SYNOPSIS
The heart-breaking true story of one teenagers battle with illicit drug use, April’s Fool is one of David Burton’s most well-known theatre works. It is frequently used as a text for classroom study as an example of verbatim theatre
Where is it available?
A live, school-touring version of April’s Fool is currently on the road with Grin and Tonic Theatre Troupe. Find out more here.
Frequently asked questions
What inspired you to write April’s Fool?
Late in 2009, then Artistic Director of the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Lewis Jones, approached me about writing a play for young people. Lewis had come into contact with the Terauds family through a mutual friend. He told me the story - they’d just been through hell, losing their son, and they were looking to make something positive out of the misery. Lewis mentioned that David Terauds had kept a journal throughout the experience, and had titled the document ‘April’s Fool’. Before I met anyone or did anything else, I read that document, and it became the bedrock of the play. The Terauds’ strength inspired me, as well as their ordinariness. They were a perfectly normal family who suffered through a heartbreaking tragedy. What happened to them could happen - and does happen - to so many Aussie families.
What was the process of writing April’s Fool?
I interviewed pretty much anyone who would talk to me for about three months. I ended up with over twenty-four hours of recorded interview material. I then re-listened to all of it, transcribed bits of it, and gradually began to shape and mould that into a script. There were a number of creative developments where we bounced the script around in a room with some actors for a couple of days. The structure pretty much stayed the same through all of it, but every draft just got a little shorter. Collecting that much interview data makes it hard to edit, so the writing process is really just one gigantic act of trimming, over and over again.
How is the family now?
I keep in casual contact with some members of the family when major anniversaries come around, or when stuff happens with the production. 2019 marked ten years since Kris’ passing. I’ve always been grateful for their support of the production. I believe they find some comfort in knowing that the tragedy has gone on to affect many many people.
How would you suggest I perform this bit of April’s Fool?
I get a lot of questions about acting in April’s Fool - I think because a lot of people use some speeches as audition monologues, or end up presenting scenes for school assessment. If you’re a performer, it’s important to know that there’s no special ‘verbatim performance technique’. At least, that’s what I think. Your job isn’t to imitate someone. Your job is to portray a character. You use the text as an entry point to interpreting how someone behaves, moves and speaks. It’s like any other character. While your performance may not be accurate to the person you’re portraying, it is likely to be truthful if you’ve committed to studying the text and working on it in an honest way. I know that’s not an easy answer. It’s not about putting on an accent or a mannerism. It’s about conveying what you believe someone is trying to say in the most respectful and truthful way possible. Who said acting was meant to be easy?!