28 Days Later... Day 6: David Byrne
Thursday 6th February 2014
There's no doubt that American comedy is going through a golden-age. From Curb Your Enthusiasm, to 30 Rock, Modern Family and the US Office, our Stateside half-brothers and sisters are perfecting the formula for moreish, snappy and tightly woven scripted comedy. And, it's also very very funny.
I've been to a few meetings with production companies who have asked for things "in a more US style". Which I take to mean: with a better story, higher joke count and more complex plot.
In my humble opinion, we're fine on jokes over here. We can do those. It's story and plot where we're falling down. I read quite a few new and in development scripts and often the story and plotting is either predictable from page five and you have to watch it joylessly unfold with no surprises or, worse, plot doesn't appear until page fifteen.
Go back to your box sets and watch the Yanks at work: they have to kick off plot straight away - after all, they've only got 20 minutes to get from beginning to end.
I had a note from a big production company recently: "I'm on page two of your script and still no plot". At first I was slightly frustrated, but try it. Cut it all back. Start it with a real firework and see the results - it turned my script, the one they were commenting on, into a more compelling and dynamic piece of writing.
David Byrne, Artistic and Executive Director, New Diorama Theatre