Missing Dan Nolan. Mark Wheeller

      On interviewing the friends who shared that fateful evening with Dan, I was struck by their youth. They were, like I imagine Dan, “normal” fourteen/fifteen-year-old boys.

      This tragic story was initially performed by a small group from the Oaklands Youth Theatre who were of a similar age to Daniel Nolan. I believe it can be performed between anyone from the age of fourteen and fifty.

      Whoever performs this play must not lose sight of the fact that it tells a true story in the words of those most closely involved. Words must not be changed. Edits should not be made for public performances without permission. Agreement was gained from all parties who contributed to the play on the understanding that this would be the version performed. Even in private showings, any cuts should be made with due sensitivity to the real people from the tragedy.

      All performing groups must respect the willingness of the various families to allow their words to be used in the way that they appear in this published text.

      I have slightly developed what I wrote in my original introduction for Hard to Swallow. It is equally pertinent for Dan Nolan – Missing.

      It must at all times be remembered when reading or performing this play that the events portrayed are as close to the truth as memory will allow. The performers should not impersonate the real-life characters (it is unlikely that they will know them to be able to do so). They should breathe into them a life that is a reasonable interpretation of the words in the script as honestly and truthfully as the performer can manage. Unless specifically instructed to do otherwise for a particular effect, the actors should avoid overstatement and veer towards underplaying. Trust the material. It is, after all, as near as possible the “real” thing.

      The other thing to add here is to say that with all my documentary/verbatim plays there are often long speeches. It is crucial that these are not all static. The director should try to be imaginative and animate the scene to keep the visual interest for the audience as high as possible without detracting from the power of the “real” words.

      All of us who were involved in the first production of the play have become passionately involved with the subject matter and hope that our efforts and those of other groups who also choose to present this play may help to solve the mystery of Dan’s disappearance.

      The school photo of Dan Nolan as used in so many of the posters the family had distributed in their ‘Missing’ campaign.

      Afterword by Mark Wheeller

      Written for the first publication of Missing Dan Nolan, (as opposed to Dan Nolan – Missing) March 2004.

      It is now just over two years since Dan’s tragic disappearance. Much has happened in that time… but the news for Dan’s family is not good. All their (and our) hopes of Dan returning home seem to have been dashed as remains of a foot, found last year on a remote beach in Swanage, were identified as Dan’s. This version of the play has been updated to account for these tragic developments… but Dan’s family and friends remain supportive of all the play can continue to do.

      “Although we’ve lost our Dan, I feel very proud. All the issues about Dan’s disappearance and the safety issues surrounding teenagers are in the play and it must continue to raise awareness.”

      Pauline Nolan

      The Oaklands Youth Theatre continued to perform the play in various places until October 2003. The cast have all moved on to other things now… but this period in all our lives will remain clear in our collective memories as a time where we did something that could help and support the Nolan family in their time of need. Each performance we did was updated (with new lines for the committed cast to learn for each and every performance) with the new information as it came to light.

      The cast who performed those initial productions enabled me, not only to update the story, but to experiment with the structure of the way I presented the play. They, in turn, became involved in a production that won numerous awards and gave them huge confidence in their ability in the performing arts. The motivation of performing this true story in front of those who had lived through it could never have been greater and, I believe, led them to perform to a higher standard than any other sort of production could have ever achieved. For me this is one of the main reasons I have found verbatim theatre to be such a force for student theatre performances. All are wanting to go on to further their careers in this field.

      Missing Dan Nolan is not only a slightly different title, but is a much tighter script. I will continue to add updates to my website (and future editions) if they occur… but the basic structure will now remain in place. It is, I believe, an important play which is very accessible for teenagers as it concerns them so directly. More schools than I could ever have hoped for have adopted it as a study or performance text. It has only been available for a year and its immediate popularity has led to this new edition being printed. I hope that it goes on to spread its wings even further to provide a long lasting and fitting testament to Dan Nolan’s all too brief life.

      Afterword to the 2020 Edition by Mark Wheeller

      We were all aware we were involved in a very special production, but none of us could ever have imagined how well-known this play would become.

      Oaklands Youth Theatre/Community School (knocked down in 2014) in the very unspectacular area of Lordshill in Southampton. It was no Winchester College, but we had a professionally equipped theatre. In terms of our Youth Theatre, I set our aims high. My first original production was selected to be showcased at the Royal National Theatre. In the ensuing years we were selected to perform at the National Student Drama Festival, mostly populated by university and drama school productions. When I announced any new Youth Theatre production I supposed the potential members were vaguely aware of our track record. Regardless, they were aware that if they volunteered to become involved they would be working very hard (for the fun of doing it seriously).

      I approached Darren, Rachael, Alex and Kate (with my friend and ex-student Danny Sturrock offering technical assistance) because I knew from their work, either in curriculum time or Youth Theatre, that they would be totally committed, so much so that they chose to give up much of their summer holiday to make the production happen. I didn’t have to motivate them to give their best. Once they heard what the production was they leapt onboard and did just that. It really mattered to us all.

      We all had to get it right. That meant hard work.

      We had zero budget, so had to get the play up and running with very limited resources. Danny had the bright idea of painting four of the theatre’s cubes to offer a thematic colour, using a sea blue that would give an impression of waves – a whole set for the cost of a couple of cans of paint! We used these cubes in various different arrangements to show the many different locations of the play. They also offered us the ability to have different levels. On top of that we had the ongoing cost of candles and Tesco

      Finest Chocolate Truffle Cake. The Nolan family donated one of their huge posters, the same one I had seen on the day I travelled to Hamble for the first time, to act as our backdrop. We also bought T-shirts with the missing poster emblazoned onto them. We did the whole thing for well under £50.

      Our focus was twofold: that the production would lead to news of Dan for his family and that we would create a committed piece of theatre that would attract a large audience. We hoped people would be impressed with the way we told this story. With the huge amount of narration we had to be imaginative in finding movement to illustrate the words being spoken, whilst also making every speech visually arresting. There was only one part where we needed help – the opening section, which we wanted to arrest the audience’s attention instantly. I invited an ex-student of mine in to help. Matt Kane had made a career from directing the professional touring productions of both Too Much Punch For Judy & Legal Weapon II, so I was keeping it ‘in the family’. He generated a high energy start that we never needed to alter. Thanks, Matt!

      Schools tell me the only way to attract a decent audience