Let’s Be Frank(s)

Writer, actor and director Jade Franks talks class, comedy and coming home, as her award-winning semi autobiographical hit play Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) heads to the Everyman

Words | Lawrence Saunders

You’re just finishing the first run of Eat the Rich at London’s Soho Theatre. How’s it been going?

Yeah, it’s been good. It’s been hectic and I’m absolutely knackered but no, it’s been really nice!

Whereabouts on Merseyside did you grow up?

Wallasey – I’m a wool! I did some classes in LIPA when I was a kid, so I spent a lot of time in Liverpool.

For our readers, could you briefly explain what your play Eat the Rich is about?

It’s a semi-autobiographical one-woman comedy drama about my experience of going to study at Cambridge University. I’d worked in a call centre on Old Hall Street for years before university, so when I got to Cambridge I got a job as a cleaner. I then found out you’re not actually allowed to have a job there, because you’re expected to be studying 40 hours a week.

The show explores that ‘hidden identity’ dynamic – trying to make sure no one found out I was working – alongside the embarrassment of having to do that job, experiences of classism, and people being rude about me being from the North.

Can you talk us through how the play came together, from the writing process to its debut at the Fringe?

It started off as a stand-up set I did when I finished Cambridge. While working in theatre, I realised the show would actually work better on stage – it could say more and reach the audience I wanted. I started by gathering a team of people I’d worked with before, or people I knew were really good at what they did, and asked them to read about 20 pages.

I didn’t really work properly on the script until the summer of the Fringe, but by then I had those 20 pages to build on, as well as a video of a scratch performance, which we sent off with all the applications. After that, it was a lot of intense writing and juggling it around work and other commitments.

The show was a massive hit at the Fringe – with multiple five star reviews and award wins. Why do you think it was received so well by audiences and critics alike?

At its heart, it’s about feeling like an outsider. Regardless of class or identity, people experience that feeling all the time – in jobs or when they move to a new city. So there’s something in it that a lot of people can relate to.

At the same time, without wanting to diminish anything we achieved with the show, I do think that at the Fringe there simply aren’t that many working class stories, largely because it’s so inaccessible to put a show on up there. My voice ended up standing out in a sea of more middle-class stories and writers – not that there’s anything wrong with that at all, because there’s so much brilliant work at the festival – but it did make the show feel a bit more distinctive. If the festival were in Liverpool, and everyone could afford to do it, I think there’d be loads of stories like mine that would be just as successful.

It’s also just incredibly expensive to put a show on at the Fringe. Rents get hiked up, a lot of Edinburgh residents leave the city and rent their places out, and you’re looking at thousands and thousands of pounds just on accommodation, before you even factor in all the other fees involved in putting on a show.

Reviews have highlighted the show’s balance between humour and discomfort. Was it your aim to make audiences laugh but then maybe question why they were laughing?

Exactly. Earlier drafts were much angrier and were hitting people over the head with the politics a little bit. But as I was redrafting, I started thinking about how I wanted audiences to feel. I knew I’d be performing to a lot of people who’d been to Cambridge and who exist within the very worlds I’m critiquing.

I realised that if you can make people laugh, they’re far more likely to actually think about what you’re saying, rather than switching off because they feel they’re being lectured. I don’t think people respond well to being told how to think, particularly at the moment. We’re living in quite divisive times, and people are sometimes defensive about their beliefs and where they come from.

So if I’d gone in all guns blazing, I don’t think anyone would have listened in the way that I hope they have.

How true is the play to your actual experiences at Cambridge?

There’s definitely a bit of creative licence, but about 90% of it is true and rooted in things that actually happened. I gave the character my own name simply because I didn’t know what else to call her, but she’s really a heightened version of myself. Many of the other characters are amalgamations of people I’ve met, including people from home. At its core, though, the truth of it is that most of what you see did happen.

What can you tell us about the deal with Netflix and Philip Barantini to develop Eat the Rich into a TV series?

I can tell you a bit! The news was leaked by Deadline, and I remember thinking, ‘Who told them that? How did they find out?’ But yes, we’re in development at the moment, which means I’m creating a television version of it with Phil Barantini. He’s such a legend, and being able to make it with someone from Merseyside and really fly the flag for the area feels incredibly special. He’s been so supportive throughout. Hopefully, by the end of the year, we’ll have a clearer idea of what’s officially going to happen with it.

Are you excited to bring the play here to Liverpool? I imagine you’ll have plenty of friends and family in the audience?

Yeah! The original dates sold out, so we’ve added another show on 15 April. I’m just so excited to bring it home. I’ve had quite a few scousers in the audience, and my family have seen it too, and it feels different when people really understand the references and can see themselves in the character in a way that I think London audiences might not. I can’t wait to come home.

Do you get to come home much at the moment? I know you’re a big Liverpool FC fan – do you get to many games?

My dad’s still got the season ticket! We share it between my siblings, my dad’s mates and me, so I don’t get much of a look-in at the moment – we have to book our matches well in advance. I haven’t been to Anfield yet this season, but I’m hoping that when I’ve got a bit more time and I’m home in the spring, I’ll be able to get to a game.

Away from Eat the Rich, is there anything else you’re currently working on that you’re excited about?

I’m currently writing a new play with the Everyman as part of their Playwrights’ Programme. There’s no guarantee it will be staged, but I’m part of a really strong group of writers who are all supporting each other as we develop our next plays. I’m also on the BBC Voices scheme, where they’re helping me develop some television drama ideas.

Merseyside has a strong tradition of producing socially engaged writers. How does it feel to be part of that lineage?

I don’t think I’m quite there yet! But I’d be very proud if one day my name could sit alongside people like Willy Russell and others who have come from the region.

Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) is at the Everyman from Wednesday 15 – Saturday 18 April