Writing for stage and screen
(and here we’re talking about television more than about film, and
definitely not about Hollywood) is, as James Roose-Evans observes, a
hazardous business. Indeed, the way the opening article initially
presents it, one might be better off learning to do something else
altogether. If you’re easily deterred, writing plays is probably
not for you. Unlike a novel, which ultimately requires nothing more
than a reader in order to come alive, a play needs a cast, a director
and a place to happen. Consequently, given the limited resources
available, there’s a lot of competition to have one’s drama
performed. And if there’s competition, it only makes the job all the
harder.
However, James Roose-Evans’
thoughtful article offers as much encouragement as it does
discouragement, and he has plenty of good ideas for making contact
with the theatre and its denizens. Often, that personal contact is
the key to getting the first foot on the ladder of seeing your work
performed. Similarly, his interview with the playwright Harold Whitemore,
creator of, among other things, The Gathering Storm and Best
of Friends is fascinating for the revealing glimpses of a working
playwright’s life.
Interviews with Mal Young and Kate
Rowland offer hope as well, though perhaps in a more general ‘keep
trying’ kind of way. Rowland is the BBC’s Creative Director for New
Writing while Young is the BBC drama controller for series. Given the
fact that even as I’m writing this, the BBC has restated its
commitment to getting new drama onto tv and radio, I can’t help
thinking they’re going to be working very hard in the next months. Reading
these interviews may just provide a clue to what they’re looking for,
while Bob Ritchie chronicles the ups and downs of being a failed
playwright.
Once again, as with its sister volume
on crime-writing, the meat of this book is in the huge listings section.
It’s more general than its companion, but nonetheless has the vital
addresses of theatre companies, tv production companies, agents and
associations that any aspiring playwright needs. This book won’t
teach you how to write plays – there are plenty of good books out
there that can do this – but it will show you what to do with them
next, and that’s important too.
