Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hello and welcome to Table Manners. I'm Jessie Ware. It's a beautiful day in South London. You look fabulous. I like the red. Do you match my lips? Or my lips match the jumper? It's good. It's working, honey.
It's good. We are so excited about the guest today. I can't wait. I think I've seen probably at least more than half of his plays that he's written or been involved with.
So we have the phenomenal James Graham, who is a playwright, a screenwriter. He's the national treasure. He's got an OBE for his services to drama. He is one of our most cherished and celebrated playwrights in Britain and just kind of around the world too. He's incredible.
He addresses current issues, that's what I love about him, and old institutions.
If you don't know who James Graham is, you may have heard of the hugely successful play that was at the National and then transferred to the West End called Dear England, which was all about Gareth Southgate's kind of brain and vision with the England squad and how he really turned things around for us. He's also made musicals, Tammy Faye, which was hugely popular at the Almeida. House.
I didn't see House. I did. He tackled Parliament and people voting, voting in the House. Sherwood. Sherwood, the Nottingham drama, which is so good. Punch, which I think won Best... Punch won Best New Play, I think, and has transferred from Young Vic to the West End. And then it went to Broadway, Mum. It's gone to Broadway.
He's just incredible. I think he's absolutely amazing. And he's coming over now. I am on food duty. I know. So I've made, because it's really nice weather, I've made two salads. One is from the brilliant book Jerusalem by Yotam Otolenghi and Sami Tamimi. And I've made this. I've never made it before, but it was quite straightforward. It's fennel salad.
and chicken and chilies and basil and mint and all these beautiful herbs. And then you make this cooked orange saffron honey sauce, which kind of almost tastes like marmalade. So you griddle the chicken and it's got this kind of sweet orange dressing But I think it will cut through with all the herbs and the chilli. So I've done that.
And then I've done this roasted cauliflower, pistachio and pomegranate salad, which is from Otolenghi Simple. What's it simple? I mean, for Otolenghi, it was quite simple. And then I've got a bit of a sad loaf.
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Chapter 2: How did James Graham's upbringing influence his work?
I think I over-proofed it yesterday.
It's not the proofing, it's the cooking.
No, no, no, it's not that. No, the dark is fine, I don't mind that. Oh. But I don't think I left my starter to rise for long enough. I think I was too keen to use it yesterday. You actually know that, do you? I'm starting to understand Helen the starter. Okay.
And you've made two puddings. Well, I made a cardamom and pistachio cake yesterday. And it does have a kind of caramelised almond and sugar topping with butter on the top. But I wondered if it felt a bit hard and felt like a giant biscuit. And I thought, I'm not going to let myself down. So I got up this morning and I've made a Lisbon chocolate cake from the New York Times. What makes it Lisbon?
I have no idea. Someone tasted it in Lisbon. Oh, OK. And so it's basically a chocolate cake, but kind of very limited. It's like butter, cocoa, chocolate and corn flour, but no flour and eggs. That's the cake. And then it's got a chocolate mousse on the top. So making the ganache was a trial, I can tell you. Oh, really? Anyway, it looks all right and let's hope it works.
James Graham coming up on Table Manners.
James Graham.
Hello.
We're so excited to have you. Why are you being like, no, you're a big deal.
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of Gareth Southgate in 'Dear England'?
But then I knew. mates who always sat at the dinner table and they were very proud of that. But for some reason that just wasn't in our... So yes, it's what neighbours and Coronation Street. My dad, with my parents divorced, my dad lived close to Nottingham and he worked for the local council. He started in... Did your mum work? Mum did loads of jobs.
So when I was growing up, she worked in the local pub as a barmaid. And then she worked in a warehouse where I got my first job. And then she worked as a receptionist in a primary school. She was always doing... And then worked in a shop at the weekend. She was always doing loads of jobs.
And there were just the two of you?
And I had a twin sister who lived with me. Oh, wow. You've got a twin.
I've never realised that.
Her name is Laura. Laura. She loved drama as well. We did plays at school together. And I've got an older brother, Richard, who has come into the film world as well. He's an editor as well.
And I know Richard. I didn't know that.
Because he went out with Harriet, my friend.
So I've been in France with Richard at weddings. He never told me that. Oh, well, obviously you didn't leave an impact on him. No, yeah, yeah.
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Chapter 4: How does James Graham describe his writing process?
On your same town?
Yeah, yeah. How sweet. I remember the... Was it the 92 Olympics? We just watched it in a field and I could like see my house and we were just like pretending we're on holiday. Oh, sweet. Whenever we go away, I get all my neighbours to record the soaps on the VHS tapes and then come back and watch them for hours. Omnibus. Yeah, oh my God, the Omnibus. I'd watch that after watching it in the week.
Oh, I love it. What were you eating on the telly dinner?
It was like... This is no shade, unlike my family, but it wasn't like a cookie house. It is now. I think that's changed culturally in a lot of these places. But at the time, sometimes microwave dinners. But my vegetables was often mushy peas in a tin. But then Sunday dinners were massive, like Sunday roast. That was huge. I used to love that.
Who came for that?
Again, that would just be family. I grew up with a stepdad who was the local window cleaner. He started cleaning our windows then started cleaning them on the inside. They had the cleanest windows in the village for some reason. I was like, this is interesting. And then he just stayed. He was very sweet. So my stepdad, my sister, my brother, my mom, yeah.
What was your roast of choice? Did your mum change it up?
We always change it up. But I remember actually when my grandma was alive, my mum's mum, she was the school dinner lady. And she was so... At your school? No, a different school locally. But there was just something about... And again, I don't think my nan was like a massive cook, but on the things that she did, like those kinds of puddings or...
And those school dinners, she just had her, I can't remember what it was, but her particular way that used to really stress my mum out. So I think it was equivalent of having Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen when my nan was there. And it was only like roast chicken or roast beef. Yorkshire put it into roast veg, but yeah, she had an opinion. Not like me at all. Not like you at all.
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Chapter 5: What role does food play in James Graham's life and creativity?
Oh, let's go do a whiskey tasting together.
It's my favourite thing.
Are you serious? I'd love to do that.
I love it. I love it. I love whiskey so much because... I'm just saying the same things over and over again, but because of the story of whiskey, no disrespect to vodka or even wine, like fine, but what, six months? Whereas whiskey, I think to be called single malt, it has to be a minimum of 12 years.
But when you get like a single malt that's 21 years, 28 years, the idea that like three decades ago, some people put this in a cask and wheeled it into a warehouse on a mountain and
and it just sat there quietly and then you get to taste it and with a single malt like on like a blend which is often like hundreds of whiskies poured together to make a blend a single malt is just the product of that distillery at that time in that place
You are such a romantic, James.
I feel like I deflect because I have loads of issues with intimacy and things like that. And as I've said, relationships. I think my ability to deflect romance onto something else, like a whiskey or a moment in our political history. I love all that. But I'm sure it's because I do it less in my personal life.
Well, I would love to drink whiskey with you.
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