Bren Gosling on writing, resilience and the meaning of LOVE

Bren Gosling has had many different jobs, but writing has been the one thing that he always returns to, as it offers catharsis and a sense of personal expression.

Bren’s latest play LOVE is about to be staged at The Edge in Chorlton by local theatre company Peripeteia.

We caught up for a natter about Manchester, the play and why he lives to write both what he knows and what he doesn’t.

When did you realise that writing was something that you wanted to explore beyond a hobby?

I was coming out of a very dark period in my life, where I’d been housebound through illness for a couple of years, and had to relearn how to walk.

At the same time, I’d suffered multiple personal bereavements, including the deaths of a parent and my best friend. I had to figure out ‘how to be’ in the world again.

Writing was a need rather than a ‘want’, actually. I don’t think even at the beginning I considered it a hobby. That period recalibrated who I was, redefined what I wanted out of life, and determined the person I was to become.

Writing in a creative way became part of my identity, a means of personal expression. It’s something deep-rooted, part of who I am.

You said in an interview that “being older is a gift because you have more experience to draw on.” Does that still stand, and do you also feel you get braver as a writer as you older?

Ah, I remember that interview I did for The Stage. For me, this is true. My life has been packed with a huge variety of different, impactful, lived experiences.

I’ve been a window cleaner, worked behind the bar, been employed on the production line of a bread factory, crewed on a trawler out from Aberdeen in November for a month ( I was seasick for a whole week), I’ve been a care assistant and wiped bottoms, showered people.

My main career was as an occupational therapist, which took me from London’s East End to New Zealand and back again.

As a young gay man, I lived through Thatcher’s Britain and the 80’s/90’s AIDS pandemic.

I have myself looked death in the eye twice already… I learned Argentine tango and lived in Buenos Aires for three months and danced it regularly on a social level ( including last year, even in Altrincham).

I took up ballet from scratch in my 50s.

Being older has afforded me an extensive library to draw upon, yes.

This doesn’t mean I set myself above anyone else as a writer. Everyone has something different, something unique to bring to the table.

There are many films and plays written about love. How does this one differ and what is it about?

In a nutshell, LOVE is a vibrant, and heartwarming exploration of fatherhood, acceptance, and the transcendent power of familial bonds. It’s set in a Northern town in 2014 just as same sex marriage is legalised.

No-nonsense dad, Mac believes he’s mastered all there is to know about parenthood, having single-handedly raised his two daughters, Em and Jess.

But when Joanie, a person from Mac’s past, absent for two decades, arrives abruptly at his doorstep with a revelation, his world collapses around him.

He struggles to react to the sudden bombshell as the past comes flooding back, before scrambling for a way to tell his girls.

If I tell you anymore, it will be a plot spoiler. So, come and see…

Do you tend to write what you know?

The answer to that is yes, and no. In the main , I prefer to research what I don’t know and transform that into a powerful story that deserves an audience. Theatre should entertain but in the process have the power to enable people to live in the world through someone else’s experience for the duration of the play ( and hopefully afterwards).

Powerful drama has the possibility to change a person’s viewpoint. That’s what I enjoy doing as a playwright.

Quite a responsibility. I take it seriously. There are loads of contemporary plays drawn from autobiographical experience, but as yet, I’ve written only a small part of my cannon from this perspective.

I suppose my own life experiences are sublimated in the fictional or reimagined historical characters I’ve chosen to feature in my work.

I wrote about the Poplar Council Rates Revolt , which I knew nothing about until I began reading and delving into the archives.

My play Proud is about three outsiders (a gay British, Jamaican man, a Kosovan immigrant, and a post-menopausal woman) in search of an identity who find hope in love.

My play Moment of Grace looks at the importance of compassion and need for the warmth of human touch when all else seems lost.

So, research, research, research is all important for me. I challenge myself be able to write convincingly and with conviction about anything. But this can only be done confidently with the benefit of in-depth research – interviews, archive material etc. Testing out ideas and early drafts through readings and feedback is a critical part of this process for me.

I’ve just spent two years researching and writing a play set in late 1970s gay London and the world of the straight, erotic glamour industry of Soho.

That research was interesting. I learned A LOT. Watch this space.

What books, plays or films have you read or seen recently where the writing stays with you and why?

I really liked Royal Court’s production of Micheal Wynne’s play, Cuckoo two years ago.

I found it to be a funny, yet powerful take on family communication and the dangers and consequences of obsession with social media platforms.

Similarly, last year’s Young Vic production of Nachtland by Marius von Mayenburg, a satire about marriage, legacy, the rise of the new right, and the terrible impulses buried beneath.

I go and see theatre as often as I can, usually at least weekly. Last week I saw and was impressed by Mark Ravenhill’s Ben and Imo at Orange Tree Theatre.

The play is an intense, under the microscope examination of the relationship between composer Benjamin Britten and his assistant Imogen Holst working together on his opera Gloriana in 1953.

The writing is insightful, the acting phenomenal. The most memorable film I’ve seen recently is probably I am Still Here – a wrenching, true life saga of a family torn apart by the Brazilian military dictatorship of the early 1970’s.

What advice would you give to someone new to writing who wants to get their work out there but does not know how?

Give time, however hard, even just a little time, to think, develop an idea and write about it.

This will take effort, will require sacrifices. Start wherever you are and with whatever you can do. Begin somewhere. Don’t give up.

Find a writing group and or fellow writers with whom you can share your early drafts. Be accepting , and gracious of feedback. Take on board what feels right to do so, reject what does not. Sometimes it will feel impossible to get your work produced. Many barriers exist, not least of which is financial cost. Don’t give up. The are regular e bulletins of opportunities from various industry quarters.

Sign up. Scratch nights are a good way to test out your work.

There are loads and usually the cost financially to you, the writer is minimal. When you are ready, submit to competitions.

You never know when luck may come your way. Later on, look for a good dramaturg to help develop a script idea into something of a good standard to show the world.

If you can, take advantage of workshops and / or playwrighting courses. Remember, writing matures, just like a fine wine.

Yours will too if you persist. Try too to build a relationship with a theatre venue . Invite them to your shows.

Some of the biggies – National Theatre and Royal Court also allow you to submit your work free of charge. Sometimes, sometimes, they will give you feedback.

What do you love about Manchester?

Manchester has this energy vibe.

You feel it just walking around, there is something vital on the streets.

People in the main are warm and friendly. There’s no pretention.

What you see is what you get. I like that directness. Of course, there’s the way people speak too, which reflects the warmth and vitality I mentioned.

It’s a lovely accent. The arts and culture scene is smaller than London, but there’s a lot going on in Greater Manchester especially in theatre, with some ace venues and companies (The Edge and Peripeteia TC are two of these) making exciting, bold new work and putting it on.

The industry is hard right now for emerging creatives. Somehow Manchester seems to pull off showcase opportunities again and again.

There is a thirst for new work here.

Why would you recommend that audiences come and see LOVE?

It’s always thrilling for a playwright to see the words they’ve written become real characters playing out a story live on stage.

Audiences, I believe, will be similarly thrilled.

Peripeteia TC have assembled a stellar Manchester based team of cast and creatives for this premier production of LOVE.

The subject matter of the play has not been told before in any significant way. Mac’s story.

I guarantee audiences will be taken the emotional ride; expectations will be upturned.

You will be entertained, thrilled, shocked and gain insight into the rocky road that love takes a family through, but one which also has the power to resurrect.

LOVE is at the Edge Theatre in Chorlton from 21st – 24th May and tickets are priced from £14 – £16 and can be booked here.