Q&A with Stephen Jones – Falling to Earth – My Summer with Bowie

We had the chance to put some questions to writer/ actor Stephen Jones about Falling To Earth – My Summer with Bowie. You can see the results below…

FALLING TO EARTH – My Summer With Bowie By Eugene O’Brien – Starring Stephen Jones

Verdant Productions has announced the highly anticipated nationwide tour of FALLING TO EARTH – My Summer With Bowie by Eugene O’Brien, following its sold-out premiere at the Dublin Theatre Festival. 

How did you become involved in this project? Did you audition or were you asked?

I didn’t have to audition for this one. I had worked with the producer many times, so thankfully, they were able to convince the director and writer that I was the man for the job. They had both seen me act over the years, so we met for a cuppa, and once I showed them that I had a handle on the Midlands accent (being a Dubliner), any fears they may have had were eased.

You are touring 8 different locations on this tour, including Cork, Waterford and Belfast. Are you touring alone, or do you travel as part of a team? Do you enjoy these tours?

My stage manager, Niamh, will be with me the whole time, and I’m sure the director and producer may drop in to some of the venues. It’s great to play in different towns and different theatres. It’s a great privilege to share the work with as many audiences as possible, so I really enjoy it.

The piece is written by Eugene O’Brien, who, in my mind, is one of Ireland’s most underrated writers. What did you think when you first read the script? 

I’ve always been a big fan of Eugene. Before I’d ever met him, ‘Eden’ was one of my favourite plays and ‘Pure Mule’ remains one of my favourite television series. This might seem like a real backwards compliment, but it’s meant to highlight his genius. When I first read the script, I thought ‘ah yeah, nice little yarn’ but then I read it out loud and started to find Scut Kelly’s voice, the humour, the drama, the nuance, the storytelling, and the genuine human emotion of the piece revealed itself to me. Like I suspected it would. Eugene is a master of saying everything with very little. Like all good playwrights, he understands economy of language and leaves so much room for an actor to bring character out.

The piece is about meeting your hero, in this case, David Bowie, and how your preconceptions can differ from reality. What artist would you be most intimidated to meet? Or would it be Bowie for you also?

Not to try to sound too cool but I don’t think meeting any artist would intimidate at this stage of my life. I’ve met some really famous people in the past and I know some people who have recently become super famous. I think that what Scut discovers in the course of this play is that even an ‘Icon’ like Bowie has the same hopes and fears as the rest of us. And it’s a good lesson. We can have huge admiration for people and for artists, but putting people on a pedestal isn’t the way to go.

Wherever I see your name, I think back to the first time I saw you in Theatre Upstairs. What do you think Dublin lost with the closing of this theatre, focusing on new work?

I think a little bit of my generation’s heart broke with the passing of Karl Shiels and the closing of Theatre Upstairs. It launched the writing/acting/designing careers for lots of people. It was a place to try new work and to experience the professional scene. I was established as a theatre actor before I worked there, but as a writer, I staged my first two professional plays at TU and without the space, I don’t know if they would have seen the light of day. One of them, ‘Northern Lights’ went on to become a television series, so I owe so much to that place. I think my pal Rex Ryan and his wife Migle, are doing fantastic work at Glass Mask Theatre. It has a similar ethos to Theatre Upstairs but also includes productions of established scripts as well as staging brand new work. I’ve said for years that Irish Theatre culture needs to focus on more new work. The more venues/companies that get behind that idea, the more the audiences will want to see new plays.

Do you suffer from opening night nerves?

I get nervous before every performance, to be honest, and usually it disappears as soon as I step on stage. I think it’s very useful for energy and for feeling excited to get out there and perform. Many times I’ve said to myself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ five minutes before heading out on stage, but once out there, it’s my favourite place in the world. I recently had a health scare, which has made me more anxious about getting back performing, but I am trying to remember how lucky I am to be able to take an audience on a journey with me.

Verdant Productions has announced the highly anticipated nationwide tour of FALLING TO EARTH – My Summer With Bowie by Eugene O’Brien, following its sold-out premiere at the Dublin Theatre Festival. 

Viking Theatre , Clontarf – Mon 12th – Sat 31st May
Theatre Royal, Waterford  – Wed 4th –  Thurs 5th June
Everyman Cork – Fri 6th June
Axis, Ballymun – Sat 7th June
Civic Theatre, Tallaght – Wed 11th June
DLR Mill Theatre, Dundrum – Thurs 12th & Fri 13th June
Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray – Sat 14th June
Lyric Theatre, Belfast – Thurs 19th – Sat 21st June