Inside The Wire: They Don't Really Care About Us

It was May 2014. I was 22 and just under a year out of university. I remember I was meeting some school friends in the pub; I knew it was going to be a good day but never expected it to be a life changing one. In the pub for about 2PM, all going well. Fast forward several hours and I am being spoken to by two police officers. They want to know where I’d been, what I’d been up to, who I’d been with. Apparently, there was an altercation in a pub, but I hadn’t been anywhere near it.

Suddenly phrases like “matching your description” started getting thrown around. Then came the gut punch, “This were their words, not mine…. Can’t tell where the fella was from, might have been a darkie, might have been a P***”. My 22-year-old brain could not process what I had just heard. An officer of the law, in full uniform using a racist slur and a deeply offensive one at that. The sense of fear was overwhelming, “Did he just say that?”. I’d seen stuff like this in tv shows and films but having it played out in real time was jolting, it’s something I’ve still not come to terms with. In fact, it wasn’t so much the actual use of the word (though that was disgusting), it was the way he said it. There was a smugness and enjoyment to it, don’t ask me how I know, but I know he wanted to say it, he wanted to indirectly call me it. This night was where the early ideas of the story of this were born, this is where the journey began.

Over the years, I built upon this incident, trying to craft and idea, a plot, something. I’d tried to come up with a story and lots of ideas passed about in my head but each year, something else was added. I focussed more on my acting and then developing my production company 4AM Productions in the intervening years but it always remained in there. Mid way through 2023, I then made the decision it was time we (4AM Productions) did a show that pushed boundaries, that reflect the bigger topics in society and the world.

Something that would hit people in a different way and would get people talking and get people angry. We had an incredible 2 years up to that point, but it was time to push on. I went back to the drawing board and started putting the pieces together and thus, “They Don’t Really Care About Us” was born.

I wrote about 20 pages and essentially got stuck, I didn’t know how to bring this vision to life. Collaborating with someone was the logical next step. I searched around, spoke to a few people but only one person stood out from everyone: Rachel Louise Clark. I’d only met Rachel once by that stage, but I was very much aware of the calibre of her work. Some writers take months to formulate a story together, Rachel and I had a 3-hour zoom call and we instantly clicked creatively, and we put the structure of the show together there and then!

It’s rare to find someone who shares a similar writing style to you but that’s what we found with each other. What got me the most was how deeply Rachel understood the themes of the show and the importance of it and it made perfect sense for her to also co-direct it with me. She also wanted to bring in the theme of sexism and treatment of women which is equally important and just like me, she based these on her own experiences and views.

Over the next few weeks, we finished off the script, made the necessary re-writes but even then, neither of us were prepared for what would come next, what the next few months would give to us and what we would gain. After a lengthy audition process, we had a cast, made of mostly new faces to us.

I worked with George Fragakis at the Everyman theatre for a time and brought him on board. George is a brilliant director and creative, he sees this that most do not. He specialises in movement and how it can convey emotions without the need to say things and seeing this in work blew me away and I wanted him part of the show. Or superb cast comprised of Nina Price, Hannah Kidman, Kru Lundy, Paul Philip Ryan, Madeleine Lloyd Jones, Leonisha Barley, Lisa Mogan, Abi Tyrer, Alan Kenny, Phil Halfpenny and Sudha Rajavelu.

All multi-talented individuals who really absorbed themselves into the work and became their characters and took them to new heights. They are and always will be, the heartbeat of the show. We spent close to 4 months working on the show, rehearsing twice sometimes three a week.

We generated a fair amount of buzz, people were talking about the show. Appearing on BBC radio Merseyside was a huge thing for us, to be able to give the show such a big platform was something one can never take for granted and by the time we got to the end of May, the show sold out all 3 nights. The 3 night run couldn’t have gone better. Audiences were sucked into the drama and plot of the show. Audible gasps, shocks, claps, anger, laughter, tears, we had it all. I will never forget the standing ovation we got on night 1.

It felt like a fever dream and that image will never leave me. Majority of the audience stayed for a post-show q&a on night 1 which showed that we really had found something special that resonated with people and that this theatre people want to see. We received critical acclaim as well with reviewers feeling this was a powerful production but also crucially that there was scope to develop the show further.

During an incredible after party, Rachel and I delivered the news that we had received news we had also got a full touring grant to take the show on the road for a nationwide tour in 2025. I am writing it but my brain still hasn’t come to terms with that just yet, it’s a real dream come true! I had sat on the news for a little wild and just holding it was a task and the tears and jubilation from the cast who are now family was a sight to see.

This is why bringing the show back for a short run for the Fringe is so important.  We hadn’t done anything for the fringe before and making our debut with this show is a great source of pride. We will be using this time to take some new things, tweak things and get the show ready for the grand tour next year. It’s a show that has come to define us as a company and we have been searching for that. If you missed us in May, now is your chance to watch us again and if you saw us first time but want to see us again? Don’t miss out. This is the last time we play in Liverpool THIS YEAR before one final show as part of our tour next year. Your support means the world.