Hard to Swallow. Mark Wheeller

year of touring. I had previously been in the awkward situation of having to meet the professional cast of a production of Too Much Punch that had been so dreadful, illustrated by the fact that the audience had laughed in the accident scene! If the first year was good enough they would get a second tour up and running and I would go and see it then. It also took pressure off them for the first tour. I offered distant support via social media as much as I could and soon saw the excellent comments from schools pouring in. Once they let me know that they were booking a second tour, I let them know I would be coming to see it.

      It was a stunning production. I plan to write a fuller account in the second edition of Hard to Swallow – Easy to Digest, which by the time you read this will probably be out (so do have a look).

      Anna, Catherine’s sister, said to me she would like to see it and that is something I shall really look forward to sharing, in full confidence that she will approve of it in every way. I’m sad that Maureen never saw it. She would have loved it. So, now it offers a wonderful legacy for her work on behalf of eating disorders. Heartfelt thanks to David and Elliot at TiE It Up for their work in making the plays second chapter become such a successful one!

      It’s great that they have shared their story in this script on page xviii. I had no idea how much of an impact it had made on the young Elliot and am pleased that the theatricality of the play has also left its mark. That is always important for me.

      The major addition to this Salamander Street edition (apart from this introduction) is the inclusion of Crossing the Bridge – The Unseen Billy Goats Scenes.

      Since the play has become a set text it has become important for students to study the development of the play and these were a crucial part of that. I have written a detailed introduction from page 69, so I shan’t elaborate here but I suggest these become a staple part of the introduction to this play.

      I would offer these scenes (including the poem) to students to stage before they read the play. They will:

      • explain the raison d’être for the Billy Goats scenes in the final version of the play more clearly than any lecture might be able to do

      • introduce the animated performance style required for this form of narrative theatre that should be applied to the whole of the text

      • be fun… and in a play like Hard to Swallow, where there are few “fun” moments, fun ‘hooks’ are essential

      Enjoying the creative process is always crucial to any successful project regardless of the subject matter being so serious. My motto in OYT and school was always along these lines:

      Engage in Theatre for the fun of doing it seriously.

      OYT had a lot of fun doing my serious plays. We had great enjoyment from meeting the people we met along the way. One of those who we all remember particularly fondly is Maureen. I have written to those of the cast I am still in touch with, from 1999, to inform them. I know they will be sad, as am I, but they all remember Maureen for her composure, her generosity and her fervent desire to make something good out of something dreadfully bad. One of them, in her reply described her as gracious and another remembered her bringing cakes for us all… something I’m surprised I don’t remember given how much I love cake!

      As Anna said to me today… Mum is with Catherine now… and I know that will have been a great comfort to both her and will continue to be for her wider family.

      Thank you, Maureen and may the potent impact of your words continue to be felt long after your passing.

      Mark Wheeller

      June 2020

      ¹ Hard to Swallow – Easy To Digest (available from Salamander Street)

      A Reflection on the Touring Production by TiE It Up Theatre

      Elliot Montgomery and David Chafer (TIE IT UP THEATRE) talk about their experiences of working with Hard to Swallow.

      First Encounters with Hard to Swallow

      For Elliot, the initial exposure to Mark Wheeller’s work was during his Secondary School education, when an inspirational Drama teacher handed out a script that stirred such emotion it was to shape his entire career from that point on. That script was Hard to Swallow.

      The play addressed the issue of eating disorders, which was unheard of at the time. The subject matter become the focus of many discussions amongst the teenage drama group for weeks and months afterwards. It moved the group to raise money to fund an on-site counsellor to support other young people but also inspired a young Elliot Montgomery to become a Drama teacher and, over thirty years later, he continues this legacy with his own Drama students. There still remains no better way to do this than by introducing young people to Mark Wheeller’s plays, which all have a timeless quality and are as relevant today as when they were written. These plays take pride of place in Elliot’s school drama studio, with Hard to Swallow as the centre-piece. Elliot introduced the text to his close friend, David Chafer, an experienced professional actor and producer, and TIE IT UP THEATRE was formed.

      How was TIE IT UP THEATRE created?

      It had always been an ambition of Elliot’s to create a theatre company that was able to provide young people with a high quality, professional live theatre experience. David was keen to ensure that the company not only delivered an important message to young people but also provided an opportunity for talented actors to tour the UK, backed by a company with ethics and integrity at its heart. So, when Eduqas announced that Hard to Swallow was going to be one of their GCSE set texts for Drama it felt like an appropriate time to make that dream a reality.

      Rehearsing and Touring Hard to Swallow

      Mark Wheeller was (and continues to be) incredibly supportive of the company’s work and they were thrilled when he gave the company permission to take the play on a national tour of UK secondary schools in the Spring of 2018. TIE IT UP THEATRE cast five incredibly talented, professional, adult actors, who were a joy to work with in rehearsals. The play was new to each of them and it was great to see how the story and its subject matter achieved the same emotionally charged reactions from them as it continues to with students across the country. This was most evident when the cast were shown the harrowing photographs of Catherine that are used in Section 10 of the play. No matter how often we see these images they are no less shocking and we are reminded how important this play is in educating its audiences about eating disorders.

      Each actor came to the first rehearsal having carried out lots of research into the story, its characters and the subject matter. Maureen Dunbar’s book ‘Catherine’ on which the play is based, was a powerful resource that we used. In addition the company carried out extensive research into anorexia and a variety of other eating disorders.

      Once the ensemble started moving from page to stage, it was important to TIE IT UP THEATRE that they created something new and didn’t reinvent anything that had been done before it in its staging. It was also important that the actors felt completely comfortable in offering their ideas about how each scene could be crafted; this really was to be an open and safe rehearsal space where all ideas would be explored.

      TIE IT UP THEATRE had several aims for this particular tour. Firstly, they wanted as many young people as possible to be able to see a live piece of theatre. Secondly, they wanted to help bring the text to life so that they could help Drama students with their studies. Thirdly, and most importantly, they wanted to raise awareness of the complexity of eating disorders and their impact on the families of the victims. They were constantly aware that they were performing a play about real people and they owed it to the Dunbar family to tell their story in the most truthful and sensitive way possible.

      The production was created over