Tim McArthur Interview

September 30, 2024

Tim McArthur Review

Tim McArthur is the Writer and Director behind Small Town Boys, running at Union Theatre until 5th October 2024. We asked him some questions about the production and his background as a writer:

Q. What have you enjoyed most about working on Small Town Boys?

A. I have loved working with a fabulous group of actors – Stuart, Nathan and Dom, who have really understood the text and brought the story to life wonderfully. Not forgetting my fellow creatives, who have added that extra magic to it all and helped recreate the magic of fire island and the harshness of the North East of England. Creating theatre is challenging at the best of times and to have a great team of people who just get on with things, whatever challenging situations occur is a blessing.

Production shot from Small Town Boys – photo by David Bird

Q. How has this production challenged you either as a writer or director?

A. I think the thing that has surprised me more than anything, has been some of the reviews, questioning the story and the lack of awareness of the social time of the piece. The main focus of the story is the truth, the situation that happened that brought the two main characters together and to have that questioned as not being truthful or unbelievable, has been the biggest hurdle.

Because 65% of the story is based on true events, I knew what I wanted and how to deliver the story and the message of the piece. To embellish certain elements to make it theatrical and bring a sense of theatricality to the story telling, so the audience is engaged. To also make them think about things. Theatre should not give you all the answers. I worry today we face audiences who want to know every last story thread so they don’t have to think for themselves. To question and debate it is what theatre is all about for me.

Q. Had you always planned to direct and if so has the production turned out how you’d imagined it when first putting pen to paper?

A. My last play A Word for Mother, about a mum and her three daughters – Sarah Redmond directed that wonderfully and it was important to me that a play about women should have a female director at the helm and we also had an all female crew. With Small Town Boys, as it’s a based on a true story that happened to me on Fire Island 15 months ago and also scenes of flashbacks me as a 16 year old in Middlesbrough, it was important that I should direct as I was there in real life. To really express all of the nuisances of the piece. My ad and the actors did some really great work on the text before I arrived at rehearsals and then I made some little tweaks and cuts as we rehearsed. Sometimes you have to kill your babies/darlings and I am not precious in those ways.

Q. What inspired you to write Small Town Boys?

A. I was performing my comedy character Sister Mary at the iconic Ice Palace on Fire Island, in July 2023. After the show I met a fellow Brit, we went and looked at the moon on the beach. We discussed life, who we are, what we want in life, our past, our future, relationships, a real heart to heart, two strangers. We then discovered we were from the same place in the north east of England, we reminisced about the gay scene in Middlesbrough, we then discovered we both dated the same boy at the same time and the rest is history…

Q. Can you give us an idea of what the play is about?

A. The play actually covers many aspects of life, ambitions, first love, relationships, sacrifices, challenges as gay men, human discovery, honesty with one’s needs, and dreams.

Q. What would you like the audience to take away?

A. Audience feedback so far has been very positive. It’s very nostalgic and makes one think of our journeys in life, our decisions, our first love and what that means to us, the memory of that and how it affects our future.

Q. What’s next for Small Town Boys?

Well, this summer I spent 12 weeks working in the USA, performing my nun in NYC and an eight-week season in Provincetown. I met some really interesting people during this time and I think Small town Boys will be back in various incarnations. Such an amazing story, it’s definitely not the end of the road for these three characters…