Actor Dave Johns, who portrayed the protagonist in Ken Loach’s 2016 Oscar-winning film I, Daniel Blake, will update the plot for the play’s debut stage production.
In the film, Johns portrayed Dan, a Newcastle carpenter who struggles to collect benefits after suffering a heart attack.
The film won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival for its director, Loach.
Johns is currently developing the script for the play’s theatrical debut, which he says will reflect contemporary themes such as growing costs and the cost of living crisis.
“Ken Loach strongly supports this and stated that there are still things to be said,” he told.
With austerity returning, the cost of living on the rise, zero-hours contracts, and everything else, I believe it’s more important than ever, and Daniel Blake is the man for 2023.
The film depicted the protagonist contending with a heartless welfare system and befriending a young family who had relocated from London in search of homes.
For his performance, Johns was awarded best actor at the British Independent Film Awards and best male debut at the Empire Awards.
In May 2019, his stage adaption will premiere at Northern Stage in Newcastle before touring the United Kingdom. Even though he will write the script, he will not play the lead part, he stated.
The comedian Johns stated that he would “tell this subject with fresh eyes and fresh vigor.”
“What I intended to do with the stage version was to delve a bit further into the material than the film,” he explained.
“The film follows Dan’s journey, but I’ve delved deeper into his, Katie’s, and the children’s histories.
“However, we are also attempting to provide a little bit of hope. Consequently, the play contains a great deal of humor, as did the film. People are bewildered by the Kafkaesque benefits system they are compelled to use. However, there is hope for the future.”
Art mirroring life
Johns is returning to Northern Stage 50 years after he first experienced the theatre there as a student. After being bitten by the theatre bug, he worked backstage at venues before performing and writing scripts such as a Shawshank Redemption stage adaption.
He revealed that when theatres and comedy clubs closed during the pandemic and his business dried up, he almost had to seek benefits.
He stated, “For two years, I had nothing.” “It was recommended that I apply for financial assistance. I realized that actuality was imitating art.
“Imagine if I showed up at the unemployment office. I thought, This is one for the record books; I’ve been asked to undergo the same experience as Daniel.”
However, he had just enough savings to get him through. Since Daniel Blake was represented as encountering rigid and uncaring workers in benefits offices and over the phone, he conducted a study into what has changed with the benefits system.
“The only difference is the new hold music. It’s no longer Vivaldi, “he remarked. So at least the film’s score was altered.
