A Manx theatre director has realised a decade-long ambition after bringing a stage adaptation of one of Hilary Mantel's most acclaimed short stories to a leading UK theatre.

John Young recently directed The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, ten years after first approaching the late Wolf Hall author about turning the story into a play.

John, who grew up in Douglas, wrote to Mantel after first reading the short story before meeting for lunch to discuss the possibility of turning it into a play.

After securing the rights to create the adaptation a decade later, the project developed from there.

John said: ‘It is a real privilege to be making work at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre. It is such a vibrant city.’

One of the main challenges in adapting a short story for the stage, John said, was the limited source material available.

‘It is almost like saying rather than this being an adaptation, it is a whole new play. Hilary Mantel gives us the context and framework, but Alexander, the playwright, has had a lot of filling in to do and has almost had to write a completely new play.’

Since the production, John has had time to reflect on the milestone and where his dream of directing first began.

He said: ‘There is such a rich artistic culture in the Isle of Man. There are an incredible number of high-quality societies and local theatre companies staging major productions. It was a massive advantage to a theatre-maker like myself.’

He also paid tribute to the education he received at St Ninian’s High School and credited former drama teacher Stephen Craige as a major influence, describing him as a ‘phenomenal’ teacher.

Some might describe John’s journey into directing as serendipitous, as it was not until he was studying drama at Chester University that he stepped into the role.

As students prepared to stage a play, they realised having a director might be useful, and John volunteered.

He said: ‘It wasn’t until that moment that I thought, “Ah okay, this feels right.” Up until then I wanted to be an actor. I sort of fell into directing, if I’m being honest.’

John also had advice for young people on the island considering a career in the arts.

‘I often felt there was a lot of emphasis on actors and people who wanted to be actors. I suppose I would say there are a lot of other roles within the arts that aren’t acting and they don’t always feel visible.

‘I think being from the Isle of Man, sometimes a professional job in that field can feel really far away. I would just say work really hard, commit yourself to it and take yourself seriously.’

John emphasised listening to people around you who have experience and noted that the island is full of people who have worked professionally and can offer valuable advice, whether in literature, film-making, fashion or many other creative fields.