Talking To: Owen and George

Owen and George are the writers and creators behind Square, a new Bristol-based drama which follows four young people and deals with themes of mental health, university, sexuality and left-wing activism in the city.

We spoke with Owen and George about what their influences are, why they chose to depict left-wing activism in television and why their drama will never be preachy!

Have you both always been interested in scripting and creating works for TV and/or film? Behind the camera rather than in front of?

Owen: It’s always been an interest of mine, but it’s only recently that I have pursued it. I grew up drawing a lot, wanting to be the next Matt Groening, then I wanted to be a rock star, then I realised that deep down all I wanted to do was tell stories. I particularly loved watching Doctor Who. The classic series always fascinated me, but it was Russell T Davies era of the show that made me fall in love with it. I wanted to write drama like that. I always used to daydream ideas and play out scenes and characters in my head.

It’s only recently that I’ve felt able to write stories. I am dyslexic, which is why drawing, music and film/TV were what drew me into this world. I grew up struggling to read books, but in the last year or so I have pushed myself to improve, and I can now write scripts and novels confidently. I can finally put the images that have been in my head for years down onto a document for others to read and get lost in. Even though I didn’t used to write them down, I was always making up stories inside my head and now that I’m able to do it properly, I know it’s the right career path for me. Stories are where I am happiest because I can escape from the real world and make another world for others to enjoy.

George is also an actor, but I don’t think I could ever see myself in front of the camera. One of the reasons I love writing for theatre and screen is because I love seeing actors reading my lines and getting invested in my story. It’s one of the best feelings imaginable. I am quite a shy person and a lot of my work is very personal to me, so having my work out there is kind of my way to connect with the world. I love writing for novels and theatre scripts as well, but I think television drama is where my heart lies. I hope that after we make this pilot, others will fall in love with Square and we can get commissioned.

 Did you both meet at university? What was your experience like?

Owen: I went to university quite late. I went there in 2017 as a mature student to study Creative Writing, after working for a few years as a care worker. The reason I went there was to learn how to get my stories written to a more professional standard. I’d written a short film just before I started the course – partly for a bit of fun, but also as a way to prove that I was very serious about getting my ideas out there. I found two actors online, one of whom was George, and the rest is history! George and I kept in touch, we became friends, he acted in my stage musical and when I had the idea for Square, I immediately got him on board. So although George wasn’t at university at the time I was, he was the first person I met in Bristol and was very much a big part of my university journey. And whilst working on Square, we got together as boyfriends!

 What TV and/or film influences you in your work?

Owen: I would say Doctor Who is my biggest influence. I am a big fan of Russell T Davies’ work. I am also a huge fan of Sally Wainwright’s Last Tango in Halifax. I also loved the Sherlock series by Steven Moffatt. Basically, I love drama that is predominantly character-driven. A story with a nice balance of humour, melancholy themes that hit you in the gut. It’s a good bonus if there’s a fantasy or science fiction element sprinkled on top, though obviously that’s not essential!

I tend to be more into British drama, and I love little gems such as All The Small Things which was shown on BBC in 2009, which referenced my favourite music genre. I think the reason I prefer British drama is that it tends to be a bit more understated; in a British TV show, you can have quite a quaint scene where two characters talk to each other in a real way, without too much hostility or trying to force through a storyline. Though having said that, I do enjoy some American shows such as Stranger Things and Breaking Bad, because they are really engaging stories and prioritise character development.

 Tell us a little bit about SQUARE; how did it come about? What has the process been like? Is this your first TV project?

Owen: I always wanted to write a gritty drama with relatable characters, and I thought there was a gap in the market for a show based on young people at University. This was because I felt that apart from the odd sitcom, we don’t really get that much of a perspective on student life on television. In drama, we tend to see people either in school, sixth form or in the workplace; we don’t see the middle part, which amazes me as University is such a great setting for a drama, there are such a lot of stories to tell and so many different character perspectives to see it from. But Square is not just a youth show; although the four main characters are young, it also has many non-students involved - some as lecturers, police officers, mental health workers and sometimes just friends. George and I made sure it was a show that anyone could enjoy and connect with – one of my favourite scenes in the first episode deals with the friendship between a young arts student and an elderly Holocaust survivor, and that’s sort of the idea here. The original concept was about love, a love square instead of a love triangle, and although that’s still a big part of the show it has now developed into something on a much grander scale. When George came on board, he suggested that the main characters could be left-wing activists, which has given the show a cool political angle to it and allowed us to write more topical subjects.

The process has been a mixture of all kinds of emotions. We have days when we’re jumping for joy, other days when we have huge arguments. There have been wonderful moments when George and I have walked the streets of Bristol, discussing the characters as if they are real people, because they do feel real to us now. We sometimes discuss the plots of the show, but my favourite moments are when we’re just wandering around Bristol together and pointing out locations, and saying ‘that’s where Trixie made her speech’ or there’s the chip shop where Justin and Colin had their first date that wasn’t a real date’, coming up with more ideas of what will happen to these characters that we have created together and feel like our friends now.

