John Byrne returns with Tennis Elbow, a sequel 44 years in the making

The Paisley-born man o’ pairts is equally acclaimed as a painter, playwright and screenwriter; not to mention his accomplishments as an illustrator, a theatre set designer and, perennially, Scotland’s best dressed man. Now in his early-80s, Byrne seems to have excelled in every area of artistic endeavour that he has turned his hand to.

This spring, courtesy of the Covid pandemic, he may be on the brink of ­becoming master of yet another art form, namely, the audio play. Some 44 years after he made his theatrical debut with Writer’s Cramp (a hit at the 1977 ­Edinburgh Fringe starring the stellar trio of Bill Paterson, Alex Norton and John Bett), Byrne has written a sequel, which goes under the title of Tennis Elbow.

With playhouses still closed, and the likelihood that they will be among the very last public institutions to reopen, the new drama (Byrne’s first original play for 13 years) will make its debut, not on stage, but in a very 21st-century ­incarnation of the radio play. That is to say that Tennis Elbow will be broadcast (between April 30 and May 8) on Sound Stage, the “audio-digital platform” ­created in response to the pandemic by Pitlochry Festival Theatre, the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh and Naked Productions.

The new play is not focused primarily on the central protagonist of the earlier drama, the somewhat autobiographical Francis Seneca McDade, “an aspiring writer and would be artist from Paisley.” Rather, it takes as its central figure Pam, McDade’s estranged wife, who is also a writer and a painter.

The world premiere boasts a truly brilliant cast. The superb Kirsty Stuart (above) leads the line as Pam. She is joined by some of the most illustrious names in the Scottish acting profession, including: Maureen Beattie, Brian Ferguson, Jessica Hardwick and Sally Reid.

The play, which is told in flashbacks, unfolds the story of Pam’s often difficult progress through life, including time in both boarding school and prison.

For Stuart, being asked to take on the role was nothing short of a joy. “It was a thrill to know that he’s still writing and it’s still brilliant,” she says.

“In that classic John way, the play has these great, big, long sentences, and these long, convoluted thoughts. They’re wonderful because they take you away from the modern world that we live in where everything is quick information. He writes big, almost classical speeches.”

In fact, Stuart, whose screen ­credits include Outlander and Closing the Ring, ­remembers having a moment of real ­anxiety when she was almost overwhelmed by the excellence of Byrne’s writing. “I suddenly had a massive ­panic,” she recalls.

“I thought, ‘I can’t suddenly just start recording this, I need four weeks’ rehearsal… I don’t want to mess this up, this is John Byrne. I’ve got to do it ­justice.’”

It wasn’t long, however, before she got down to brass tacks. This is theatre ­(albeit audio-digital theatre) after all, and, as Shakespeare tells us, “the play’s the thing”.

As she got deeper into Byrne’s drama, Stuart found it “touching” to reflect on the fact that her character was first created more than 40 years ago. However, she explains, it’s important that she, as an actor, doesn’t allow that history to weigh too heavily upon her.

“When it comes to the playing of it,” she comments, “you just have to play the character.” Everything around the ­history of Writer’s Cramp and Byrne’s career between 1977 and today “isn’t ­really playable”.

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“It’s nice,” Stuart continues, “to have warm thoughts” about Byrne’s artistic life and how the character of Pam fits into all of that. “Ultimately, however, you just have to play her and what’s on the page.”

The actor’s respect for Byrne the writer extends to Byrne the man. “John’s just possibly the coolest man that you’re ever going to meet,” she says.

“He met my boys a couple years ago [when they were aged six and four], a pair of wild little boys, and they were mesmerised by him… He’s got that kind of aura about him.”

Given that respect, it goes without saying that Stuart, her fellow cast members and director Elizabeth Newman have done everything they can to make their production of Tennis Elbow a first class piece of audio drama. “Elizabeth is very keen that the work that’s being produced is solid art,” says Stuart.

“It’s not just a case of saying ‘oh, we’re shut down at the moment, let’s just chuck stuff online frivolously’. Elizabeth felt very strongly that, whilst the parameters have changed massively for theatre, we can still do something that’s worthy of everyone’s time.”

WHICH is not to say that, having recorded Tennis Elbow as an audio play, Stuart wouldn’t jump at the chance to perform it live on stage in the future.

“Oh my God, yes! Absolutely! Radio, TV and film are all valid mediums, all fantastically thrilling in their own ways,” the actor comments. “Yet, nothing compares to sitting in a theatre, whether it’s with 12 other people or 200. It’s happening right now, it’s happening in front of me, and there is a collective experience happening.

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“I wouldn’t pay 25 quid to sit in the stalls at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow to hear people speak the way that they would in the queue at Tesco,” Stuart continues. “John’s way of writing is heightened, stylised and poetic. It’s typically John.”

Byrne’s writing style is, as Stuart ­observes, instantly recognisable. We can identify it almost immediately, just as we can pinpoint the distinctive style of a sculptor like Henry Moore or a painter like, well, John Byrne.

Tennis Elbow is streamed on the Sound Stage platform, April 30 to May 8: pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com