Leaving Barrie Behind – An interview with Glyn Jones
By Douglas Foote
Glyn Jones writer of children’s TV series has finally grown up, or so he’d like to think. In taking a new turn in his career, at the age of 76 Glyn has finally entered the world of adults with his new comedy thriller novel Dead On Time, set in London at the end of the swinging sixties. Best known for the children’s TV series The Double Decker’s and an early Doctor Who that’s become a classic, Glyn also had a prodigious career in the theatre, writing, directing and acting until finally retiring in 1997 to Crete.
Working as an actor and a director also helped Glyn in his writing for the stage, Television and Film. Having written over twenty plays, 13 of which have seen production, and at least five musicals with different composers, Glyn has enjoyed success in every aspect of theatre. One being commissioned by Stage Further Productions to create a new musical adaptation of J M Barrie’s classic children’s book Peter Pan, for which Glyn took an unusual angle. Although it is generally accepted that the father doubles with the part of Captain Hook, the role of Mrs Darling can be somewhat sparse with the actress, after the first scene, spending most of her time in the dressing room until the end of the play. In Glyn’s version not only does she get a larger role she also doubles with the part of the crocodile. A sexy Vamp who has a wonderful number in which she sings, “I always get my man” surrounded by a chorus of ‘crockettes’.
It was premiered at Weston-super-mare where Glyn also directed it and the following season at the Isle of Man. It was later released for the amateur market where, it brought the house down - a production was set to take place in the Cayman islands but had to be cancelled as a hurricane literally took the roof off the theatre.
Of course not all of Glyn’s works are for children, in fact far from it, crossing the borders of nearly every genre from Grand Guignol to comedies, thrillers, and drama. It is as a dramatist that Glyn has received some of the best acclaim and undeserved worst reviews.
In 1977 Glyn wrote The 88, a rich and compelling drama tracing the tragic events of the mutiny in India in 1920 of The Connaught Rangers, the 88th regiment of the line, in which 88 mutineers were brought to trial. Seen through the eyes of, Private James Daly, it is a complex story of passion and nationalist feelings amongst the Irish serving in India, which ultimately leads to the sentencing and execution of Private Daly. Based on actual events and characters ‘the 88’ gives a stark and vivid depiction of conditions and feelings of the period.
‘But it all depends on timing,’ says Glyn, ‘it took nearly fourteen years to get this play on at the Old Vic, and 14 nights to come off, and the critics tore it to pieces. Why? Because unfortunately it opened a week after the murder of Lord Louis Mountbatten. Audiences were spell bound by it but the reviews with Lord Louis in mind and ignored the quality of the play.’
But there have been successes too. His all women play Thriller of the Year [published by Samuel French Ltd] has seen countless productions all over the world. About a crime writer coming home to find that someone is trying to kill her using the methods in one of her own books. So what was the idea behind it? ‘After playing in Agatha Christie plays during my days in repertory theatre,’ Glyn laughs, ‘I always found holes in the plots. So I wrote a thriller of my own without any cheats.’
‘A King’s Story, that was one of my rich periods,” he said referring to another success. Under contract for the film producer, Sydney Box, Glyn was seconded to write the screenplay for Columbia Pictures’ Oscar nominated movie about the Duke of Windsor.
The deciding factor to emigrate to the distant shores of Crete, finally came after holidaying on the island. “The thought of spending another winter in Yorkshire sent shivers down my spine,” he said, “although we had a beautiful house, which I still miss, the English winters just dragged on.” Originally born in South Africa of Italian and Welsh parents, Glyn hitchhiked to England at the age of 22, as London was then seen as the Mecca for anyone interested in theatre, arriving with only the clothes on his back and a small amount of money. “At that time in the early fifties, there was very little in the way of opportunities for actors in South Africa, if I wanted a career then London was where I had to be.” He said, “much later of course, we moved out of the rat race of London to Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire, but I suppose the Italian blood in me, just wanted to keep warm. Although I loved it, Yorkshire can be bitterly cold, and I honestly didn’t think I would survive another damp and dreary winter.”
Along with the move to Crete came the urge to write once more. “I’ve always liked the sixties, it was a very creative time for me,” he says “it was a very exciting period in my life. Placing the setting of my latest novel in the sixties allowed me to relive those special moments.” Of course this is a work of fiction he points out, but all writers write from real life experiences, it’s what makes the thing believable, “without that human touch it would be a worthless piece of writing.”
The inspiration for Dead On Time came from going to the beach. ‘Naturally when we first came to Crete, we spent a long time relaxing and settling into the more laidback way of life. If you didn’t you wouldn’t survive for long. But spending all that time on the beach I would comb the second hand bookshop for what I call holiday books, something to read and leave, something really entertaining. After much dross, and a few gems, I thought about the sort of book that I would like to read on holiday, and so my character of Thornton King was born and the book just seemed to write itself.’
It sounds so simple the way he describes it, but has taken nearly three years to get Dead On Time from conception to publication, “and now the fun part is just beginning he says”. On leaving London, and what contacts one had made over the years, it has been difficult in placing the book, along with the thousands of other writers all clamouring for a chance at the proverbial pot of gold. Aware of the new technology taking over the printing and publishing business Glyn decided to self publish his book with Raider International, one of the many new and upcoming print on demand publishers available. “This is the way publishing business seems to be going, and you should always try and keep ahead of latest developments. I’m also looking to release it on the Web.” He claims, although he admits “the internet is still something of a mystery to me.”
So what’s in the future for Glyn, who is already into writing the sequel to Dead On Time “I suppose that depends on Old Father Time,” he adds light-heartedly, “but as long as the ideas keep on rolling, I’ll keep on writing ‘em down”.
