28 March 2024 The Irish Film & Television Network
     
Soap Series: Interview with ‘Ros na Rún’ scriptwriter Peadar Cox
14 Aug 2015 : Seán Brosnan
‘Ros na Rún’ is returning to TG4 for a 20th season in September
This summer IFTN is taking a closer look behind the scenes of Ireland’s soaps – continuing our series we talk to Peadar Cox – a long-running scriptwriter (and former actor) for TG4’s Irish-language soap ‘Ros na Rún’.

Writing for the acclaimed soap since the show’s inaugural year in 1996, the very busy Peadar Cox has also forged a career as an actor, starring in Irish language dramas such as ‘An Bronntanas’, ‘Scéal’, ‘Corp & Anam’ and ‘Scúp’, as well as appearing as Daniel McLoughlin in ‘Ros na Rún’.

Here, Cox talks to IFTN about working on the show.

IFTN: First off, for a veteran writer such as yourself – what way would the writing work? Would you be told where the characters are meant to go and what action is to take place or would you be involved too in sculpting the stories? Is there a writer’s room?

Peadar Cox: ‘There is a writer’s room but not all the writers would be in there – there would perhaps only be one or two writers at a time. I have done it myself once or twice so you can be involved in the story-writing process for a block of episodes – which is usually about 12.’

‘Other than that, what happens is that a commissioning document will be issued to all the writers which covers 12-14 episodes. There will then be a meeting where the writers will come back with notes – a few days later there will be a writer’s draft based on those notes and then the commissioning draft. I might have one or two episodes to write out of that. For each episode I would be presented with a four page document and the stories would be categorized as A,B,C and D in order of importance. I take that away, read it and then have a “structure day”. A structure day is where you decide what is going to be in every scene and the order of the scenes. In an average episode of ‘Ros na Rún’ there are 20 or 21 scenes. You deal logically with the parameters of the show, both on and off camera. You think of logically can a person be in this scene at this time but you also deal with the fact that there are so many characters that you have to fit in as well as perhaps setting a scene somewhere because you know another set might not be available at the time. So, you are dealing with a lot of that stuff. The nuts and bolts of it are purely mathematical. Essentially, your job is to take the four stories and mix them in organically. So, I write up the structure, get notes back on that, write up the structure again and when that gets approved, I write the dialogue. I normally get about two weeks to write the dialogue. There is then a meeting based on the first draft of dialogue where I would get more notes and we make sure that my script meshes in well with the other episodes in the block. So, it’s a very labour intensive process.’

So, would you be given a block of episodes – perhaps two in a row or four in a row or are you just given one at a time?

‘It varies from writer to writer. It’s all freelance. For me, I would be told about a block of episodes coming up and asked if I would write an episode in it.’

I know it is freelance but would it be important for you then to keep in regular contact with other writers and script editors or even watch ‘Ros na Rún’ every week so you can keep consistency with the characters?

‘Yes and no is the answer to that funny enough. When the story document for a whole block of episodes goes out first of all, all the writers would be there which is perhaps nine or ten writers. But when you are writing a particular episode, you are only really concerned with the writers who are immediately before and after you. I do, incidentally, always watch ‘Ros na Rún’ but I don’t think it’s relevant for when I am writing. For example, the episode I am writing at the minute might not be on screens for another six months.’

So how long would it take on average then from receiving the original document to you sending off the finished draft?

‘It varies because it ultimately comes down to whereabouts in the block you are writing. For example, if there is a block of 12 episodes, that would be split into four cycles of three. If you are writing in the first cycle, you would have more time than if you are writing in the last cycle which is a lot more compressed. I would say the whole process – from structure drafts to dialogue drafts to the finished product - takes about 12 weeks but if were to ask someone else they’d probably tell you something different!’

‘Ros na Rún’ has been noted for some of its’ hard-hitting storylines over the years – perhaps more hard-hitting than your English-speaking counterparts…

‘Yeah in a sense I think because we are in Irish we may have gotten away with stuff that perhaps others wouldn’t and we took more chances. I was lucky because I am an actor too and I was actually in the soap for ten years. That was a huge help because I got to know all the characters. When I was there, I was involved in a domestic abuse storyline with Joan Sheehy and that got us a lot of attention at the time – we both got IFTA nominations out of it actually. Also, the first gay kiss on Irish television was on ‘Ros na Rún’ so we do kind of push the envelope a bit.’

Writing on any soap in Ireland seems to be primarily a freelance gig – do you like that element of working for ‘Ros na Rún?

For me personally, I love it. There are some writers who have it a year-long job but I like doing other things on the side. I do bits of acting and I do a lot of dialogue coaching as well. The variety suits me. The thing about writing is that, though I do enjoy it, it leaves you very isolated for long periods of time so it’s nice to do other things.’

When talking to director Déirdre Ní Fhlatharta, she talked about how ‘Ros na Rún’ was a great breeding ground for writers, directors and producers and a good environment for them to hone their skills..

‘Absolutely. That’s what I love about ‘Ros na Rún’. It’s a very good place to make progress in – going from one thing to another. When I first went in, I was an actor but I was given the chance to write too. I also remember when I started there was a girl who was a PA on the show and within four years she was Series Producer. Actually come to think of it that was Deirdre! So, you get a chance to learn a lot of skills and things can move very quickly for you. As a result of this, a lot of people moving on from ‘Ros na Rún’ getting work on shows like ‘Fair City’ because they have the right skills.’

What way does it work then for introducing new writers to the show? Would a veteran writer such as yourself be involved in a mentorship system for example?

‘There is a mentorship system in place. I haven’t been involved in it yet but I may very well be involved sometime down the line. It’s a very good system. A lot of the writers coming in a lot of the time would be established writers but it is completely different writing for soap.’

Working on such a pressurized and compressed time-frame – what happens when yourself and the script editors or producers just cannot agree on an element of an episode?

‘I don’t know, it has luckily never happened to me! But it may well have happened to other writers. I always found working for ‘Ros na Rún’ to be a very supportive environment so there wouldn’t be too many disagreements. There is obviously pressure but I find it very rewarding and enjoyable.’

With an almost 20 year old machine like ‘Ros na Rún’, would the episodes be doled out to writers that have certain strengths? For example, would the producers know if there is an action packed episode coming up to give it to Mr X or would that not be a factor in deciding?

Yes that definitely happens. My strength is comedy as I used to write Christmas pantomimes for kids. It doesn’t always work out but they would tend to play to writer’s strengths if they can.’

Stay tuned to IFTN over the coming months for more features and interviews on soaps and long-running dramas in Ireland such as ‘Fair City’ ‘Ros Na Rún’ and ‘Red Rock’.





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