So You Want To Be A Playwright?

The best plays are complex, not necessarily complicated. No amount of tortuous plot twists can substitute for depth, and depth comes from telling a clear story well.

It’s the moment the playwright poses an active question both for his characters and, by implication, the audience. It’s the ‘What happens if . . . ?’ moment. It’s the point where the protagonist embarks on a gamble and embraces the challenge set to him or her by the narrative. Never be afraid to simplify your story to a single sentence that clearly expresses this: ‘What happens if a woman tries to escape an abusive relationship?’ ‘What happens if a man attempts to take over the family business?’

If you are the sort of writer who starts writing dialogue and after a few months ends up with lots of fragments but without the emergence of a play with the structure and muscularity needed to sustain a whole evening, then perhaps a bit of planning may be in order.

Never underestimate an audience’s fascination with seeing worlds on stage that they have not seen before

in your heart of hearts

Nothing beats life itself’

There are numerous types of plays, and I think it’s a mistake to begin your journey by predetermining the genre you are going to write in. It limits the scope of your imagination and the range of your characters. You put yourself in a straitjacket, and ignore the fact that the greatest tragedies contain moments of high comedy; the best romances can also be tragic.

There are numerous types of plays, and I think it’s a mistake to begin your journey by predetermining the genre you are going to write in. It limits the scope of your imagination and the range of your characters. You put yourself in a straitjacket, and ignore the fact that the greatest tragedies contain moments of high comedy; the best romances can also be tragic.

Begin your story not with an earthquake but with a small decision and follow its consequences through logically.

The story has gone from a negative situation at the beginning (trapped with brute at home) to a positive one (risks going on holiday with friend) to a negative one (left alone on holiday) to a positive one (has fling with fisherman) to a further positive (deciding to stay in Greece and wait for her husband to visit her on her terms).