Is The Playwright Actually Important?
In our culture why are we so bothered about playwrights? David Hare talks of the Royal Court Theatre being the building that should find the "voice of the nation" and stage their plays for the world to reflect on it's self via the magnifier of the Royal Court. Spoiler: He's wrong. It's about time we took playwright's off their pedastel. There is absolutely no chance that we should pay Playwright's any more reverence any other pissed up big mouth in the pub. Sound harsh? Well
Pledges For A More Equal Theatre
Straight off the bat I'm in a massive position of privilege and have benifitted from going through my life as a white man and that is the upmost of all privileges. Further to that I fully acknowledge that if you're not a part of the solution then you're a part of the problem and there is a problem with diversity in British theatre. I am not a person of power, I do not commission, I do not programme, I do not cast, I do not do anything like that... How ever I do write plays an
Diversity In Critics
Do we need more diversity in our cultural critics in the National Press? Yes. Obviously. Firstly the in-house critics are all white and, mostly, over 35, mostly male, mostly Oxbridge, and nearly all live in London. How can National papers, national being the key word, recommend work to people that they have never met anyone like? That they don't live amoungst? As long as class, race, gender and geography are ignored in diversity discussions then Theatre will remain exclusive.
Our Place In The World (Not theirs)
I want writers and directors to be held to account for their bullshit representations of different communites around the world. I'm so tired of seeing "the North" held up to be a bastion of poverty and depridation where the only solution is to escape it. I've promised myself I won't shame other writers but if you think this applies to you... sort it out. There's more to the (vastly variable make up) of the Northern Towns than poverty, theft, teenage pregnancy, and getting fuc
Credit Due To Directors (& Actors) Of New Plays
I recently have finished two journeys of development: One a commission from new-writing Hull based collective Middle Child and the other a play I'd already finished a draft of that moved into production at the Hampstead Theatre in London. Both have been amazing dramaturgically and both have made me think. I'm not a director but looking at the genius of Paul Smith, at Middle Child, and Anna Ledwich, the director I'm working with at Hampstead I'm not convinced that the efforts