‘Beyond the Clouds’ by Chris Breen
Each week, we select a play to feature as our ‘Play of the Week’. Not only do we profile it with an interview with the playwright themselves, but we also offer a temporary download of the play — absolutely FREE. This week Chris Breen and his play ‘Beyond the Clouds’
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Free Download ‘Beyond the Clouds’
I’ve been songwriting for around 30 years, and have co-written material with writers and producers in a range of genres (pop, rock, dance, country, blues and ballads), with two songs appearing on the first German X-Factor Winner’s album. Musical Theatre and Playwriting is more recent. I started working on my first script and lyrics for a musical 10 years ago, but this is now the area I concentrate on and enjoy the most.
WHAT IS THE PLAY ABOUT?
Beyond the Clouds follows the build up and escalation of World War II through the eyes of a young couple, Archie and Rose. Archie unwittingly volunteers to join the theatre of conflict with the lowest chances of survival, RAF Bomber Command. Though perhaps a dark premise, the play has many elements of comedy (humour in adversity being so typical of the time). It follows the two protagonists and their feuding parents through the Blitz and the story reaches its climax as Archie and his crew, two trips from finishing their second tour, embark on a fateful mission to Berlin. A cast of 24 (or more) can perform the play or I’ve adapted it so it could work on a much smaller scale with 6 male and 4 female actors (all but 2 playing multiple roles). It’s really down to the venue and available cast, so any number of actors upwards of 10: Your choice!
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THE PLAY?
My father served in the RAF and then became editor of RAF News and Airmail Magazine, so I was brought up on a diet of air shows and meeting WWII veterans. There have been many films and dramas focusing on the fighter pilots, but the 55,573 Bomber Command volunteers who lost their lives in WWII have had little to put their sacrifice centre-stage. Following the long-awaited opening of a memorial in Green Park (June 2012), people are finally becoming more aware. I hope this play in some small way (and the musical — please watch this space) can help further raise knowledge of Bomber Command’s sacrifice and their role in Hitler’s downfall.
WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
I usually like to create an original story then set it within a period of history, however Beyond The Clouds actually started with three lyrics (as I originally planned a musical). I then wrote a basic story outline. It was at that point I disappeared into a world of reference books and Google for months on end to refine the plot, checking the time and details of all the events. I even found a site that could tell me what the weather was like on any particular day! I’ve just co-written a musical, Rebel Roadhouse, and that is totally fictional (no history involved at all) and it’s amazing how liberating that felt!
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR NEW WRITERS?
I’d still class myself as a fairly new as I’m only now working on my fifth play or musical. Writing can be a lonely profession; so co-writing can be great fun and very productive, but do choose your co-writer(s) carefully. On Rebel Roadhouse I’m working with a fantastic one, but on a project in the past I can say, through bitter experience, if everyone’s painting in different colours, red, yellow and blue make brown… if you get my drift! Also, stick to your guns: it’s your story; it’s your script. You’re telling it that way for a reason, so be true to the story you feel you have to tell. Don’t be forced to distort history or the essence of a piece just to fit some modern style or trend.
WHO ARE YOUR LITERARY INFLUENCES?
Oh heck, this is hard. As a kid, I was a bookworm and I guess I’ve read just about everything Conan Doyle, Tolkien, Alistair MacLean and Steven King wrote, but my greatest influences in the writing of Beyond the Clouds will have probably been from film and drama. I’d say there’s a nod or two to The Dam Busters, Foyle’s War, Dad’s Army and the Ealing Comedies in there.
WHY DO YOU THINK THEATRE IS IMPORTANT?
In a world that’s become so hectic, so ‘click on, click off’, theatre brings you back to a totally immersive experience… you can completely loose yourself in a story and the acting. That’s so valuable and should be treasured. Also, both the audience and the actors working on a piece can be opened up to different viewpoints and experiences, so there can be a real educational aspect too.
Free Download ‘Beyond the Clouds’
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Chris’s new musical ‘Rebel Roadhouse’ (a David versus Goliath struggle set in the 80s on Route 66) should be up and out on TreePress in the next few months. Then there’s a new score for Beyond the Clouds he’s working on, so the play you see now should also be available as a musical in a few months. Other than that, he has two new works he’s developed treatments for and started writing, one set in the Merchant Navy and the second is a tale with a twist set in the trenches of World War I. Both are keeping Google and Chris pretty busy!
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