Writer, actor and director Mark O’Sullivan explains to Natalie Li why creating his first part-autobiographical drama based in Welwyn Garden City has been a cathartic process
Mark O’Sullivan once had a job cleaning a factory floor at a complex in Welwyn Garden City. Fast forward 24 years and the 45-year-old writer filmed in the same spot for his exclusive teen drama Tell Me Everything, which will be released on ITVX, a brand new and free streaming service.
The drama, set and filmed in Welwyn Garden City, where he was born and lived for more than 20 years, is his proudest career moment. “It’s my first drama and it’s been a steep learning curve and a hard journey. Writing about my personal experiences has been difficult, but I am so proud of it,” he enthuses.
Tell Me Everything introduces us to 16-year-old Jonny Murphy (played by Eden. H Davies), who is trying his best to navigate through this world while suffering with undiagnosed depression and anxiety. “My new drama is loosely based on my experience growing up as a teenager and some of the things I went through, but it’s set in the 2020s,” Mark explains. “The main character Jonny is very loosely based on me. I hadn’t thought about setting this in Welwyn Garden City, but while I was working on it, I suggested Welwyn to the production team, and they were keen to show it on screen.”
As I probe deeper, Mark is reluctant to give too much away, but reveals that parts of the show were filmed in spots where some of his own adolescent experiences took place. “We filmed a lot there, but not as much as I would have hoped. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it until we were there, but it’s been a strangely cathartic experience, you know, delving into my teenage years and thinking about growing up these days. So many things are identical, but today young people have an added layer of difficulty with social media.
“I went through personal tragedies which I wanted to reflect on screen. Being a teenager is about figuring out who and what you are and the kind of person you’re going to be. We all go through that thing of rejecting the place you’ve grown up in and Welwyn Garden City is sort of perfect in some ways and imperfect in other ways.
“I wanted to show what my friends and I went through. I also wanted to tell a story for most people growing up in smaller towns where you might not be all the things you would be if you grew up in a city. Showing a smaller community on screen was important.”
Picking the brains of teenagers – his 16-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter – has helped in creating the drama. “Talking to them and their friends and receiving their very honest opinions has been crucial to Tell Me Everything. I also contacted friends to help fill in a few gaps in my memory. Some sent embarrassing old photos which wasn’t so great,” he laughs.
Growing up in Welwyn Garden City conjures up happy memories for Mark, who now lives just outside of Hitchin. “I loved the place, it felt like the best of both worlds in terms of town and country. There is nowhere quite like it. The design and layout, ethos behind it makes it unique. I remember great times – me and my mates would play in the lagoon in Mundells or Sherrardspark Wood, normal stuff you know? At primary school I got into drama, I was always into storytelling and acting took over. I performed and directed many plays at the Barn Theatre for more than 20 years with so many amazing people and I’m still involved. It’s where I discovered my love of theatre.”
After attending Monk’s Walk secondary school, Mark studied Performing Arts at Oaklands College in St Albans. “I planned to go to drama school, but sadly lost both my parents over the course of a few years and I ended up doing a lot of not-very good jobs, my meandering career path I call it, and fell into teaching for five years.”
A self-taught filmmaker, Mark discovered this creative path after offering to make a film for a charity in his late twenties. During this time, he met Miles Chapman, who is also from Welwyn Garden City, and they started writing and performing comedy together.
Their first comedy drama, Lee & Dean, was picked up by Channel 4 after they made a short film and released it on Twitter. “Miles is from Welwyn village and is older than me”, continues Mark, “we didn’t know each other in childhood. His wife is friends with my wife, and we have lots of mutual friends. We’d go on lots of family holidays together and I remember one of the first holidays we had in Ireland, we got told off by respective wives because we were just trying to make each other laugh all the time! We have a similar sense of humour.” The comedy duo wrote and starred in two series of Lee & Dean and Mark went on to write material for Morgana Robinson’s The Agency.
As the release date for Tell Me Everything approaches, Mark admits he is a little nervous. “Making a drama is a long, hard, and arduous process and now people will watch it. I am not worried about reactions from people I know. I hope they think it’s a good reflection of growing up in Welwyn. I am excited for people to see it.”
With a comedy series and now a drama under his belt, Mark speaks about the writing process with fondness. “I am happiest when I am writing a script. I love creating worlds and breathing life into people, with all their foibles and putting them into awkward situations. I am quite an awkward person, and I find myself in awkward situations constantly. I love finding humour in dark places. It’s been a total joy writing about Welwyn Garden City and putting it on screen.”
More projects lie on the horizon, so it seems this is just the beginning. “I’ve loved writing drama and I have some more comedy projects in the pipeline. I love collaborating with different people and seeing what happens. It’s amazing when your ideas merge with someone else’s. It’s exciting and unexpected.”
Tell Me Everything is out in Autumn 2022 on ITVX
