An Audience with Stephen Briggs

By Jessica Yates
The room was nearly full, and Stephen opened by wondering if he’d come to the right place!

He announced he wouldn’t make a speech, he’d turn the session into a giant Q&A Klatch.
Before he started he showed us a wonderful replica sword, which had come into his possession via his am-dram connections and had originally been a rehearsal sword for The Princess Bride, which he had hoped to adapt for the stage. He draw it and posed as Inigo Montoya with “Hello!” (murmurs of admiration)

The Qs and As began with “Will you marry my mum?”
A: I’m here on my partner’s birthday, every 2 years it clashes with Discworld.

Q: When you read a new Terry Pratchett novel, do you lose yourself into the story or do you think about adapting it straight away?
A: Yes, I start thinking about the play from the outset. A book can change a lot from first idea to publication. The football game in Unseen Academicals was a problem, but most games in drama are off-stage anyway.
The the National Theatre staged Nation, and he saw how the professionals adapted Terry’s work – even more than he does. He saw the cinema version in Oxford and noted big changes.

Q: Is your favourite book the same as your favourite play?
A: Recently we redid Wyrd Sisters which was very well on stage. Mort is my favourite book – it got me into Discworld. It’s where Terry moved from parody into creating his world.

Q: Why don’t we see you on Sky1 as Vetinari?
A: Not for want of asking – a long story but they had decided to go for professional and well-known actors – Charles Dance especially – “out of my league”.
Comment: “Maybe they’ll run out of other people to ask!”
SB: I am on the Colour of Magic DVD as an extra.

Q: What’s it like to play Vetinari?
A: I like it – I wear black, I know everything. It’s been a weird journey. He started out not looking like me, and now he does. I had Ian Richardson in House of Cards in mind – Terry thought the guy who played the villain in Die Hard – he had a beard so I grew one. [that’s Alan Rickman, JY]. Also, TP suggested an Elizabethan feel, Blackadder 2, SB felt like the Cardinal in Amadeus.

Q: What are you doing now?
A: TP’s new books coming out more slowly so I am redoing his canon. Planning to redo Carpe Jugulum, but this November doing Shakespeare’s Dream.

Q: Have you any tips for adapters?
A: Be prepared to throw away stuff you really like.

Q: What scene do you regret dumping most?
A: I cut Death out of Wyrd Sisters first time, second time – he still didn’t fit, he shows up too late. In general, concepts rather than technicalities (e.g. Thief of Time) make it harder to stage some novels. Effects can be done with imagination.

Finally he talked about reading Terry’s books for audio CDs, which he does for American and British companies. The Nac Mac Feegles are hard to differentiate. He is about to read I Shall Wear Midnight – twice!