As a child in the 1980s, Michael Wynne took regular camping holidays in North Wales. He grew up in Birkenhead and when his dad was unemployed and money was tight, a quick jaunt along the coast for an outdoor holiday was a cheap means of getting away.
“I thought it was brilliant,” explains the playwright.
“But further down the line I discovered my parents didn’t enjoy it quite as much as they suggested at the time.”
When the economy picked up through the 1990s, camping holidays returned to being a niche pursuit.
But things have turned again and camping is back on the agenda. The difference now is tent holidays are branded as glamping and staycations.
The new breed of breaks fascinates Wynne.
“The campsites where you go now have little houses, with beds and stoves and toilets.
“I went on one with my sister, to a place near where we used to go, because I was intrigued to see what it was like.
“You have all these extra luxuries but it was still just three tents in a field; it is still camping.
“You can hear the people in the next tent.
It’s really cold at night. There’s no electricity and at nine o’ clock at night you’re like, ‘So what do we do now?’”
Characters from that trip inspired his new play, Canvas, which has its world premiere at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre tonight.
The story revolves around small-business owners Alan and Justine, who are having difficulties and have decided to escape.
Two other couples are on the same campsite and all three couples have secrets as to why they are there.
Amanda and Alistair are covert about what they do for work.
Bridget is a teacher and her partner Rory works in an office.
“Bridget is bossy. She always thinks she is helping but she takes over. She is always trying to make people play games.
“Angus Jackson, the director, describes Sarah Hadland, who plays Bridget, as like a machine, in that she knewhowto hit the humour and rhythm and timing straight away.”
Through Bridget, Wynne introduces themes about public and private space.
“The tents are like houses but people walk in as if they are standing in your living room, but they are not.”
He invited the respected psychologist Dorothy Rowe, who has written books about depression and relationships, to speak to the cast. She commented how it was a “brilliant play about marriage”.
But Canvas also introduces subtle class issues, which– for a playwrightwho came fromaworkingclass family and had to adapt to the middle-class world of theatre – have always been bubbling under the surface.
“It’s something I am interested in and you can’t get away from in Britain – especially if you are writing with humour because it gives you a lot to play with.”
He says all the couples have a certain middleclass competitiveness, even if some are more middle-class than others.
“Amanda and Alistair are upwardly mobile and have brought a generator because they can’t be without their iPads and espresso machines.
“They are doing the camping as a bit of fun before their real holiday.”
As is often the case on family holidays, it is children who bring people together. Other issues about the rural ideal are raised, not least because the owner of the family farm, Bronwyn, is really from a council estate down the road.
The key, says Wynne, was he wanted to tap into the idea of going back to basics.
“We have such busy lives and we surround ourselves with all these things.
“This idea that we want to be at one with nature and that it will really make us better, I wanted to see whether it works or not.”
Minerva Theatre, Oaklands Park, Chichester, Friday, May 18, to Saturday, June 16
Starts 7.45pm, matinees 2.30pm.
Tickets £29.50. Call 01273 781312
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