Laura Davis meets the Liverpool writer touring his political show to festivals over the summer

BROKEN Britain may be a catchphrase that’s getting less of an airing, now that we’re well into the brave new post-election world, but it’s one that’s still firmly on the lips of Laurence Wilson as he prepares to tour his new play to festivals this summer.

Tiny Volcanoes is about those people in the country who are about to erupt in fury, rightly or wrongly, because of all the things they see going wrong.

The work was performed as a rehearsed reading during the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse’s festival of new writing, Everyword, but has its roots in an earlier Everyword festival.

Three years ago, Wilson took part in one of Nabokov Theatre Company’s Present Tense events, in which writers, directors and performers are challenged to create a play in seven days.

“At the start of that, we went through the newspapers and were told to pick out the most important story of that week and then we voted on which was the biggest,” explains the 39-year-old writer. “The one we came up with was about the rise of hate crime in BNP-strong areas.”

Since then, Tiny Volcanoes has been developed into a full-length two-man play and is being toured by the Everyman & Playhouse and theatre company Paines Plough, where two of Nabokov’s management team are now artistic directors.

In the show, two men – played by Liverpool actors Michael Ryan and Kevin Harvey – argue over whether Britain is truly broken.

They morph into different characters as they carry out a series of scenes exploring this idea.

“I’ve tried to make every scene different in every way, so a monologue might follow on from a dualogue,” says Wilson, whose full-length play, Urban Legend, was produced at the Everyman in 2004. “There’s one scene which is done with radio mics and the two actors play four characters, changing into the next role by running to another mic.”

Given that Tiny Volcanoes is very much based on current affairs, its writer is aware it will be an ever-evolving script.

“I will always be changing it,” he reveals. “In fact, I’ve already had to rewrite it quite a lot because the version performed at Everyword was all about the General Election and we’ve moved on from that now.”

And is Britain broken?

“I don’t think it’s completely broken,” he says. “But something needs to be done before it is.

“Ultimately, it’s everybody’s responsibility. We elected the MPs and councillors and it’s their job to head off the problems, but it’s up to everybody to play their part.”

Because the show will be touring to summer festivals where there is no opportunity for elaborate scenery, Tiny Volcanoes has no set at all. At Latitude, taking place in Suffolk next month, it will be performed in a dedicated 600-seater theatre tent with just a short technical rehearsal.

There were also other consideration to ensure the play suits its venue, Wilson adds.

“Going to a festival, it can’t be too heavy,” he says. “You’ve got to keep the audience engaged.

“It’s got to be fast-moving and have funny moments in it, too.

“Having theatre at festivals is a great thing. All the arts should be celebrated. Events like this bring people together.”

Performing at festivals will give Wilson the chance to tap into a diverse audience, says Latitude’s curator of the arts, Tania Harrison.

“It’s one of the arts genres that perhaps some people feel is not for them until they actually step into a theatre and experience it,” she explains.

“There’s a wide range of theatre at Latitude from political theatre to popular pieces, for all age groups, and hopefully people will be inspired to go to the theatre more when they get back home.”

As one of 40 shows over a single weekend in July, each script has to be very strong, she adds.

“Laurence Wilson is one of a brilliant array of writers creating pieces for the festival, talking about subjects that are very much relevant today.

“That’s what I think is so exciting about that piece, that it raises so many issues and gives food for thought.”

TINY Volcanoes is at Latitude, July 15-18, www.latitudefestival.co.uk, and at The North Wall’s summer festival on July 10, www.thenorthwall.com