Read To Me Teaser
Channel: Dan Horrigan
Date: 2023-01-19

Produced by Covert Firmament

A dyslexic con on his first day in Strangeways receives a letter that could save his life. Who should read it? 

Starring Christopher Sherwood (Eastenders, The Sister Boniface Mysteries) with a score from Franc Cinelli - London Stories, I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight. 

Cinematography by Fraser Watson.
Editing by Guy K Ward.
Sound by Mitch Snell.
Score by Franc Cinelli.


Story by Sarah Jennings & Dan Horrigan.
Screenplay by Dan Horrigan.

With 
Christopher Sherwood
Rosie Steel
Nathalia Campbell Smith
Louis Jordan
Lawrence Carmicheal
Tim Klotz
Kate O'Rourke

Read to Me is a crime story about doing love and a love story about doing crime. It's also a true story in the way only fiction can be.

Whether writing or directing it all comes from the same place – I tap the bruise – the feelings run. It’s not a masochistic process, in either case, it’s an enormous and sustaining pleasure. I can protect the feeling of writing and then I have the great pleasure of sharing the work with actors. It’s here that we can connect our imaginations. The actors have their own discerning sense of truthful storytelling. I believe in the power of the imagination and the ways in which we can get a story out are adroit. The work with the actors is rewarding because they trust my truth and that we can discover theirs and then we have the character. It’s about synthesis and moving our understanding further down the road.

In this instance, I took certain truths given to me by my lover to create the story. And I took on identities to transform the narrative - that's how we got to love again. You take the truth you collide it with the imagination and you have drama.

Read to Me was written as an answer to the question 'How far would you go for love?' - that was the challenge set by Sarah - who gets credit for the story as it would have been impossible to write this without her. Once that challenge was set we were really honest with each other about the ups and downs of life - the people we had loved and who had loved us - where things went wrong and how we could create a story that repairs that.

Sometimes fiction is a balm - albeit a combustible balm.

Read to Me was written in a frenzy fuelled by Prosecco - in the early days of a love affair - and then redrafted in the cold hard light of day - where you have to face the facts. It was enormous fun, to be honest with ourselves, and a great exercise in forgiveness and turning misfortune into something pleasurable. To do this in the genre of crime/romance gave us the conventions we needed to connect it to an audience.

And then of course you find actors who want to be a part of it and you begin the process of realizing that they all have their own stories and experiences 'Ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't?' I think most of us can say we might have or have or could have. And Read to Me provided a territory where we could break out these experiences and use them. What I enjoy about the actor's work is the facets and layers they bring in such a short time - the work is full of life - it points towards a world much bigger than the 15 minutes we have with them.

We all hope you enjoy Read to Me and can see the pleasure it will bring an audience - there's a lot to enjoy and admire in the work of the actors and it's wonderfully filmed and edited too - it has a pleasing trajectory and tells a really good story -
We're all very proud of the work and we look forward to sharing it with you.

Warm Regards
Dan Horrigan
January 2023