Top Boy: DEBATE

I received this message via Facebook on the weekend…

TOP BOY DEBATE SHOW shall be taking place Tuesday 7pm at Veranda bar 30 Acre Lane, Brixton, London SW2 5SG, with Ashley Walters, Richard Campbell, Sharon Duncan Brewster, Mark Prince and Gifford Sutherland hosted By Karen Allen..

So last night I attended with fellow bloggers Janice and Lorraine Russell  .The event was organised by   Sherica Spence . I did not write an article about Top Boy, but I expressed my feelings clearly on Twitter. I commend anyone who is able to have an idea and manifest it into being, however I will always question the need for this particular type of drama to be shown if it appears to be solely for entertainment purposes. This is the counsellor and analyst within me. I am just not and have never been a passive viewer.

The writer Ronan Bennett wrote Top Boy through his observations whilst living in Hackney. The themes explored are real, the drama therefore is art imitating life and in my opinion this means the makers have a responsibility to provide a balance. The balance being that accompanying the drama, there should be a forum to discuss the themes within. Discussion can bring about new perspectives, which can provide new solutions and therefore change. The drama explores and comments on a few of many issues currently happening within society.

Author and Coach Karen Allen who has a company called  Mad Transformations was the host for the evening. It was left for her to reveal that none of the cast members listed would be attending. Fuming is an understatement. My gut told me this would be the case but I wanted to remain optimistic. I wanted to walk out because it always feels like the right people who need to hear things are never present to hear it. My fellow bloggers and the very nature of Karen Allen made me change my mind and I am glad they did.

Eight minutes into the debate and I was holding the mic. Top Boy clearly had a high budget evidenced through the marketing campaign on billboards, newspapers and television adverts. The production level of the drama was also high, evidenced through the amazing cinematography and helicopter shots. On the night the drama aired, cast members watched it at The Mayfair hotel and through the twitter hash tag monitored the responses. Cast and crew I'm sure have worked hard, so I am not knocking how they chose to celebrate. The monitoring of tweets was a great idea. 

However I was amazed that at the end of the drama a phone line number didn't appear like what you see in EastEnders when sensitive storylines are aired. The voiceover stated that more information on the themes can be found on the website, so off course I clicked and was greeted with a list of helpline numbers. For me it wasn't enough. The nature of the show would have brought up many different things for different people and a list of numbers felt like a barrier coupled with a relevant though basic requirement.

With a large budget to make and advertise the drama surely some money could have been put aside to create a more felt holding space? There was an interactive monitoring for the cast on the opening night but what about the public? Channel 4 could have asked the public to discuss certain themes revealed within each episode over the 4 nights via twitter and rather than Random Acts, which felt like a great way to expose new artists due to the level of viewers watching, how about a little3 min Wonder-esque piece from an ex-gang member, victim, father/mother? Reminding those watching that the drama just seen echo’s real life.

But "TopBoy depicts reality and these stories need to be told" were the voices of some yesterday. I will never condone any form of media that creates further discussion, thought or solution. The problem we have today is that people are forgetting that there is drama in reality everyday, though that appears to be too real so most would rather watch a drama imitating life and switch of and forget when the programme is finished. If everyone who watched Topboy watched The Hospital also aired on Channel 4, which I reviewed in article Road Blocked , we would all be in a better position.

When a drama such as Top Boy imitates what is happening in London right now, it is the responsibility of the maker to use it as a tool for discussion in the promotion of change, in my opinion. The fact that no one attended the discussion last night informs me this was not on their agenda. Nor was it on there agenda to reflect on the appropriateness of the positioning of the posters. On the way home from the event I was surprised to see they had a billboard in Peckham. I just don’t get it. 


As a result this feels like service to self. A hot topic used that will naturally bring in viewers, ratings and instant recognition to an already recognised writer. Service to others would have meant that this discussion would have taken place in City Hall or somewhere similar with MP’s, the mayor of London, the writer, channel 4 executives and the public. Everyone coming together to try and tackle the problem through hearing diverse voices and suggestions. This makes perfect sense to me especially as MP's Teresa May and Iain Duncan Smith recently said...

                                

"Rival gangs in Britain's inner cities use rape as a weapon"

"Gang members are like 'child soldiers"

However as I have said time and time again in numerous articles, no one is connecting the dots and following through to provide realistic solutions. Members of the Parliament should be changed to Members of the Public to reflect the diverse members of society. Those that work directly on the ground level need to be involved in decision making otherwise the quotes above will remain just that. 


This debate was highly emotive, valuable and needed. The contributions from all were insightful and respected, however it was the honest expressions from Mark Prince and Robyn Travis that gave me a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. 

Mark Prince is the father of Kiyan Prince a talented footballer and so much more, who was murdered on May 18th 2006. Out of this tragedy Mark set up The Kiyan Prince Foundation (KYP) and has become an “accidental” figurehead and “Britain’s most high-profile spokesman in the fight against knife and gun crime in the United Kingdom”. His pain is felt but so is his love and passion to create change.

 

'Freedom from the Womb, Prisoner To The Streets' is the name of Robyn Travis’ soon to be released book which is based on his life growing up. Robyn is a Youth and Community Worker using his experiences to inform and prevent others from going down a similar path. Again I cannot do justice to what he expressed within this article. The experiences of both men are more harrowing than any drama I have seen. This is reality, this is real life and this is what is happening and effecting many people. Their voices need to be heard because it will penetrate the hardest of hearts whilst providing the way to solid solutions. 

Those from Top Boy who were meant to attend and didn’t, for whatever reason missed out. Those that didn’t get to attend due to the lack of notice and exposure, missed out because the same level of attention to the post drama wasn’t given. This event was organised last minute by Sherica Spence she said ...

“The point of the debate was for people to voice their opinions on the show but also to hear from those such as Mark Prince, Gifford Sutherland, Lisa Carr and Robyn Travis who are all actively doing out reach work in the community on what they hear and witness on a day to day basis. I wanted to leave people feeling inspired and wanting to make a change and a difference in their community”.

There are numerous outcomes as there are various paths. In order to see them, hear them and see the light at the end of the tunnel, we are the ones who have to voice them, write them and manifest them into reality and through various media mediums.

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