The thing I’ve been struggling with most to date is the problem of the child. In the final scene, the crazy judge decrees that the child be placed in a chalk circle. The two mothers must compete to pull the child to their side of the circle. The mother who is successful in this tug of love shall win the child.

I am exceedingly reluctant for my climactic scene to feature a 4 year old child size doll. But equally, a real child – as friends with children have hastened to point out – is fraught with its own problems. Nor do I want my climactic scene to be ruined with a “mummy, I need a wee wee”…

There are other children featured in the play – a whole mini-scene of them in fact. Three or four small children play with the chalk circle boy at one point – primarily to show the passing of time I think. This, I thought I might cut. But the chalk circle scene would be less easily dispensed with.

I had been toying with the idea of using film for bits of the play. Primarily for the narrator. If I knew anything at all about Brecht’s theatrical devices, I may be better informed to make such a decision. But in blissful ignorance, I wondered whether my narrator might become an Andrew Marr style news reporter. Film might reinforce this sense of the artificial. Which I need to read up on. But my wise friend wondered I mightn’t film the scene with the child.

I’m pretty sure that when children give evidence in court these days, it tends to be filmed. So maybe I could. Need to consult my set expert first though. May be that all this talk of cameras, films, projectors and other such expensive stuff might be utterly impractical. Over to Andy.