Initially their performances used ‘scripts’ devised by Nuttall – 'there were no characters, setting or narrative as such but rather there were structures with actions, costumes and props and with huge sections where it would say "cast improvise". Nuttall saw The People Show performances as being akin to a jazz band ‘....there was a chorus, people stepped forward to take solos, people stepped forward to take duets’. Mark Long interviewed by Susan Croft of Unfinished Histories, 30 October 2014 https://www.unfinishedhistories.com/interviews/interviewees-l-q/mark-long/ After about four shows, ‘Nuttall-devised’ shows were alternated with ‘company-devised’ shows. Nuttall’s desire to be ‘shocking for its own sake’ contributed to their notoriety and the Better Books shows were often sold out.
