What is your play The Luckiest Man In The World about?
 | | Jayson Bartlett |
"We all make decisions in life and this is about having that ability to look back and think about where those decisions will take you. We all act on impulse sometimes and in hindsight, we realise we made the wrong decision. "So this is about that, about a guy, Mike, looking back across his life and finding excuses about where he is and what happened, until he comes to that moment where he looks in the mirror and goes ‘actually this is down to me.’ "That’s something we can all relate to. We’ve all been in that situation in different degrees, we’ve all made mistakes. Through black humour, this character plays out his past, which leads him to the present and so he sees where his future lies." Is that something we all need to do – look at where our decisions take us? "I think so. If you look at the state of the world today, one man can make a difference. If we all took time out to look in the mirror and ask ourselves some serious questions, our society would be a lot better. | "If we all took time out to look in the mirror and ask ourselves some serious questions, our society would be a lot better." | | Jayson on what he wants to highlight with his play |
"We’re so busy running round these days, we don’t get the chance to stop and think about what we’re doing so unfortunately, whether it’s intentional or not, we do find ourselves as part of the problem." Where did the idea for the play come from? "I’d just broken up with my wife and I had to work a few extra hours. I was shattered walking home, and I just started thinking about my first girlfriend, back when I was at school, and the idea sprang from there. "When I got home, I wrote down what I’d been thinking about and then showed it to a friend of mine who’s an actor, and he thought it was a brilliant idea. So here we are now with a two hour play that was born out of just being tired after work!" How much of yourself is in the character, Mike?
 | | The Luckiest Man In The World (image: A. Niezgoda) |
"There are parts of my life that are in there. I’ve certainly made mistakes and, while I never sat down and intentionally thought about addressing issues, I think they came out in the writing. The fact I’m single, because of my divorce, says a lot. I made mistakes in my marriage and for me, this is about facing up to them myself. "But also it’s about putting the message out there that we’ve got to stop always wanting better things – a bigger house, a newer car, the latest phone or whatever – and just accept what we’ve got and try to imagine what it would be like if we lost all that." So was this a cathartic experience? "Very much so, but it still surprises me now when we rehearse that sometimes when Colin (Minney, who plays Mike) delivers a line, it feels a little bit too close to home and I feel a little bit uneasy." What’s Colin been like to work with? "To be honest, we’ve had too much fun. He’s got a fantastic sense of humour, but he’s a hard worker and he brings something to the character that I never expected. He brings it depth and understanding.
 | | Colin - deep in thought in rehearsal |
"He also gives it 110 percent, researches every aspect of the play and then questions me about what I’m trying to get across. If he doesn’t agree, he’ll challenge it, and I have found situations where, purely for self-preservation, I’ve stopped a line and Colin has made me go that extra yard. "As a result, what we’ve created is a hard, dynamic, entertaining and truthful piece that a lot of people will relate to." You grew up here in Manchester. What’s it like debuting your first commercial piece at the Lowry? "It’s an ideal location for me as my father and his family were from Manchester. Sadly, he died a number of years ago, but I’m sure on the evening, I’ll feel his presence. "But I’m not nervous, I’m just really excited. It’s kind of weird being the writer and director. I’m actually more nervous for Colin as it’s a major part for him. Playing a one-man show is a lot of pressure and he’s worked so hard. "Backstage, I’m going to be extremely nervous for him, though I’m sure he’ll be extremely nervous for himself as well!" The Luckiest Man In The World is at The Lowry's Studio on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 May. Tickets are £5 and £7.50 | 
