Kelly Jones popped round last week to talk to me about my work on Dial 419. I have copied an extract from the interview below. The full transcript can be found on my blog.

KJ. Tell me about yourself and the work you create.

BS: I am a multi platform director. I write and direct stories that can be experienced across different media platforms.

KJ. Can you tell me what you mean by different platforms?

BS: Different platforms can range from virtual ones, through the use of digital technology, such as social media applications like Facebook etc., to real world environments where live theatre can take place, such as the street and other public spaces.

KJ. Tell me about your previous work.

BS: I’ve worked across the arts, working in the visual arts sector curating exhibitions, I’ve directed a number of theatre performances and films and I have produced interactive products for television. For the past year, I have been focusing on using a multi-platform approach in live theatre.

KJ. What was your inspiration for ‘Dial 419 for Love’?

BS: The inspiration came from my interest in alternative reality games (ARGs) and their structural similarity to the phenomena of romance scams.  “Lonelygirl” was one of the first ARGs to appear online.  The  drama centred on an American heroine, Bree, and a number of other fictitious characters that inhabited YouTube.  The audience interacted with Bree and her friends as if they were real people.  Writers and performers have since re-developed and re-performed “Lonelygirl” for UK audiences.  More generally, across the UK, there is a trend towards the use of ARG formats in theatre to find new ways of engaging with audiences.

Romance scams are a warped version of reality games. The scammer creates a series of characters and dramatic scenarios in order to trap and scam the victim. I was interested in the psychological and social relationships underpinning scams. Particularly, how scammers rationalise crime and why some people are susceptible to romance scams.  Generally, it seems that the scammer is seeking to escape poverty and the scam victim wants to escape loneliness.  This says something about social and economic transactions between citizens of European and African countries.

I saw the opportunity to create a romantic thriller (or “Rom Con” as I’m calling it) that is playful, dark and thought provoking. I want ‘Dial 419 for Love’ to be entertaining, but my aim is also to generate debate about the underlying issues.