Two years ago we made a promo video for the show, which is where we found the first four actors, all of whom fitted the parts incredibly well. Then last year during lockdown, we found the rest of the cast and did a Zoom readthrough. That was what motivated us to crack on with the pilot episode really; all of our actors were perfect, and we wanted to make it whilst they still looked like the characters. 

What inspired you to create a drama based on left-wing activism?

George - I’ve been involved in various forms of protest since I was 17, which was when the tuition fee demonstrations kicked off. I kind of got roped into it just because all my friends were doing it, but after the fuss had died down I found I still had a taste for it. I was meeting some really interesting people and reading a lot, and I came to realise how many cruel injustices there are in the world. I think I was always going to realise this though – I’m of the generation that was in primary school when the Iraq War started, I remember talking about it in the dinner line and wondering how the world had been screwed up so badly! I think everyone would like to fight for a better world deep down – they’re just not always that inspired to figure out how to do so.

Owen likes to credit me with making it about left-wing activism, and whilst my own experiences undoubtedly have played a big part in where we’ve gone with this, I always say that that element was always there. In the early draft that Owen showed me, it was very clear that this was a very current show about a group of people who are frustrated with the circumstances they’ve found themselves in, people who would like to build and create something better. I just suggested that we could make that message more explicit, because it’s an interesting USP. I’ve never come across a TV show, especially one about young people, that deals with these subjects so openly.

What kind of message are you trying to get across with this? 

George: Undoubtedly, one of positivity. I like political stories (I found Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four impossible to put down) but the one thing I find depressing is that they’re always really dystopian. The worst sides of humanity have been depicted in literature and television for a good long time, and it doesn’t seem to have served as much of a warning – humanity is still capable of committing horrific crimes. And I sometimes think, are we going about this the wrong way? Is it perhaps a better idea to write a story where the underdogs win? And I wouldn’t exactly say the underdogs win in Square – activism is an ongoing process, so I wouldn’t say that there’s ever an overall winner or loser – but there is definitely the consistent feeling in Square that it isn’t the end of the world, that we are all very capable of being the best human beings we can be and achieving something beautiful.

Broadly though, I try not to preach to an audience. Square is about a group of characters in the 21st century, their lives and their politics, and we explore everything from their perspective. If you don’t do that, you end up lecturing your viewers, and I hate it when shows do that!

How did the crowdfunding scheme go?

George: It went really well! People seemed to really be behind this project and want to help it, and we exceeded our target in the end. Most of the cast members made videos talking about their characters and why Square needs to happen, and it was such a confidence boost to see how passionate they all are about something that Owen and I created. It really reminds you that you must have something special. 

Will it be shot in Bristol? Do you know who will be involved in it yet? 

Owen: Yes, the plan is to shoot it all in Bristol, or at least close to the area. We may have to shoot some on the outskirts, but the show is going to have a very Bristol vibe to it.

We have the whole cast confirmed and we have a small but incredible team on board. Our project manager Jonny Pert is a great person to work with. We made a short film with him last year, and that went very well. And all the actors are really committed to it – many of them are from far away, but they’re all really excited to come down to Bristol to make it. I am sure it will be stressful, but mainly a lot of fun.

 Has COVID delayed your project or was it always set to be shooting next April/May?

Owen: In some ways, COVID has actually made it easier. Actors were stuck in their homes and wanting more creative projects to work on, so it was much easier to find the rest of the cast than it normally would be – and it was doing that that led to us thinking about shooting it, so things might be completely different without COVID. I think if COVID hadn’t happened we probably would have ended up doing something similar, but who knows? We just wanted to take something positive from this awful situation and create something special. 

Did you always plan on screening the drama at Watershed? I am a massive fan of Watershed, it’s a great place for showcasing new and upcoming dramas – why did you chose Watershed?

Owen: I guess it’s always been in the back of mind to have something shown there, and because Square is a show of creativity and diversity that has the same proud Bristolian vibe as Watershed, we felt it was the right place to screen the premier of Square.

Do you have any more projects in the works?

Owen: There are so many projects we are working on! George and I are fairly new to writing for screen, but George has been writing a lot longer than I have, and is also an experienced stage and audio actor. We each have things that we have written on our own which we both help each other out with the best we can. But right now, we are working mainly on the projects that we write together, as we want to build our career so all the projects we have can see the light of day. We’re a really good team as we’re both good at different things.

We have had some success; we have both written for theatre and had it performed, and we have some projects behind the scenes that are slowly developing. So, although we are working on other things as well, our priority is to get this pilot for Square ready to be shown towards the end of this year, which hopefully will lead on to us be commissioned to make a full series.