Free Tom Hardy by James Haydock

confines of Shotgun. Tom, Chips and some of the other Shotgun members were aiming to integrate the Octoplot Revolution into an educational outreach programme for 14 to 16 year olds, which would stretch across 32 London boroughs.
    It wasn’t long, however, before Tom’s working relationship with educational establishments came to an abrupt halt. In November 2006, he and other members of Shotgun were due to go and speak to pupils from 10 schools about their work – and also about Tom’s own life and career. The talk was part of a project called London Schools Masterclass funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). Just a couple ofweeks before the event, Tom gave an in-depth interview to the Evening Standard in which he laid bare the problems of his youth, his brushes with the law and his addictions. Within two days of the interview appearing, Tom was informed that the DfES was anxious about the reaction to the revelations in the interview and had therefore decided to postpone the masterclass.
    The decision of the DfES could be construed as hasty and reactionary – and its ramifications would certainly be disappointing for the young people who would have benefited from the talk. Granted, Tom had not lived a model life but he was a fine example of someone who had, through hard work and determination, pushed himself firmly back on track. Plus he had made no secret of his past – surely better than covering it up and being exposed further down the line? Speaking to the Telegraph at the time, he expressed his frustration at the cancellation, describing the decision as ‘quite bureaucratic and quite puritan. All we are interested in is giving something back to the community.’ He added: ‘We wanted the kids to feel the pleasure and fulfilment we feel as professional performers. If we can help any child leave school with a sense of purpose and usefulness, then that has to be a good thing.’ After all, Tom knew better than anyone how disheartening it could be to leave school with no aspirations, goals or direction.
    Dispiriting though this was, the endeavours of Shotgun continued apace. Next up was their first production, a play called Blue on Blue , written by Chips. The play tells the story of a wheelchair-bound war veteran living with his nephew. The younger character is damaged and forced to confront his problems. The playwright described his play as ‘a hard-arsedlook at compulsion and co-dependency but… first and foremost, a darkly funny play about people.’
    Speaking to the Evening Standard (in the very interview at which the DfES took such great umbrage) Chips explained that he had drawn on parts of his relationship with Tom when writing Blue on Blue . Speaking about his son, Chips said: ‘We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, but Tom wouldn’t be such a good actor if he didn’t have those things in him.’
    The play was staged at the Latchmere during November 2006 and was directed by Tom. Simon Rhodes, Gideon Turner and Danielle Urbas filled the roles of uncle, nephew and Marta the home help respectively. It was only on for a few nights but its run was a sell-out and the Daily Mail review stated that the play ‘astutely raises difficult social problems without being preachy’. Being under Tom Hardy’s directorship, it would have seemed odd if it had been any other way.
    Shotgun followed up Blue on Blue with a play called Two Storm Wood by Edward Bennett-Coles, staged in February 2007. Perhaps inevitably, though, the indie theatre company didn’t stay together for much longer. Work commitments must have eaten up the amount of time that Tom was able to devote to his project, but looking back on the Shotgun days in an interview with Time Out in 2009 he recalled: ‘Everybody joined up and it was all dope, then everyone went solo and it wasn’t as good. I’ve gotta bring it back for the reunion. Even if it is just