By Sofia Webster, Co-Deputy Editor
David Nicholls is an award-winning author and screenwriter, the writer behind acclaimed novels such as Starter for Ten (2003) and One Day (2009). Nicholls studied Theatre and English at the University of Bristol which provided an inspiration for his first novel Starter for Ten, and since then has established the Nicholls Art Bursary at the University of Bristol providing financial support to first-year undergraduate theatre students.
Nicholls is one of my favourite authors, so it was an enormous privilege to talk with him about his fondest memories as a student in Bristol and how this paved the way for an extraordinary career as an actor, author and screenwriter.
Having studied Theatre and English, Nicholls spoke greatly of how much performing as a student informed his career path and was a ‘fresh start’ for him as none of his family had previously been to university, his maintenance grants funded by the local council.
‘I cannot say how much I loved it. [Bristol] was a completely new start for me, definitely a turning point in my life.’
With this in mind, the Nicholls Arts Bursary was set up in collaboration with the university to support students pursuing an undergraduate single or joint honours theatre courses at the university.
‘I was aware that I’d certainly owed the university a big debt in terms of providing me an education, the people I met and the experiences I had, and my first novel… it clearly took some inspiration from my own experience of arriving from a family who didn't having any experience of university.’
‘I've always been very grateful for those three years and because I've drawn on that experience so much and benefited from it so much, it seemed appropriate to acknowledge that, and that's how the bursary came about.’
‘I'm aware that that there are kids who would perhaps want to study the arts and humanities subjects which aren't so obviously vocational and don't have a very clear obvious and predictable career path. For some, that might be a bit of a disincentive, the idea of taking out all this debt and then not being able to instantly fall into a career in the arts or humanities. [The Bursary] is a drop in the ocean really, what is really needed is a change in government policy and university funding.’
One of the first times the University of Bristol was brought to my attention was when I watched the film adaptation of Starter for Ten as a young girl, telling the story of a working-class student arriving to study at the University of Bristol with the ambition of performing on the quiz team on the University Challenge. The 2006 film featuring James McAvoy, of which the screenplay was written by Nicholls, received critical acclaim for being a ‘charming and witty coming-of-age tale’.
We joke about how the idea for the story came about, whether it was a personal ambition of his to be on the show as a student.
‘Unfortunately, that was all made up. It would have been a very, very uncool thing to do, particularly in the Drama Department! The only access I had to the world of university was through that silly quiz programme, you have these brilliant smart people answering very obscure questions on philosophy and physics.’
‘I guess University Challenge carried a certain amount of nostalgia, but it was not something I ever did, probably just as well!’
Aside from being such a successful film and novel, the story was more recently adapted to a musical premiering at the Bristol Old Vic in February and March 2024, featuring Mel Giedroyc.
Nicholls spoke of how the idea for a musical came about, with Emma Hall (sister of Rebecca Hall, who played Rebecca in the original film) growing up watching the film and eventually becoming a theatre producer and proposing the idea of a musical.
‘I actually didn’t really have any involvement creatively; I just gave them my blessing and so I didn’t take part in the writing or anything. I just went along to see it and I loved it. It was really interesting to see it played as a period piece by people who weren’t born in some cases until the 21st century so it was very strange to see it treated nostalgically because it's my youth. I found it very moving. I was very touched that there was still something to be found in that story.’
Nicholls’ career has spanned a range of successful novels, such as the bestseller One Day which has become a worldwide phenomenon in its own right, with over six million copies being sold and being translated into 40 languages.
Last summer noted the release of You Are Here – a book reciting a more nuanced love story between two unlikely, middle-aged protagonists, uniquely set along a scenic route of the North of England as opposed to previously used more metropolitan settings like London, Bristol and Edinburgh, as in One Day and Starter for Ten.
‘I was aware of that, that location has always been important, [my previous novels] they had a very specific city base.’
Speaking on how the idea for You Are Here came about, Nicholls spoke of developing ‘this complete obsession with walking specifically in the north of England', adding that, 'I wanted to find a way to write about that and to write something that was both very close up on the characters, almost like a close up camera of their relationship and reactions and at the same time, something that took place within this big, epic beautiful landscape.’
‘[Writing You Are Here] also involved a sense of immersion as I did the walk and took a lot of inspiration from the landscape, which was incredibly helpful.’
One of his other novels One Day was phenomenally successful, following the story of two characters Emma and Dexter across the same day (July 15th) for twenty years watching how their relationship evolves. Nicholls initially adapted the story in 2011 into a feature film starring Anne Hathaway and more recently, the story was reimagined as a Netflix series starring This is Going to Hurt’s Ambika Mod and The White Lotus’ Leo Woodall.
Despite selling the rights, Nicholls was still very involved creatively in the production of both One Day as a film and series: ‘They were very kind to have me involved and I made it with a number of old friends and so creatively and artistically I was very involved, and that made me incredibly happy. It was definitely one of the happiest and craziest experiences I've had. It was just bliss to work with such amazing young talents.’
Talking about his fondest memories in Bristol, Nicholls spoke warmly of his university experience, performing regularly in plays, from Shakespeare to devised work to comedy.
‘I'm not exaggerating when I say I was I was really bad! But I worked with some brilliant people, many of whom have gone on to have brilliant careers as actors, directors and writers. I was directed by my friend Matthew Warches [now Artistic Director of London’s Old Vic] and worked with people like David Greig - really fantastic and talented people.’
‘I did a lot of acting but no writing at all. I think I regret that slightly, I would’ve liked to try my hand at writing some plays, but I loved performing, I just liked the experience of being in a theatre company.’
Despite becoming such a successful writer in his own right, Nicholls never ventured much into writing as a university student (Epigram had not been founded until just after in 1988!). Instead, performing in plays became an incredibly formative part of his time at Bristol, later lending him to establishing himself as an actor before later becoming an author and screenwriter.
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Despite wishing he’d done more writing as a student, Nicholls offered advice to any students hoping to follow in his footsteps: ‘Find the time to watch movies and read books outside your familiar genres, you will find other people’s work will provide fuel, I think. You must really just take everything in, and it will find its way to your own work. The books, films, TV shows and plays that you read, watch and get involved in at this time of life will find their way into your bones and be useful in completely unexpected ways.’
If Starter for Ten is anything to go by, this advice definitely rings an element of truth to it!
Featured Image: Sophia Spring
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