I’ve written plays before.
I’ve directed theatre before.
But never before have I both written and directed simultaneously.
With this comes the overwhelming thought that I alone have thrust this work upon the chance-taking theatre dwellers.
I alone am responsible for whether or not they get whatever it is people hope to get when they give up the sofa for an evening and venture into a darkened room.
I alone have decided this story is worth eighty minutes of your time and eighteen of your British pounds.
Of course this is not true.
With the backing of the Corkscrew team, the endorsement of two wonderful venues and the incredible work and talent of Max and Lauren, we brought this story to life together. And it is solely this collaboration that stopped me from throwing up or running away when offering such a personal story out for public consumption. It is not “I alone,” it is a group of people that believe in the project just as much as I do.
And to our great relief and excitement, our audiences seemed to be in agreement. We have been told countless times that this piece deserves a future life. We have had teary hugs aplenty, and we have created spaces in which people are given permission to laugh, cry and reflect – this, after all, is what theatre is for!
So “I alone” declare this a triumph!
(And I hope a bunch of you agree…)
Now I’ve been all lovely and proud, it is time for a tiny rant… for my chance to talk about whether the industry is really looking for those same things. Is theatre for creating safe spaces, for laughter, for tears, for reflection and connection? Or is it suffering a plague of safety? Safe casting choices with very few new faces, safe reboots and repurposed IP (intellectual property), safe and palatable and uncontroversial money making meh?
For me, the most exciting work I see is “deserving of a larger audience” but continually confined to tiny black boxes, rehearsed in living rooms and funded with goodwill, passion and the belief that this will all pay off eventually. And while I count myself privileged to be amongst those passionate and daring living room creatives, it is always lovely to actually be paid!
If, by some miracle, you are reading this and you have any power (or money) in this space, I dare you, I double dare you to take a chance!
And if you are reading this, and you are worried that you don’t have the funding you need to progress with your passion project, I promise you that magic can be created in living rooms!
Sophie recently directed her play ‘I love you doesn’t count if you say it instead of sorry’ at the Town and Gown Theatre in Cambridge and the Hope Theatre, London. You can read more about the play here or on the play’s digital programme.