Interview with James Hamilton

The multi-award winning comedy writer and performer, and creative lead for Casual Violence has written a podcast series.Here is what he has to say about it!

Interview with James Hamilton

Could you introduce yourself for us?

I'm a comedy writer and sketch comedian. I founded and run a group called Casual Violence, and my day job is mainly writing for kids' TV and for radio.

What first inspired you to get into writing?

My mum was the kind of parent who would immediately latch on to any nascent interest her child might have had and encourage the sh*t out of it until it became part of their DNA. So I ended up reading a lot of storybooks as a little'un, and it kind of played out from there.

What can you tell us about Hector Vs The Future?

It's a show about the cantankerous old curator of The Obsoleteum - a museum of outdated technology. He - Hector - distrusts the modern day so much that he even turned down an electric pacemaker in favour of a clockwork one: he has a turnkey sticking out of his chest that he has to wind up manually. Anyway: The Obsoleteum's just had its funding pulled in favour of the cutting edge Uptodateum across the street, and so he's trying to find a way to save his beloved house of recent rarities.

Meanwhile, the Uptodateum - run by curator Biz and her half robot, half hologram assistant Phil - are trying to keep their museum ahead of the curve by any means necessary. Like almost everything I've made, it's a combination of really silly and really unnecessarily horrible to all its characters.

How long did the seven episodes take to write?

The project's been in on again / off again development for a very long time, so that's a bloody hard question to answer. I pulled together the concept and treatment in 2012 before bringing that to James "Co-Writer" Huntrods in 2013: that included the core concept, characters and settings, plus the ultimate ending of the show. The first episode was written in late 2013, episodes 2 and 3 were written between then and early 2015, and the rest of the series was largely written between autumn 2015 and now.

Do you share the script with people outside the project to get feedback, or is everything kept between the team?

Pretty much everything is kept between the team, although I have a couple of excellent and capable friends who I occasionally sent episodes to for a bit of an outside eye.

Hector originates from one of your Casual Violence sketches. Is this an extension of that sketch or are you seeking to really flesh the character out?

Much more the latter. Ever since the group first started performing the character back in our 2012 live show, I've felt like there was a world within Hector and the Obsoleteum that we could draw out and expand. I even suggested at one point during that show's development that we use the Obsoleteum as a framing device for the whole hour, but the group vetoed the idea at the time (the fools!). I'd been itching to draw the world out of Hector ever since.

Was Dave Arrondelle (Hector) the driving force for making this a reality, or was it your decision to expand the character out?

Dave and the rest of the boys in Casual Violence aren't heavily involved in the writing process. I'm very much the benevolent dictator of the group in that regard (seriously - you should see some of the sketches they wrote when we were at university. The world is better off, trust me). But Dave's performance as Hector was so distinctive from the outset, and I doubt I'd have wanted to expand the character's universe into a full show if Dave hadn't nailed his performance of it.

Should we expect other Casual Violence characters to get their own series in the future?

Ha! I don't know yet. There's one particular little world of characters that I've wanted to create a series with for a long time, but I haven't quite settled on the right medium for them yet. It's a project that remains very much in limbo. Maybe it could be a second podcast series. But let's see how this one goes first!

Is Hector Vs The Future your first foray into the world of podcasting?

It is indeed. Although I'm making a show with Molly Beth Morossa this autumn too - an anthology horror/comedy mashup called the Truncated Nightmare Hour. Super excited to kick that off.

Why did you decide to release it as a podcast? Were you at all inspired by the success of Serial?

Not Serial really, although that show did certainly change the way podcasts are perceived in a major way, so it certainly did us good. I wanted us to produce it ourselves because radio can't guarantee the creative freedom we wanted for the show. Radio 4 would never make this show (as you'll probably be able to tell when you listen to it!), and I didn't really want the project's existence to hinge on the whim of a BBC commissioner - I wanted to make the show no matter what.

Is writing for a podcast different to writing for a sketch group, or for TV?

Yeah, very - but in a good way. The lack of visuals to consider mean you can focus a lot more strictly on the gag writing, which I hugely enjoyed. It feels very freeing to write for radio. I've done some sketches on Radio 4 with Casual Violence before, but to make a new show from scratch was tremendously good fun.

How did you choose the amazing array of talent you have starring in Hector Vs The Future? Were you writing parts with specific people in mind?

No, not really! Beyond Dave as Hector being a reasonable certainty (we did make him audition anyway, 'cause we're mean like that), the rest of the casting was an open book - or more accurately, an open phone book. I know quite a lot of great sketch comedians and comedy performers from the last six years of doing Fringe work, so it was largely a case of getting in touch with people we liked and asking them to come in and read for parts, as an informal sort of audition. Plus, Producer Andy and Co-Writer Huntrods found a few genuinely excellent cast members between them too. Most of Casual Violence are performing in the show, plus most of the Beta Males, That Pair, Lucy Farrett, Anna Morris, Charlie Booth, Max Olesker (of Max & Ivan)… we got all our first choices for parts, which is still really thrilling.

Podcasts traditionally aren't charged for. How is this project being funded?

Entirely out of our own pockets. Needs must.

Do you have a measure of success for the podcast?

Millions of downloads, a worldwide legion of devoted fans, and all the professional writing work a boy could wish for. Anything less is a failure.

Having finished recording Hector Vs The Future, are you able to look back and identify anything you would change for future projects?

I'd write the whole series first, then go back and completely rewrite the first episode as the last thing to do before recording.

Do you prefer writing or performing?

I much prefer writing. I'm a writer first and foremost. Performing is gargantuan amounts of fun - and I do a lot of cameos during the series - but it's almost a hobby compared to writing. Plus I'm far more comfortable performing in my own work than I am anyone else's. I'd be a sh*t actor if I didn't write my own words.

What processes do you go through when writing? Does it start with a broad idea concept, or does it stem from a single joke that builds outwards?

It really varies. Hector started as the sketches, then became a radio show treatment, and then one episode, and then seven episodes! When it came to writing the episodes themselves, it would start with a two line pitch - one for each storyline. Then Co-Writer Huntrods and I would divvy it up into about 10-12 scenes, and then write those scenes together in order via Google Docs.

What advice would you give to young people who might want to follow in your footsteps?

Make your own work; make your own opportunities! Nobody's going to give you anything unless you do it yourself first. Which sucks, by the way. But so it goes.

How can people find out more about Hector Vs The Future, and more importantly, when can they hear it?

You can download the first few episodes right now from here, or iTunes! Don't forget to leave us a good review on iTunes - it makes a MASSIVE difference. Plus, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr - you know, all the good ones.

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Author

Tom Inniss

Tom Inniss Voice Team

Tom is the Editor of Voice. He is a politics graduate and holds a masters in journalism, with particular interest in youth political engagement and technology. He is also a mentor to our Voice Contributors, and champions our festivals programme, including the reporter team at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

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