2018: The Trial of John Little

AWW:  Since I first interviewed you, you've written several audio dramas (including the excellent Dorian Gray / Sherlock Holmes Christmas  crossover special I listened to again last night). How is writing for  audio drama different from writing for comics or other media? 

TL:      The biggest issue is that it's all descriptive, but with audio you can't show what's there via the eyes, you need to ensure that the sounds describe whats going on, that the characters talk about what's happening, but at the same time don't say things like 'wow, look at the tall man over there holding the banner. It says 'go away'. Because we don't talk like that, and that sounds fake.

         So you find yourself relying on slow, drip-fed information that gets put into the scene. And hoping that the actors sound sufficiently different as to not confuse the listener!

AWW:    I also loved your new "The Trial of John Little" audio drama. You'd mentioned previously how important the original Robin of Sherwood TV  series had been to you. How did you come to be involved in the new audio  continuation? 

TL:      I was asked. Simple as that. Barnaby Eaton-Jones was looking for writers and contacted a friend and fellow writer, Gary Russell about doing a story, and asked if he knew anyone who could also pitch for it. Gary had directed the Bernice Summerfield audios I did and was involved with the Dorian Gray one, so he put my name forward.

         Barnaby contacted me, asked if I had any ideas, we talked about what he was looking for and he said he wanted a Michael Praed story that was something Clive Mantle could really get his teeth into - and so I pitched the Trial, purely as a chance for Clive to let go a little.

AWW: I liked your exploration of Little John's past (including a quick reference to Little John's other "real name"). How did you come to devise the story for "Trial"? And I understand you original pitched  another idea -- traces of which I think survive in Robin's subplot. Can  you share anything about that original idea? 

TL:      Actually there wasn't another pitch - just the Trial. I'd always wanted to know what happened to John before he was freed, and I wondered whether John would, or rather whether he would rather never learn. When I was 21 I had an accident that left me with three months of short term memory forever lost, and I looked to that to start this. What if the police arrested me for a murder, performed during that time? I wouldn't know whether I did it or not. And for John, it was a similar tale. Would he want to win the trial, or did he feel he should be blamed?

         The other part was the fact that I could make this a story set right before the finale - I always hated that Robin seemed to give up at the end, and this was a way to pre-empt this, and give Robin (one) more of a send off, and to show that not only was he prepared to die, but actively expected it that day. Some of this had to be removed though because of actors not being around; I had a long conversation between Robin and his father about being the guardian, but a lot of that was folded into a talk with Herne.

AWW: What elements make Robin of Sherwood distinctive from other Robin Hood tales -- including your own work on Outlaw? 

TL:      The spiritualism in the forest, for me. Other stories just go 'forest = haunted' and that's it. With RoS there was magic. And Horned Gods. And Magic Swords. And witches. And Demons. And even the Devil. And meanwhile we have everything else that people love from the legends. It was done in such a way that when Robin (one) dies, we understand how Robin (two) can take the role. It's a position more than a person.

          I tried to put this into Outlaw - I also added pieces from Peter Howarth's West End show 'Robin - Prince of Sherwood' - and I managed both again in the audio.