A Conversation With Liverpool Playwright

Gerry Linford

Since 2018 Gerry has been the most prolific playwright in Liverpool. The recent Haunted Scouse was his sixth play at Liverpool’s Royal Court, he has put on close to 200 shows and to date, his work has been seen by over 100,000 people.

Highlights include The Miracle of Great Homer Street which starred Les Dennis and Andrew Schofield, Ellen and Rigby with Schofield again, and Lindzi Germain- this play re-opening Liverpool theatres following the pandemic- and the afore-mentioned Haunted Scouse which featured Brookside favourite Mickey Starke (Sinbad) playing alongside his real-life wife, Lyn Francis.

His plays have all been comedies but with an emotional warmth leaving audiences with food for thought.

He currently has two new plays in development.

Prior to becoming a professional writer, Gerry spent twenty-five years supporting people with substance misuse problems. This work took place in rehabs, hospitals, prisons, and street agencies. He has continued this involvement to some extent by offering creative writing and film-making workshops to various organisations and charities.

For the past nine years, Gerry has also worked at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) where he is a Senior Lecturer.

NSG’s Billy Vitch sat down with Gerry for a natter about his life and work and to find out what makes him tick.

Billy: Good morning, Gerry and how are you, what have you been doing today so far and how’s that going?

Gerry: Hiya mate. I’m sound. Had a nice easy morning- game of Padel Ball, it’s like a cross between tennis and squash, and then a lovely swim. Went out on my bike to visit my dad and then came home to do some gardening. Life is pretty chilled at the moment – I had a hectic start to the year, and I know I’ve got a busy time ahead of me so I’m taking it easy while I can.

Billy: So where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? Do you think your background has influenced your writing in any way?

Gerry: I was born in Bootle and spent the first nine years of my life living in Kirkdale. I had a fantastic childhood. I’m the eldest of ten kids so we were the classic example of poor but happy. There was always someone to play with, books and comics everywhere, music being played, stories being told. Lots of football in the street, the usual stuff. It was busy, funny, and upbeat. We moved to Ellesmere Port and that felt like going on holiday- it was a brand-new Council Estate and all the families used to muck in together. We were all in the same boat and wanted to make it work. It might sound bizarre now, but it genuinely felt like a Utopian Paradise. In terms of it influencing my writing, I suppose I do have an optimistic view of family life and I strive to create a warmth and comfort similar to what I’ve always known.

Billy: Since 2018 you have put on close to 200 shows and to date, your work has been seen by over 100,000 people. That’s some record! How did it all begin, like how did you become a playwright? It’s not the most conventional career path, is it?

Gerry: I don’t know whether there is a conventional career path. We all seem to take roundabout routes to get where we’re going and there is an element of fate, destiny and good luck involved, in whatever we do. I always wanted to be a writer. I’m an avid reader and consumer of stories- whether that be in literature, film or theatre. I had an English teacher, Judith Powditch, who recognised my potential and encouraged me to go further. I did well at school and then University, but I was probably too erratic in my lifestyle to have the discipline I now know is necessary to be a writer. It was only many years later when I finally calmed down that I could pursue my dream. The first play I wrote was a runner-up in the Hope Playwriting Prize but two of the judges were Les Dennis and Kevin Fearon, the producer of Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre. They both loved the play and wanted to do it. The rest is history! I think the buzz from that experience was so intense I couldn’t help but want it to continue- so since then, I’ve been knocking out pretty much a play every year. We obviously had the pandemic when all the theatres and entertainment venues were shut- but I was very fortunate in that the Royal Court chose to re-open with my play Ellen and Rigby.

(Les Dennis in The Miracle of Great Homer Street)

Billy: Before becoming a professional writer, you spent twenty-five years supporting people with substance misuse problems. This work took place in rehabs, hospitals, prisons, and street agencies. Can I ask you what made you want to do that work? I’m aware that you’re still involved in this work to some degree, could you tell us more about what you do and why this subject is so obviously important to you?

