I haven't got where I am today...

17/01/2007

David Nobbs is perhaps best known for penning the classic comedy “The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin”. But as well as leaving an indelible mark on British television, writing for a host of big name comedians, he is also an accomplished author. Jayne Warren talks to him about his latest book: “Cupid’s Dart”.

One of the most noticeable things about talking to David Nobbs is that he is a wonderful mirror and observer  - which is presumably the key to his success as a writer.  Few other writers have so brilliantly captured the "inner" lives of people, their secret yearnings, and their desire for change - perhaps nowhere more so than in his legendary character Reginald Perrin.

David Gordon Nobbs was born in Kent in 1935, and has written material for many of Britain's comedy greats over the years, including Kenneth Williams, Frankie Howard, Les Dawson and the Two Ronnies. In the 1970s, David adapted the successful 1970s sitcom "Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin" from his own Reginald Perrin novels.

Not content with that, he also created (in 1989) the gem of a series, “A Bit of a Do”, where the fluctuating fortunes of an interconnected group of characters were played by a stellar cast of British comic actors, including David Jason. He also kept his novel writing hand in with the highly-acclaimed Henry Pratt series of novels, the fourth of which, "Pratt à Manger", was published only last year.

His new book, "Cupid's Dart" - described as "a lovely book' by Michael Palin - follows the gently disturbing fortunes of Alan and Ange, who meet on a train and start a relationship. But Alan is an Oxford philosophy lecturer caring for a hospitalized, ageing mother - a social retard and still a virgin at 55. While Ange is a twenty-something, lager-drinking, tattooed, horoscope reading, darts groupie. As they get to know each other, they are initiated into each other's worlds. From the claustrophobic confines of an Oxford College to the heady excitement of a big darts match, it is a touching and hilarious story subtly exploring the nature of love and attraction.

But where did the inspiration for Cupid's Dart come from? "Well originally it sort of happened,” says David, “as my step-daughter was a philosopher who enjoyed playing darts!

“And I must say I've enjoyed darts over the years in pubs, although I'm probably more interested in philosophy now. In the book, the darts is played on a big scale, with TV shows. I mean, darts is a spectator sport nowadays isn't it? Not many people even play in pubs anymore like they used to.

"The book is actually based on a play I wrote, which started in 1981, only an hour long. Alan, the philosopher, wasn't specifically a virgin in the play, but he might well have been, so I decided to make him one for the book.

“And with Ange, I originally set her in Gidea Park, but when I went there for some research it had all got a bit posh. I bumped into an estate agent whilst wandering around, explained what I was doing, and he suggested Gallows Corner for a setting, which was just right: a bit chaotic but not remotely threatening."

The book raises a lot of indirect questions about the nature of love. So what was the exact nature of their relationship?  Was it love? "Well, very, very strictly speaking, not on her part. No. Maybe she started to feel love, which is why she ran away. But then again, how do you define love? It's difficult. When Alan says that if you love someone you wouldn't wish them ill, no matter what, then I suppose that's really love isn't it?

"Obviously the book goes much deeper than the play could in an hour, and maybe Ange realised that love was possible, but it was he who was too old."

As the two become more closely entwined, they find their worlds colliding, and then they slowly start to change – or perhaps edge closer together. The scenes with the Alan's Oxford academic upper middle class couple are especially funny.

"Well, in the play, the two actors who played them were very, very funny. Brilliantly performed, and so I was inspired by that. To be honest, I can't say I really know many people like that in real life, but it seems to work well. The thing is, when you write, especially with this book, you don't necessarily do things consciously, or read patterns into the characters. They just sort of unfold."

And what about Alan's touching relationship with his Mother, and his attempt to kill her? "I think that the relationship between him and his mother, and her relationship with her late husband, his father, is absolutely typical of parents of my generation. These days they would have been divorced, but then people just practiced evasion. Of problems, and of each other. Which is why the relationship between Alan and his mother is so dead, so lacking in basic warmth and affection.

"The mother wasn't in the original play, and I hadn't intended to write her in. It was entirely left field. It happened when I wrote the words 'it would kill her to meet Ange'. It was a joke really. And then it went from there."

But caring for ageing parents in an aging population is very real - and his description of the mother and her circumstances, I tell him, is remarkable. "Thank you, yes, very much so. Actually I've done a lot of work with old people, and my book 'Going Gently', was all about life in an old people's home.

“It's about a 99 year old woman in a hospital ward; she's had a stroke, and can't speak but can hear, although she doesn't really want to admit it because she doesn't want to listen to what's going on around her. And she gets through being old and infirm by going through her life in her own mind, in her own way. Which is what many people do."

So, I ask him, is he pleased with the book? "Yes, especially because it's the first book I've ever written in the first person - through the mouth of Alan, that is. I didn't force it, but just let it breathe. I did try writing in the first person before, but it didn't work. All the characters got mixed up, and their sexes. My publisher just said it was 'hopelessly confusing' - and it was. But this time it worked. It was a very liberating experience for me."

David has gone on record has saying that some people might prefer a different ending. Is that right?  "Yes, who know what people are like, they want a 'happy ever after ending'. But I think this is more realistic - and gentle in a way."

David hopes that Cupid's Dart might be made into a film. It certainly should be. Maybe with Michael Palin as Alan ...?

Cupid's Dart is out on March 1st 2007, and available in all good bookshops, price £17.99. We have five copies of Cupid's Dart to give away to readers. Go onto our competitions page to find out more.