Dragon Interview: David Clegg – from Planner to Playwright

Published on: 15 Oct, 2024
Updated on: 17 Oct, 2024

Former Guildford Borough Council town planner David Clegg has written a play, to be performed by the Pranksters Theatre Company at the Back Room of The Star next month. David tells Alice Fowler about his journey from planner to playwright, and how the highs and lows of the planning system inspired his new play, Turbulence.

Welcome, David. Can you tell us about your career as a planner?

I have a long-standing background working in town planning for various local authorities around the South East. At some stage, I decided to retrain and concentrate on the design and conservation aspects of planning, predominantly developments affecting conservation areas and historic buildings, as well as advising on the design of new development.

In 1990, I was lucky to be appointed the Head of the Conservation and Design Team at Guildford Borough Council, which, then, comprised four other staff. This prompted me to move to Guildford where I have resided ever since.

After ten years in the same post, I felt the need to move on to new challenges. I applied and was appointed as Head of Design at Westminster City Council dealing with some of the most important buildings and townscapes in the country, including the Parliamentary Estate, Buckingham Palace and Somerset House. I stayed there for the next 20 years until retirement.

What inspired you to write the play? Does it draw on personal experience?

One of the classic pieces of advice to writers is to write about what you know. So the idea of a play about town planning started to crystallize in my mind.

At the same time, I started to get increasingly frustrated with the portrayal of town planners in film, tv and theatre. They were depicted, generally, as either inept, incompetent or corrupt. This was not my experience at all and I thought it would be interesting to create a drama where the planner was the quiet centre of the play, competent, efficient and morally sound.

Having said that though, it should be pointed out that the play is not about town planning as such, the town planning element provides the background to a family drama exploring issues of love, loss, regret and integrity. The competing planning proposals are the cement that holds the plot together.

What’s your connection to theatre groups and play writing?

I had no real active involvement with theatre groups until I was 30 and moved to Windsor following a “year out” travelling in India. Moving to a new area, it seemed that joining a theatre group would be a good way of meeting new people.

I was lucky that Windsor Arts Centre ran a community theatre group that both taught acting and production skills and put on plays with challenging themes. The Arts Centre soon became a home from home and the centre of my social life. I stayed with that group for 10 years until I moved to Guildford.

I started to get increasingly frustrated with the portrayal of town planners… as either inept, incompetent or corrupt.

In Guildford, I looked around for a theatre group with similar ambitions and came across the Pranksters. I stayed with them for another 10 years, acting and directing plays in the Castle Grounds, the Mill Theatre, the Electric and the old Bellerby Theatre.

When I started my job at Westminster, it became impossible to make the commitment needed and I stepped back from the group.

When I retired in 2021, I re-joined the Pranksters to find that there was only one surviving member from my involvement 20 years before.

You wrote Turbulence 10 years ago – what’s been its path to being performed?

While unable to perform, I was still able to write – something which I have done “on and off” since my early 20’s. Turbulence was written in 2014. At the time, there was fevered anxiety in the rural Shires about the supposed threat of windfarms to the rural landscape and, at the same time, a government committed to creating a sustainable net zero economy.

Something had to give and the Cameron Government gave in and imposed a virtual moratorium on onshore wind farms in 2015. It seemed to me at the time, one of the most spineless decisions by any government (but who was to know what would follow).

The issues were so clear cut and so contentious that I realized I had found the subject matter for my town planning play.

Writing was relatively quick, the basic plot structure was taken from a classic play and the idea of weaving a family saga around a contentious planning proposal allowed for multiple plot strands and character development.

Once written, I arranged a play reading which was instructive. I rebalanced the play by removing some of the town planning scenes and building up the family saga.

There was then a long hiatus while work and family commitments took precedence.

On retirement and having joined the Pranksters, I dusted off the script and persuaded Pranksters to perform it as “a Play in a Day” – a sort of improvised performance with no set or costumes and cast reading from their script.

It seemed to me at the time, one of the most spineless decisions by any government (but who was to know what would follow).

To my surprise, it went really well and it was suggested I should put it forward as a play for the Pranksters to do. It also helped that windfarms, climate change and the net zero carbon economy were once again the subject of fierce debate. One of the first actions of the Starmer government was to remove the moratorium on onshore windfarms.

What’s your involvement in the production, and how does it feel to see your words and ideas brought to life?

I am directing the production which is a big responsibility, but it also gives me and the cast the opportunity to rework certain parts of the play as we rehearse. There have been quite a few changes to “tighten” certain parts of the script. I am fortunate that the cast are all very experienced actors and their input has been vital in bringing the play to life.

How does it feel to see my words on stage – in a word, terrifying.

Some of Turbulence cast. From left to right: Martin Gardner, Oli Bruce, Debbie Lougher, Alex Gold and Joe Hall

What attracts you to play-writing rather than other types of creative writing?

I have always read lots of books from an early age. I remember somebody saying that “reading a book is like taking a holiday” and I have always cherished the ability of books to take you somewhere else.

In my 20s I wrote some freelance journalism on planning, architecture and local history and dabbled with children’s literature. My interest in play-writing first came from my involvement with the Windsor theatre group where one was encouraged to get involved in all parts of theatre production.

I have subsequently written a guide book to Cornwall and have a travel blog that badly needs updating, so writing has always been a part of my life.

It is an entertainment first and foremost. It would be nice if it helps them to view planners in a slightly better light

Have you taken any play-writing courses?

No, I have read some books on play-writing by established playwrights but, perhaps more usefully, I have seen lots of plays and read quite a few scripts over the years. It helps too, to have acted in and directed plays. It is important to understand the dramatic “drive” that any play needs to succeed.

What do you hope audiences will take away from your play?

First, I hope they will enjoy it. It is an entertainment first and foremost. It would be nice if it helps them to view planners in a slightly better light than otherwise might be the case and to appreciate the difficult balancing act that they have to undertake on a daily basis.

Any further plays in the pipeline?

There is another play that I actually wrote 40 years ago about the Luddite rebellion in West Yorkshire. It was written at the time that personal computers were first coming into the workplace amid anxiety that they would decimate the workforce. It occurred to me recently that AI is seen in a very similar light and the play may well be relevant again.

Turbulence runs from November 3-6. Tickets cost £14 from www.thelittleboxoffice.com/pranksterstheatre