Traveller is based on 20-year-old’s own experiences from his past. His story created a model for the film and as a result this leaflet will attempt to summarise why what happened did. (Some of the scenes had to be changed slightly for the film as they were very difficult to capture on screen)

Scene One:
Will is wondering through a wood and stops to sit down to gather his thoughts. Madra sees him and introduces herself. She explains that she's ‘a good listener’ and after a short discussion, Will opens up to her and explains what is on his mind.

Scene Two - The Journey:
The scene is a mock chat show "No Matter How Many Times You Tell Your Story, No-One Is Really Listening". (This was to reflect the truth). Will explains that after his grandfather had died when he was younger, he felt that his presence had come back to him to guide and to help him.

"Will was 13 at the time his Grandfather died, and this could have been the starting point for what happened next. This was the first time he had ever known someone to die, and at his age he was not sure of his emotions and how to react. He was also just beginning puberty. As the body and mind change, we can be confused as to what is happening. Suddenly you are open to a lot of new emotions and feelings.

Will did not talk about his Grandfather until his late teens and he had kept his emotions locked up until then. As he grew he began to understand what he felt as a child. In the film, Will talks about the possibility that his Grandfather had somehow come back to him. Although in his mind that this was the case, the explanation could be simpler.

It is difficult to talk when someone close to you has died. It does help to do so though, and it can help clear the ‘dream’ feeling you sometimes get. A lot of people can accept what has happened, but others can go on and never truly believe it. Often the funeral service acts as a final closure, the last farewell, but it doesn’t always feel that way. For a 13-year-old to find closure, it can be difficult.

Will did say that although he felt something, the idea of it being his Grandfather did not occur to him until much later. Had he not died, Will might never have thought of it, and the following years might have been different. But what he did feel could be the mind’s way of coping with death. Perhaps this was Will’s way of dealing with it?"

Scene Three:
Will explains to Madra that he later became aware of being empathic and how he calls all empaths 'Listeners'. (See The Listeners Guild for more information). But as he grew things began to get worse in his head.

Scene Four - Demon: The flashback takes us to Will's bedroom one night. He is reading an extract from his diary and clearly shows that his mental problems are being blamed on something he calls 'It'. He holds a knife to his arm but cannot carry on.

"Will often suppressed his feelings and never really discussed them with anyone. He kept a diary, which he hoped would help him to express himself. This did help him, but sometimes he had to let them out in small doses, and sometimes into a massive outburst.

Although at the time he had no problems with his family or friends, he was feeling under a lot of pressure from his studies. He was also constantly putting himself down, taking everything that was said to him to heart and creating a vicious circle to which he felt killing himself was his only way out. When in this state, you loose touch with reality and will blame everything that goes wrong on something else.

Looking back, Will can see how he got into that state, but said at the time he did not know how bad he had got. Luckily, he also realised early enough that the thing he kept calling ‘It’ was something he had created. Everything that went wrong; headaches and sudden illnesses; and what he describes as an ‘uncontrollable, mental anger’ towards something he didn’t know what, he blamed on this ‘thing’.

He now knows that he had personified his problems as not to blame himself."

Scene Five:
Will now explains that he created a world called 'Beyond' where he could go to at night and explore. This way he could break away from reality. Madra too seems to know of it and this intrigues Will further. At the end of the scene he tells that he still had to face his 'inner demon', but first he needed a rest...

" ‘Beyond’ was a concept that Will created in his mind, to ‘break away from reality’, but it does exist. It is the part of the mind that sees the whole the picture; it can help you see sense in your life and help you realise that you are worth something. Lack of sleep, poor eating habits and not enough exercise are the simplest ways of shutting off that part of the brain, resulting in low self-esteem and the body been neglected.

In the film, Madra said that ‘Beyond’ lies past a doorway, and to get to it you need to find the key. Will was the key all the time. He could have prevented a lot of his problems by getting himself ‘sorted’ long ago – keeping on top of his work, eating properly, avoiding unnecessary stress, learning to relax and even taking up a new interest to take his mind of things."

Scene Six - Traveller's Rest:
Here Will is on holiday. He talks to himself and the stars. He opens up and for the first time in what seems like years, he cries and calmness sweeps over him.

"Will had had enough and decided that now was the time to get himself sorted. What was building up he let out whilst on holiday – and this was the first time he had cried in over two years. This does help, but you need to let it out more often, to ‘cleanse’ the mind."

Scene Seven - End Journey:
Several nights later, Will returns to the same spot. His anger has built up and he finally confronts his demons. In the film this is visualised by strong scenes of violence and war. Horrible faces are also mixed in with the image. But he does it....

"What happened to him on his last night is very difficult to explain. To Will, it was a battle between good and evil. While in his head, his mind was trying to re-organise things and ‘tidy-up’ unwanted mess. Because he had not been looking after himself properly, there were a lot of things to be put into priority.

Will said that afterwards he could swear that something ‘bad’ was near by. This is a reminder that we must keep looking after ourselves, keep our defences up from unwanted feelings and stay physically and mentally healthy. If you do not get the right amount of vitamins and minerals each day, you are sure to become ill."

Scene Eight: Madra comforts Will, but he feels better now. Still intrigued by Madra, he asks more questions, but she simply smiles and walks away. Now feeling a whole lot better having told his story, he leaves knowing that there is hope after all.

SCENE BY SCENE