Stolen Ram, the sequel to last year’s critically acclaimed studio drama Pot licker, about what happens when teachers find a bag of drugs in lost property, makes its debut at Lighthouse on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 March.
Produced by Dorchester Arts in association with Lighthouse and written by Ed Viney, actors Monika Brodowska (Zara), Charlie Coldfield (Kris) and Dan Gaisford (Rich) return as the three teachers – more colleagues than friends – as they try to resolve their dilemma while contending with the exigencies of modern teaching.
“To be back in the room with the same actors and then going out on tour, it’s a real joy in fact,” says Ed. “This idea that there was more to be told was definitely there at the end of Pot licker – there’s the body in the boot of the car to deal with, and we still don’t know for sure what’s in the bag.”
This time the story focusses on Zara and she is in deep trouble. Involved with shady, characters motivated only by greed and the pursuit of power, she must find a way out if she’s to salvage what’s left of her teaching career. However, there’s a County Lines gang, and a group of irate sheep farmers who won’t easily forget the bag that she is so desperate to be rid of.
If only Rich and Kris learn how to torch a BMW properly?
Once again, the tensions between the three characters and what makes them tick (and teach), are the real focus of the story and Ed readily admits he has enjoyed finding out what happens to them next.
“As with Pot licker, Stolen Ram is not really about education as such, it’s about the conversation we have about education. Zara is senior management – a teacher who has been promoted out of the classroom – while Kris’ career has gone the other way, from corporate consultancy back to teaching numbers in Maths, and there’s Rich who’s somewhere in the middle. Pot licker was largely his story and this time it’s Zara, so it’s set up for Kris to be the focus of the next story.”
Citing director Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy of comedy films – Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End – as an influence, Ed is keen to emphasise that, similarly, Stolen Ram works as a standalone piece.
“At first I wanted to call it Pot licker 2: Lick Harder, but I was over-ruled, and quite rightly, because Stolen Ram works without having seen Pot licker. We’re visiting venues on this tour that didn’t stage Pot licker.”
Pot licker was the first script to be read in-hand at the first PIPELINE social event for new writing at Lighthouse where scripts are performed by actors to an audience in the Sherling Studio. It subsequently became the first play to be presented as a complete work before going on tour. Stolen Ram will be the first time a play presented at PIPELINE has spawned a sequel. It’s a clear demonstration of the interest in new writing and what can be achieved when new writing is supported.
“We’re very lucky having a venue like Lighthouse that is committed to presenting studio drama,” says Ed. “So many venues are closing their studios because they say they can’t sell drama, but how can they sell something that isn’t there to be seen? Not every show will sell out, but it’s about developing an audience, making more drama available, and growing that audience.
“Other venues are not the competition, the competition is Netflix. Having studios that are geographically quite close kind of extends the run of a play. So, you might not able to see it the night it plays Dorchester, but perhaps you can see it in Weymouth, or in Poole.”
:: Stolen Ram plays Lighthouse Poole on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 March. Tickets available now at https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/event/stolen-ram/ and on 01202 280000.
(NC)