Q&a Gyda Philip Ralph

What inspired you to write a piece about the Deep Cut Barracks and Cheryl James' story?

I was originally commissioned to write a piece about the Army, with the events at Deepcut as one of many possible areas of inquiry. I discovered that, of the four recruits to die at Deepcut, there was one woman and she was Welsh.

Since I was being commissioned by a Welsh company and I am based in Wales this seemed like an appropriate place to start. I contacted Cheryl’s father, Des James, asking if he would be interested in speaking to me. From the first moment that I met him, it became apparent that the play must be about Deepcut. There is so much more to the story than we have been lead to believe by the government and reports in the media and I became immediately obsessed by it’s complexity and the shocking twists and turns that the families have been through. The story of Des and Doreen’s fight for answers and their personal journey is utterly compelling and deeply moving
and I am thrilled that they are so strongly supportive of the project.

When did you start writing the piece and how much research have you done?

I began meeting people connected to the case and conducting interviews in May 2006. I then immersed myself in the Deepcut case, reading every report and government debate and newspaper article. I met a broad cross section of people connected to the story - a retired Major who was based at Deepcut; friends of Cheryl and former recruits; a forensics expert who believes that all four recruits did not commit suicide but were in fact murdered; Lembit Opik who is the James’s MP and has fought alongside them for answers.

Every interview was recorded and laboriously transcribed before being ruthlessly edited and combined with the documentary material to tell the Deepcut story from the perspective of the James family. In all as I write I have been researching and writing the project for over two years.

How do you feel about the piece being produced by Sherman Cymru for their Autumn season?

I am absolutely delighted that the piece will be produced by Sherman Cymru for two reasons; firstly, the story that has been told to me over the last two years brings to light a terrible injustice. Despite repeated requests, media attention and protestations, the families of the four recruits have never been granted a public inquiry into their children’s deaths, even though the circumstances of all four remain highly suspicious.

I hope that the production of the play will help the families in their aim of bringing the truth of what happened at Deepcut, and the Establishment’s appalling reaction, to the public’s attention. Secondly, I am delighted that Sherman Cymru are taking a risk on such a potentially explosive piece. If theatre has a role in society, I believe, it is to challenge and question the status quo. This piece will certainly do that and it’s great that Sherman Cymru are being so bold in their programming choices.