This week's RTÉ Drama On One podcast is Mixed Future by Arthur Sheridan - it's the story of three generations of women and their relationship with love. Listen to Mixed Future above.
We follow the stories of Pauline and Tony, Pauline’s mother, Monica, and Pauline’s daughter, Emma. These three strands intertwine, with hope for more than a mixed future.
Writer Arthur Sheridan describes how fragments of the past wrote themselves into Mixed Future.
When I was a teenager in school, I worked in a pub in the city centre as a lounge boy five nights a week. Two old guys used to come in every night drinking pints of Guinness and jemmys and pep. One night I heard one complain about the wife. Was complaining about the money he said. 'Said I wasn’t giving her enough. So, I gave her a good hiding. Got a lovely dinner the next day.'
I tried to imagine that household. And how no-one else would have ate so he could have a nice dinner. I tried to work out how she managed it while he was drinking all the money. This was the beginning of the seed for Mixed Future.
I often hear of lovely people dying. Leaving loads of children while horrible bastards roam the streets causing grief and harm. I thought what if I could reverse this. Where the horrible got their comeuppance and the downtrodden eventually triumphed. Never in real life does this happen, but this is fiction so I can do what I like.
Lauren Larkin and Angeline Ball
Also, I added in elements on marriage breakup. I watched my parents’ marriage fall apart. And some siblings' marriages the same in the noughties. And the men, although not perfect, seemed to get a very bad deal. Some of whom ended up homeless. It was no picnic for the women either. Some of whom had to return to work and/or study. There was never enough money, and everybody struggled. Often the kids felt they weren’t getting enough attention and started acting up. Divorce can be a confusing time for all.
One thing I began to discover is I write women well and I think the teenager Emma worked out particularly well. I think the trick to writing women is probably to write them like a sensitive man with less ego and aggression. That’s not to say women can’t be aggressive but I work for women mostly and it’s much more relaxed than I’m used to. The menopause can be devastating for some women. Pauline shows some signs of perimenopause with her loss of libido and patience with her husband. Where the lack of energy is a typical symptom of male middle age, as is putting on weight around the middle. As a couple they seem too young to be in decline, but it could be the beginning. We should really talk more about these things. Maybe someone will write a play about it some day.
Mixed Future, written by Arthur Sheridan and directed by Jessica Dromgoole will be broadcast in the Drama On One slot on RTÉ Radio 1 at 8pm on Sunday, 9 April, with a cast that includes Clare Dunne, Angeline Ball, Stephen Jones and Lauren Larkin, with an original percussion score by Robbie Harris and sound design by Ruth Kennington. Listen to more from the Drama On One podcast here.
