★★★★☆
Chris Chibnall is an award-winning screenwriter and author who transitioned brilliantly into an entertaining speaker at Off The Shelf. Interviewing him is Naomi Frisby, who asks her questions with the perfect amount of chaos to invite discussions of everything and anything. From scheduled questions about Chibnall’s second novel The Parkwood Murders to the expected talk surrounding Doctor Who, and a look at Chibnall’s philosophical view of society, I found this event enlightening (and fun).
They begin with laughter and applause which sets the tone for the rest of the night. Starting with introductions, Chibnall cracks his first of many jokes of the evening, stating he is glad for the introduction because “I don’t know who I am”. Frisby lists Chibnall’s many screenwriting credits and his connection to the University of Sheffield where he did his master’s degree and directed a play on the very stage he is talking from.
Frisby opens the conversation with a discussion of the setting of The Parkwood Murders which is a holiday park in the middle of the woods (that is NOT Centerparcs). Chibnall describes the theme of the novel as the idea that you can not escape from yourself regardless of how relaxing your environment may be, “wherever you go, you’re still there”. Admittedly, the murder at this holiday park does put a damper on the mood anyway. Chibnall peppers his answers with references to his previous work on Doctor Who and Broadchurch which, as a big fan, I am very pleased about as this novel could be set “10 miles down from Broadchurch”.
The event never drags as Frisby directs the conversation to how Chibnall writes female characters so realistically. Chibnall is responsible for casting the first female Doctor and he shares his experience of meeting his birth mother 25 years ago, after being adopted as a child, and the things he has picked up by “osmosis” which made this choice “instinctive”. His genuine bafflement about the lack of good roles for women in TV is a refreshing view and, due to the large percentage of women buying his novel after the show, clearly made other audience members interested in how he writes his female main character.
This naturally leads to a discussion about his writing of Doctor Who being “too woke”. He says “it’s nonsense on rollerskates” which applies to both Doctor Who and the claims from people online that the alien worlds were too woke. Chibnall believes people are scared of these stories because they are scared of understanding and empathising with people. This philosophical discussion was heartening to hear at an event that could have just been used to promote his new novel. He is an empathetic, entertaining speaker and this is reinforced during the book signings after the event where he made you feel like he had all the time in the world to speak to you. Chibnall’s main goal in his work is always entertainment – but it is clear he also loves it.
