Guest Blog: EDINBURGH 2024: Jon Lawrence on ONE SUGAR, STIRRED TO THE LEFT

Jon Lawrence guest blogs for BroadwayWorld about bringing One Sugar, Stirred to the Left to the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

I have had plays which almost made it to the West End, screenplays for feature-length films which almost got made - even a kids' TV show which almost got commissioned - and, as I write, I am awaiting news about a major radio play. I’d like to say that the near misses get easier, but as time runs goes by, they get harder. It is the case of so many writers. Despite modest successes, such as an award-winning short film, working with some great actors and some lovely reviews, I am the “nearly” man. I have stood outside the door knocking, I have stood with one foot inside the door shouting and at the moment I appear to have both feet inside the door but seem to have the thread of my coat caught on the handle. Searching for the right agent has been as fruitful as looking for the yeti . . . With your eyes closed. As such, I decided that I could no longer sit around waiting for someone to truly mobilise my career. If you want something done, do it yourself.

Having written a number of plays which I am really proud of, I decided that I should go all out and produce my own show. I took out a large loan and permitted myself one final shot. How hard could it be? Well, I’ll tell you.

Having written One Sugar, Stirred to the Left, a ninety-minute show in two acts, which I had worked on for about six months, the first thing I had to do was to trim it down to a one-hour show – well, seventy minutes. That meant tearing out the slightest aspect which didn’t directly serve the story of a songwriter-turned-nurse who agrees to write music to lyrics written by one of her dying patients. 

The play is set in a hospice like the one my father was in before he passed away. I wanted to change people’s ideas of what a hospice is. For me, I learned more about life and love in the hospice than I did about death, such was the kindness and compassion of those who worked there. But I also wanted the show to ask people to think about different approaches to death, such as those from other cultures.

Once the script was in shape, I had to think about all those things that come so naturally to experienced producers. Firstly, the director; I surmised that I could do that, having directed children for the last ten years. However, a good friend of mine suggested that I get someone else in. “You’re too close to it. Take a step back and see what someone else can bring to the table,” he said. A valid point, but when you’ve been working alone for so long due to people who have let you down, it is difficult to trust others with work which is of deep, personal importance to oneself. By that time, I had already sorted out a cast which I was excited about, so finding a director to work with a cast not of their choosing would be hard. In the end, I went through a number of directors and cast members came and went, each time leaving me to contemplate the end of the world! 

As it was a play with music, there was music to write, record (demos and masters), mix, master and distribute. Props need to be sourced, venues approached, publicists called, accommodation booked . . . And so on.

Thankfully I had, for the first time, someone who really seemed to believe in me and my work. Someone who could take some of the strain off me enough to concentrate on the creative aspects of the play. My co-producer, Lance Mortimer was, like me, learning the ropes, having come from a successful career in business psychology and out of retirement to support me. I have no business acumen or financial attributes, but with Lance, I had someone who understood those things. More importantly, I had a friend who could help when my belief was waning.

Together we took on the world of marketing, funding, law, health and safety (that was always fun), casting and more, having both invested time and money in a project we both believed in.

The play is semi-autobiographical. Characters are loosely based on me, my mother and my father, so I am glad I have kept the development and spirit of the show close to me all the way through, although I have also been delighted with the ideas that others have brought to help lift the play from each page of the script. Whether or not people like the show remains to be seen – I hope they will. But what is not in doubt is what can be done with a little DIY attitude, a great friend and a never-ending belief in a story that you feel absolutely compelled to tell.

So, there you have it! Please do come and see the show and hopefully, you’ll see why I spent a year of my life working towards sixteen performances at the world’s greatest arts festival. Hopefully, you’ll find the same truth in humanity that I saw in the eyes of the nurses and doctors who cared for my father during his last days; Hopefully, you’ll find a little of the love I have for my mother and father in the lines. Most of all, I hope you see a little of yourself in all of the characters in the play. If you do, then it will have all been worth it. 

One Sugar, Stitrred to the Left runs from 2 to 17 August at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall - Grand Theatre at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

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