• 
• 
• 

In the latest TBI Q&A we get a quick glimpse of what makes writer Duncan Sarkies (Scarfies/Two LIttle Boys) tick.

Duncan tells us about perfoming the atmospheric stage adaptation of his novel The Demolition of the Century, returning to Wellington at Circa Theatre, and his other 'ridiculous' upcoming projects.

During what hours of the day do you feel most inspired?

It depends if I’ve been eating cheese or not. If I’m not eating cheese then a morning coffee becomes crucial. If I’ve just had a binge on some Gouda then at three in the morning I will be hard-wired to inspiration.

How would a good friend describe your aesthetic or style?

A friend wouldn’t call me quirky. A friend would describe me as a lover of brown, a lover of corduroy, offering up a plain exterior but being fluorescent on the inside. A friend would describe my aesthetic as autumnal, with a hint of blizzard and a pinch of sunstroke.

What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?

The moment I get an idea that gives me a giggle. Also when I’m writing and my fingers are struggling to keep up with my brain, and the thing starts writing itself. I also quite like the day after you did something you were nervous about.

How does your environment affect your work?

I like listening to music and working; the mood of the music always infects my writing. That’s why I included the music I listened to when writing my novel in The Demolition of the Century show.

Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?

Big picture is much more fun. Details are a necessary evil.

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?

The most pragmatic thing you can do is follow your gut.

Which of your projects to date has given you the most satisfaction?

Writing The Demolition of the Century was a huge event in my life; five years I’ll never get back. It was gruelling as I had to go to some pretty intense places, but it’s rewarding knowing that I wrote something that I’m deeply proud of.

Who or what has inspired you recently?

I’ve been listening to Lucinda Williams a lot lately. To hear such intelligent heartfelt lyrics delivered with honesty and fragility is extremely inspiring. Tom Waits was the great inspiration for my novel. He could sing about shoe polish and make it seem cosmic.

Tell us a bit about your creative background.

I’m a Dunedin boy originally and I studied at a place where we pretty much owned our own theatre. I came through Bats Theatre a zillion years ago and it always fostered its creatives to think independently. I’ve worked in lots of different mediums, from theatre to prose to film to TV comedy. I love the variety each of them brings my life.

Tell us about The Demolition of the Century

The show is a series of vignettes all taken from my novel about an insurance detective who gets hooked up in a scam involving a horse with no sperm. The vignettes are accompanied by the music that inspired them, played by Joe Blossom. Stories and electric guitars. Pathos with a piano. A few laughs chucked in for good measure. I’ve had a few blokes and blokesses tell me their eyes may have got a little wet when watching the show. It’s an emotional journey.

Tell us about your collaboration with Joe Blossom (aka Sean O’Brian)

The show features songs by Tom Waits, Charlie Feathers, Nina Simone, Gene Vincent and John Fahey, to name a few. Joe Blossom is a brilliant interpreter of a song. He has enormous charisma on stage, and carries each song with an authenticity that the original songwriters would have approved of, I’m sure.

How has it been received so far and what are you future plans for the work?

It seems to have been universally liked. I’ve had a lot of people animatedly tell me how it got them at a real gut level. It’s been a real buzz. We’re taking it to the Bay of Islands and London this year. Sounds like a nice combo to me.

What are some of your other upcoming projects?

I’m working on a ridiculous project called The Mysterious Secrets of Uncle Bertie’s Botanarium with illustrator Stephen Templer and musician Lawrence Arabia, an Australian TV kung fu comedy called Maximum Choppage, and a secret project with my brother Robert Sarkies; it’s so secret no-one even knows it’s a secret.

If you could go back and choose a completely different career path to the one you've chosen, what would it be?

A professional glockenspiel player. Or a professional cricketer: a wily off spin bowler who invents a secret delivery called ‘the tangent’.

What place is always with you, wherever you go?

The South Island, known more commonly as ‘the island of love’.

What's the best way to listen to music, and why?

Doing the dishes is definitely the best way to listen to music. Driving in the car is also definitely the best way to listen. Singing in the car is my new favourite hobby. It’s more risky in summer when the windows are wound down and I’m stuck at traffic lights listening to something embarrassing, like Chicago, Paul Young or Air Supply.

You are given a piece of string, a stick and some fabric. What do you make?

A glow in the dark frisbee.

What's the best stress relief advice you've ever been given?

It’s easier to think of the worst piece of stress advice when nervous in front of a crowd: looking at people and imagining they’re naked - doesn’t work for me at all. Looking at them and imagining them in their pyjamas is much more helpful.

What’s your big idea for 2015?

Wearing trousers inside-out as a fashion statement. Curry flavoured pavlova. A shadow detector. A new way of curing hiccups by using a taser. A bonsai pohutukawa.

About Duncan

Duncan Sarkies is a playwright, screen writer, fiction writer and stand-up comic. He is best known as the co-writer, with his brother Robert Sarkies, of the hugely successful 1999 film Scarfies. Sarkies has won several theatre and playwright awards and his collection of dark and funny short stories, stray thoughts and nose bleeds, won the Hubert Church NZSA Best First Book of Fiction Award. He has been a script writer for Flight of the Conchords, and published his first novel, Two Little Boys, in 2008.