The situation and many of the characters came from Michael's observations of family and friends growing up in 1950s Derby. As a child he used to present puppet shows in the Railway Institute Club where his parents were patrons. What he observed going on between the adults in the back alleys forms the basis of the play!

What's been its path here to London?

A roller-coaster! Since showing it to Stuart Piper several years ago the play has been picked up by three commercial producers and two regional theatres, but nothing came of it. The excitements and crushing disappointments of getting a play to production have been fierce. Eventually at the beginning of this year Stu said, "I've had enough of this - I'm going to produce it." That was a very exciting moment for me because I've known Stu for a long time and I know that if he says he's going to do something he does it.

How involved were you in the casting and production of the play?

Totally involved. Michael directed the play and I co-produced with Stu. That meant that Michael and I have been responsible for everything to do with the physical production - from the eight-strong cast down to the last maraschino cherry!

Do you read your reviews?

Yes. That has been an overwhelming experience. I'm still processing it.

What are your next plans?

Two things: a pilot for a new sitcom about local government initiatives to deal with an ageing population - a cross between 2020/W1A and Dad's Army! - and an adaptation of a previously unperformed and unpublished play by Arthur Wing Pinero.

Hatched'n'Dispatched runs at the Park Theatre until September 26.

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