Plug-In: California Dreamin

‘Imagine being stuck in space, now imagine you're stuck in space with the worst human being possible. Throw in a couple of dark secrets, loose lies and a fight for survival and you've got yourself a party (as long as you're willing to share the last bag of Maltesers).’

For Mike and Tom, an extended mission aboard the International Space Station means an increase in frustration, tension and decrease of supplies (such as the mentioned Maltesers). California Dreamin’ is a 30 minute dark comedy that centers around shady millionaire, Mike and introverted scientist, Tom. Both have secrets, both have problems and both want out.

The play reveals the strained relationship between the two clashing personalities and the emotional turmoil they go through with the news of remaining up in space. It explores themes of isolation, relationships, deception, and survival. Writer Rachel Louise Clark presses that the play has enough light to compliment the dark, resulting in it being a formed dark comedy.

Rachel Louise Clark wrote California Dreamin’ for the 24-Hour Play Festival which raised money for the Liverpool Fringe Festival. She met up with a ‘bunch of strangers’ with 12 hours to write a play that was due to be performed the next day. After staring at her screen for an hour with writer's block looming and dooming, she eventually plucked an idea from the bank of all good ideas. Just like that, her fingers went to work and there was ‘smoke coming from the keyboard’.

Through this amazing experience, Clark met PJ Murray, Liverpudlian director and actor. Murray will be directing the play for the second time as well as starring in it alongside another actor (Anthony). With a venue picked (The Pilgrim), all that’s left is to book tickets and support this original play. Clark says how The Pilgrim is a cracking venue, so audiences will have a brilliant evening regardless if the play isn’t their cup of tea or not (I’m sure it will be).

As per usual, we got to chat with Rachel Louise Clark about California Dreamin’ to get our readers the extra info and scoop. We asked Clark ‘what do you hope audiences will take away in terms of emotions and reflections’. To which she responded:

“I want audiences to put themselves in the shoes of Tom and Mike. I want them to feel immersed in their world and the intensity of being stuck in space with someone they absolutely cannot bear. I want them to look at the situations they’re in, and think, ‘What would I do?’

Rachel added, “Lots of people feel isolated even though we’re more connected than ever before, which is why I set it in space. They’re quite literally disconnected from the whole world. Human connection is something we all want and need, and California Dreamin’ explores what it’s like to be removed from having that.

Setting it in space also gave me the perfect setup to explore their characters, their relationships, and who they are, because they’re able to essentially reinvent themselves if they want to. They could be saying anything, and the other has no way of knowing if that’s true or not. A bit like social media, what you see on Instagram or Facebook, people present polished, edited versions of themselves, but half the time what’s on the surface isn’t always what it seems. “

With the piece being a dark comedy, we wanted to get inside the mind of the writer and find out how they approached the challenge of balancing comedy with the themes of isolation, relationships and survival. This is what Clark said:

“For me it’s all about balance, it’s absolutely key. I try not to go too long without a joke or don’t go overboard with the gags. If you go line after line of jokes, you can lose the weight of the subjects you’re talking about, or it might look like you’re not taking them seriously. But in the same breath I don’t want to make people feel miserable or upset, comedy lets me explore quite deep themes in a light way, and without making people think too much about their own lives.”

At The Creative Wire, we look to support writers, directors, producers and artists in their future projects and ideas. We asked Clark if there are any future projects in the works or any other creative endeavours.

This is what she said:

“I’ve got a few things going on at the minute, I’ve just submitted a 10-minute play to the Royal Court for their Stocking Fillers Christmas show which will be on during December. I was chosen to do it last year with my play, Better Watch Out, so I’ll be absolutely buzzing if I get to do it again.

I’m in the process of redrafting my submission for Theatre Addict. I’ve never written a podcast-play before so I’m enjoying doing that. I’ve also just started a directing course for women and I’m loving it! Really excited to see where I go with it, I feel like writing and directing go hand in hand, so being able to direct my own projects would be incredible.And then finally, I’m down to the final revisions of a full-length play that I’m hoping will be shown next year. In terms of future projects, I’d like to continue with playwriting but try something new like writing a short film or pilot episode for a TV show, maybe a romcom or a drama.”

It seems that this is one busy creative and we wish them the best of luck with The Fringe and with the future. With tickets as cheap as £3, you cannot miss out on this 30 minute performance.

Performances are as follows:

Friday 6th October 2023

Friday 13th October 2023

Showings will be at 18:30 , 20:00 and a showing at 21:00.

Written by, Grace Morrison