Gerry: Like I say there is always an element of fate, destiny at play. I never had any desire as a kid to work in the field I ended up spending so much time in. I kind of stumbled into it by accident, but once there I recognized an affinity with the service users and cultivated a genuine desire to help improve people’s lives. Addiction is a curse of the modern world. Problems created by substance misuse have such a negative impact on society- destroying families, communities, and individuals. Aside from the strain on the Health Service and the Criminal Justice System, my belief is that excessive drug or alcohol use robs people of their potential. It’s a national con-trick which is largely played on the working classes. Make people believe they need to be off their heads to enjoy themselves. People think alcohol, for example, makes you more relaxed, more confident, more socially open. This isn’t true. I stopped drinking fifteen years ago and have never felt so relaxed. Simplifying your life is the answer. Since I’ve become a professional writer and University lecturer, I have less time to help out at the organisations I’ve been involved with in the past, but when I can, I offer writing groups, drama workshops and so on- the idea being that you can fill your time with a constructive, creative endeavour. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not at all evangelical. Some of the best times in my life were spent when I was drinking, but it did have a shelf life. Drinking and drug use was great in my twenties and thirties- I loved the unpredictable spontaneity of everything- beyond that though, it caused more problems than benefits. People have to make their own choices, but speaking from my own experience, life is better with clarity and focus.

Billy: I noticed that you tend to use real scousers in your plays, with famous names like Les Dennis, Andrew Schofield, Lindzi Germain and Mickey Starke (Sinbad) from the hit 80s Liverpool TV show Brookside starring in them. Can I ask why you tend to use scouse actors as opposed to actors from other areas?

Gerry: It’s a matter of authenticity. If a character is from Liverpool, then it’s natural that you would use an actor from Liverpool. We’re very lucky that we’re blessed with so much amazing talent in our area. I don’t use Liverpool actors exclusively though. My play Macca and Beth featured three actors from Scotland (Karen Young, Gordon Kane and Andrea Miller) as well as Jamie Smelt from Hull and Jerome Ngonadi from London. If the part requires a very specific geographical location, we will do everything we can to find the right person.

Billy: Did you find it hard transitioning from your previous profession to professional writer, and was it hard to get a foot in the door and be taken seriously as a writer?

Gerry: The foot in the door was the first play. Frank Cottrell Boyce gave me some very simple advice once when I asked him what was his best tip to get started. He said, ‘Write something good’. When I wrote The Miracle of Great Homer Street, I can say with sincere modesty- I knew it was good, I knew it would open doors. I’m not really worried about being taken seriously as a writer. As you say, thousands of people have been to see my plays over the past six years. I have self-respect and the respect and love of my family so that is genuinely all I need. Having said that, it is nice when you hear crowds laughing at something you’ve written or witnessing a standing ovation from a packed theatre. It’s a unique kind of buzz and one I’m glad I discovered at this stage of my life. In terms of transitioning from my previous role to the current one? We all move on; we all make changes. Being able to adapt is a skill necessary for survival. It also helps that my current life is so much fun.

(The late great Liverpool actor Jake Abraham in The Miracle of Great Homer Street, Credit: Chris Birchall)

Billy: Your plays like The Miracle of Great Homer Street and Haunted Scouse are all based in Liverpool and are largely comedic but always have an emotional warmth to them. Can I ask you what it is about Liverpool as a city that attracts you as a writer, and also what attracted you to writing comedy, was there anyone who specifically influenced you as a comedy writer?

Gerry: Liverpool is a place brimming with story potential. My plays have characters who are resilient, loyal, sympathetic, and funny. I write about the city because I know it, because I love it. In terms of my influences, it’s funny because I was thinking about this the other day. For some reason, despite being very much a Liverpool Catholic, I have always been drawn to New York, Jewish comedy voices. Something about the fast-talking, character-driven, self-deprecating rat-a-tat really tickles me. My heroes are people like Neil Simon, Woody Allen, George S Kaufman, Mel Brooks and Groucho Marx. I suppose there are often comparisons between the two cities, so it makes sense that these are the people who initially made me laugh. Then you add to this mix the Northern sensibilities of Alan Bennett and Caroline Aherne, throw in the zaniness of Spike Milligan and top it off with the grit of Galton and Simpson. This is a very vivid and eclectic comedy profile. I’d be flattering myself if I said any of my work stacked up against such heavyweights, obviously it doesn’t, but you have to keep striving. I don’t know if any of these writers, or indeed the many others I haven’t mentioned have influenced me directly, but they have all contributed to the development of my sense of humour.

Billy: When you started out, what was your vision, and did you ever think you’d have the kind of success that you have had?

Gerry: Honestly, I’ve never had a vision, or indeed a plan of any kind. I just take things as they come. I must admit the success has been a great surprise and it’s had lots of knock-on bonuses. One of the highlights of putting all these shows on is that I’ve had a great time re-connecting with old friends and making lots of new ones. Theatre is such an intimate, social experience so basically, we’ve had some fabulous parties over the past few years. I’ve seen loads of family and friends on a regular basis whom under normal circumstances I would probably only see at funerals. That’s the kind of success that means more than anything to me.

