Little Lark of London

This Is Memorial Device, based on the book by David Keenan, has arrived at Riverside Studios. Adapted and Directed by Graham Eatough, the show tells “the fictional history of 1980s Airdrie’s mysterious, post-punk legends.” Recently, Little Lark of London had the opportunity to talk with Eatough about This is Memorial Device. We discussed how he got started in theatre, what inspired him to adapt Keenan’s work and what he hopes audiences take away from the show.

How did you become a director and adapter for performance?

I started off as an actor and then became a director with the theatre company Suspect Culture. I work a lot with collaborators from different disciplines – music and visual arts as well as theatre – and that often involves adapting or being inspired by existing works, whether that’s Alasdair Gray’s novel Lanark which I worked on with writer David Greig or Anthony Burgess’ Enderby novels that I adapted with artist Stephen Sutcliffe.

What inspired you to adapt This is Memorial Device?

I saw the book in my local bookshop and thought it looked intriguing, not knowing anything about it. I loved the small town setting and the incredible cast of characters with their crazy stories. The way it talks about music but also just creativity and art more generally is, in itself, brilliantly creative and inventive.

For those unfamiliar with This is Memorial Device, could you tell us what it is about?

It’s the story of a fictional 80’s band from Airdrie (a small post-industrial town outside of Glasgow) from the points of view of different characters who were all involved or affected in some way by their brief existence. But through these stories the novel creates a whole world that is at the same time fantastical but painfully accurate, utterly hilarious and incredibly moving. The show is about the power those experiences can still have later in life and what you can do with those memories and feelings in the present.

What is it like adapting a novel for the stage, particularly those you have a tendency to go for that are considered “unadaptable”?

There’s lots you have to leave out! The main thing is finding a focus from all the different material that can communicate to an audience in a meaningful way across an evening in the theatre. So it’s a process of selection and amplification in a way. For Memorial Device the key was realising that it’s the narrator Ross Raymond’s story and discovering what it is he hopes to achieve with a room full of people who have gathered in the theatre with him.

What do you hope audiences take away from This is Memorial Device?

Something affirmative. An endorsement of the transformative power of saying…

How would you describe This is Memorial Device in one word?

…YES!

The award-winning, critically acclaimed play This is Memorial Device is directed and adapted by Graham Eatough from the cult novel by David Keenan and stars Paul Higgins (The Thick of It, Line of Duty, Slow Horses, The Simpsons). It comes to Riverside Studios London from 23 April – 11 May. Tickets available at www.riversidestudios.co.uk