Everybody’s Talking About Jamie writer Tom McRae: ‘Every producer I’ve ever worked with has been to public school’

Known initially for his Comedy Central show Threesome, and writing episodes of Doctor Who, Tom MacRae could never have guessed a few years ago that his really big breakthrough would come on the London stage.

His debut musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, the story of a 16-year-old overcoming prejudice to become a drag queen, was ruling the roost in the West End prior to lockdown, and a film version starring Richard E. Grant is now scheduled for 2021.

A national tour of the theatre show had been due to be performed at Leeds Grand Theatre this month but coronavirus has meant those performances have now been rescheduled for May next year.

Jamie, as it has become known in the industry, made its debut at the Crucible in Sheffield – the city where the story is set – in 2017.  

“We worked on it for a long time before it opened and I always thought it was something special,” MacRae says.

“Every stage of production seemed to go incredibly well, and even the actors we didn’t end up casting told us how much they loved it and how important they thought it was.

“Our first dress rehearsal was then an unmitigated disaster, but with our first audience it transformed into something extraordinary, and at the end, the audience went nuts.

“Three years on we still get a standing ovation every show, and while I don’t take it for granted, I’m not surprised any more.

“I got to see it on tour in Northampton, my home town, on the stage of the first theatre I ever visited when I was very little. If someone was writing the movie of my life, that would be the last scene.”

The inspiration for the story was Jamie Campbell, who in 2011 was the focus of a BBC Three documentary.

The then teenager, from Bishop Auckland in County Durham, decided to disclose his secret ambition to become a drag queen by attending his school prom in a dress.

Jamie’s surname was changed to New, the setting shifted from Durham to Sheffield – where the show was to be created – and characters were invented as Jamie’s classmates.

The end result was a musical following a teenager as he overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and hits the spotlight.

MacRae had always written for screen before. The swap to stage took some time to adjust. “I remember sitting in a production meeting and someone saying something would cost £500, and I remember asking, ‘Is that a lot of money, or not a lot of money?’ It was a learning curve, but by the time we opened in the West End, I felt like I knew what I was doing.

“In terms of writing, in theatre the scenes are much longer. The whole play only has about 19 scenes – in a movie that wouldn’t get you to page nine – so you get to write scenes that can really breathe and get into the characters’ lives.”

Now living in Los Angeles, MacRae says he has had to “work hard for a long time” to get to where he is.

Though his parents encouraged creativity, even making him a puppet booth to play with, and often took him to the theatre, he says he didn’t think “someone like me” could become a writer.

“I went to a very bog-standard comprehensive. I was in special needs English, and my family aren’t rich or posh or connected. But I wanted to tell big stories. I started as a screenwriter for TV because I thought, ‘I watch TV, I know how to do that’, and then gradually felt confident that I could write a stage play or a movie. I haven’t done a novel yet, but I will.

“I grew up just outside Northampton where nothing happens, and you weren’t told you could do stuff like that.

“When I’m back home and I say I’m a writer, people say, ‘Oh, let me buy you a drink’, assuming I must be penniless, and I have to say, ‘No, I do really well out of it, much to my surprise’.”

MacRae counts screenwriter and producer Russell T. Davies as a friend and mentor after a chance meeting years ago.

“I was very lucky to meet Russell at a book signing, at a time when he was famous enough to be my favourite TV writer, but not so famous that he wasn’t accessible.

“It was long before Doctor Who, and I don’t think a 20-year-old wannabe writer would be able to meet him now – when enough things happen, you become more remote.

“He agreed to read what I’d got and luckily liked it, so he used to give me notes. He would always say, ‘I’m just going to tell you what’s wrong, I’m not going to tell you how to fix it’, and that was my education really, because I don’t have any training.

“One of the great highlights of my life was to invite him to the press night for Jamie when it was in Sheffield. He was so proud, and his review, which was glowing, was the most important one I have ever received. He really did change my life.”

He says diversity in the arts is an issue very close to his heart. “When Jamie opened, some of our posher reviewers hinted that it was a bit PC and flag waving because we have girls in hijabs and Jamie is currently played by actors of colour. Jamie Campbell who inspired the character is white – but those were the best actors we found.

“Go and look at a comprehensive in Sheffield. That’s what the world looks like, and we have a duty to reflect that to ensure people don’t feel excluded from the arts. For too long there’s been this idea that ordinary people don’t get to engage in this most human part of life, which is to tell stories, sing songs, and feel part of a bigger narrative.

“I’m very proud of Jamie because with no box-ticking at all, we’ve cast fantastic young actors from lots of different backgrounds, and a lot of them have said to me, ‘I’m not playing a terrorist or a princess, I can just be me.’ The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield did some research during the two weeks we were on there, and 35 per cent of the people who came to see Jamie had never been to the theatre before.

“I know I’ve been passed over for jobs because I didn’t go to a posh school. On Jamie I got to work with people who were from my world – otherwise, every producer I’ve ever worked with has been to public school.

“In the States they don’t have the same class system, but you find that the producers are the sons of famous actors or producers. I don’t begrudge them – there’s loads of super smart people – but it’s very rare to meet people that have come out of nowhere.”

He says he is optimistic that things can continue to change for the better. “Realising that there’s a problem is a big part of solving things. For every cause you need allies, and from my experience of the male producers that I’ve worked with, they are now incredibly aware of representation and diversity.

“Whether it’s tick-box or not, I don’t care, the fact is that it’s happening, and it needs to happen.”

Film version to be released next year

A star-studded film version of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie will be released early next year.

The film had been due to come out this autumn but it was announced last month its release has been pushed back to January 2021. Starring newcomer Max Harwood in the title role and largely filmed in Sheffield, the cast includes Richard E. Grant, Sarah Lancashire and Sharon Horgan.

Rebecca Maddox, head of business development at Sheffield Council, said last year: “It will be good to see Sheffield given international profile by the filming of this important production. Sometimes Sheffield seems like England’s ‘best-kept secret’, but we want people to know that this is a great place to live, work and study.”

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