‘I’ve bought my husband a ticket to your show – for Christmas!’ exclaims the nicest woman in South Birmingham (although I’m wondering now if her husband would agree…)
Our show is someone’s Christmas present, or at least a part of someone’s Christmas present… er, no pressure then…
I guess this is just another unforeseen circumstance that can crop up when we do a show after the Christmas/New Year rush. Talking of which, I still haven’t written my biog for the programme and this blog post is a month late. On top of that, I’ve eaten the two boxes of chocolates that would have made perfect Christmas gift-swap items.
But back to the matter in hand. Will this our show be the memorable and thrilling Christmas present my friend was aiming for? We’re asking some pretty hefty questions – as you’ll see if you read the bumf on the flyer. The reality is that the very idea of ‘Commonwealth’ has a thorny, complex and even brutal history that goes right back to its origins in the 1600’s – despite some of the progressive ideology that emerged alongside it. Caryl Churchill wrote a wonderful full-length play about those progressive ideologies – Light Shining in Buckinghamshire.
But do I address any of this complex history in my fifteen-minute short? No. And do I answer any of the hefty questions that are in the publicity bumf…?
All I can do, in my defence, is refer you to Caryl Churchill’s astute observation – ‘playwrights don’t give answers, they ask questions’ – and say that I really hope you (and your partner) enjoy the questions. Helen Kelly
Uncommon Wealth is at 8pm on 24th January at The REP, with our traditional Unwanted Christmas Gift Swap after the show – so come along and spread the ‘wealth’!
BOLDtext Playwrights 