Billy: Name three artists/musicians we should be listening to.

Gerry: My favourite album this year has to be The Quiet Portraits by John Canning Yates. It’s such a beautiful piece of work, haunting and elegiac. I love the fact that it’s on the Violette label too. They’ve been such a breath of fresh air to the Liverpool Arts scene over the past ten years or so. I’ve even done a couple of spoken word gigs for them myself. John is the former frontman of Ella Guru, a very much under-rated band, and this solo album came totally out of the blue. Everyone should listen to it. The band I am listening to the most at the moment are The Lemon Twigs, two brothers from New York who play this bouncy, 60s-infused, melodic, harmony driven pop. I love them and can’t wait to see them in September. Everyone should definitely listen to them. Finally, I would like to give a call-out to Professor Yaffle. These guys have been around a long time- in fact, I remember seeing them with you Billy at The Magnet many years ago! I think their songs, musicianship and quiet determination should have a much bigger audience. They’ve got a career retrospective collection coming out soon, hopefully, that will do the business for them. So, there are my three tips: John Canning Yates, The Lemon Twigs and Professor Yaffle.

Billy: If you could sit down for dinner with any three people from history, past or present, who would they be and why?

Gerry: David Bowie, obviously. I feel so lucky that in the whole history of the universe, we have been alive at the same time as him. His body of work has been a constant in my life for fifty years and will nurture me for the rest of my days. I will never tire of listening to Bowie. Joining DB, I would add a recent discovery of mine. The Belgian film-maker Agnes Varda is not exactly a household name, but she is absolutely fascinating. I first encountered her in 2017 when she made a brilliant documentary called Faces Places. I dug deeper and found a short doc she made in the ’60s about the Black Panthers. She didn’t just make documentaries though. Some of her narrative films, such as Le Bonheur (Happiness) are stunning. Added to her work she has an amazing back story. Agnes was one of only four mourners at Jim Morrison’s funeral in Paris in 1971, she was a huge influence on Martin Scorsese and listed Madonna, Catherine Deneuve, and Jean-Luc Godard among her close friends. A brilliant woman. Bowie and Varda both produced eclectic and diverse bodies of work and there may be a danger that my dinner party would drift into intellectual point scoring and name-dropping, so to keep things grounded the third guest would be the Liverpool comedian Eddie Flanagan. Modern comedy has its critics and, in many cases, rightly so, but Eddie Flanagan is a fantastic advert for the old school. I think he would have me, David and Agnes in bulk all night.

(Mickey Starke in Haunted Scouse)

Billy: Liverpool FC or Everton FC?

Gerry: Everton! I grew up five minutes walk from the ground in a family of fanatical, die-hard blues. My Auntie Sarah lived in Gwladys Street. Everton have always been a big part of my life. I had a season ticket for most of the 70s and all of the 80s– but I got married and started having kids in 1989 and perspectives and priorities changed then. To be fair, football also changed then. I’m not a huge admirer of the modern era- Sky, the Premier League, agents, FFP, VAR etc. It’s a far cry from when me and my brother would go to Stamford Bridge for a midweek League Cup tie on the spur of the moment with about a fiver between us, or when we went to West Ham away in the afternoon and then on to see The La’s in London later that night without having to take out a second mortgage. I went to the gym the other night and I was in the sauna afterwards. A few Evertonians in their 30s were chatting, but it was all 777, MSP, loans, accountants, capital, stadium build, restructuring, administration and so on. I thought to myself ‘The game’s gone.’ Being an Evertonian though, I do possess the characteristic that we all share. A blind optimism and stoic belief that we will come good again one day. Here’s hoping!

Billy: How is the rest of 2024 looking for you and what else do you have in the pipeline?

Gerry: As I said earlier, I have a busy time ahead of me. I’m moving house this summer and there is an element of uncertainty about that. Plus, there is all the physical and emotional upheaval of moving on after living in the same place for twenty-odd years. Added to this, later this year one of my daughters is getting married, so there is a lot going on. In terms of writing, I have two very specific projects I’m working on. Both plays- hopefully one of them will be on at the Royal Court next year. I can’t give too much away but it is a comedy with a Liverpool institution very much at the centre of it. The second one is something of a departure for me. It’s a historical piece set in the 50s and 60s. This one is not exactly a comedy but will deal with social and political issues. I will be conducting research/doing interviews/studying archives and so on- hopefully developing the project with a view to production in 2026. Aside from these two very specific plays which are fully in development now, I have a couple of embryonic projects which I’m scratching away at. These include a novel and a TV series. Watch this space!

Interview by Billy Vitch