Arts & Culture
Lights! Camera! Er, what's next?
Published 30 May 2005
Theatre of the future - Reality television goes to the West End! But can you really get a decent play out of a TV show? Helen Chappell investigates
Mark Ravenhill, the writer who outraged the nation with his triumphant drama Shopping and Fucking, thinks it was inevitable. "We've already had Pop Idol, Operatunity and Musicality, all searching for new talent. But I don't envy anyone coming into playwriting by this route. You're going to come up against suspicion and derision."
Ravenhill is referring to television's new reality show The Play's the Thing. The idea? Hopeful (and unknown) playwrights send in their play synopses. Cameras follow the progress of the winning writer as his or her script is developed. The show will then get a three-month run in the West End of London. Hey presto - theatre is "demystified" and a huge audience packs out the auditorium. Naturally, TV execs are also hoping that there will be a couple of punch-ups along the way.
Ravenhill believes it's a tricky call. "I think it will be hard for the winning playwright to get treated with respect by the rest of the profession," he warns. "If you sent in a subsequent play with a covering letter saying, 'I was the winner of that TV talent show', it would probably count against you." There is a difference, it seems, between fame for extrovert per-formers and fame for new writers.
"We playwrights are notoriously sensitive," says Alistair Beaton, author of the West End hit Feelgood. "I'm sure fellow writers will throw up their hands in horror and say: 'How dare anyone pull off what we've spent years of our lives learning to do?' It's like when you meet someone at a dinner party who says: 'I'm the local GP and I've just written a stage play.' You think - sod off! I'm not going to start work next week as a doctor!"
Yet Beaton can see some advantages in letting the TV cameras look behind the scenes. "Anything that democratises the world of theatre is good - it can get a bit precious and exclusive sometimes. That's why I'm pleased when plays such as Behzti [cancelled by the Birmingham Rep after riots outside the theatre] cause debate."
There is certainly a great deal of debate about new audiences for theatre. Kwame Kwei-Armah's Elmina's Kitchen, focusing on black British culture, has just opened under the National Theatre banner in the West End. Kwei-Armah believes his exposure not only as an actor in BBC1's Casualty, but also as a contestant in the charity edition of Fame Academy, helped him become the first black British writer with a play in the West End. "All of us involved in the 'high arts' desperately want them to become the popular arts," he says. "I welcome anything that helps break down those elitist barriers."
But, counters Beaton, will the end pro-duct be worth it? "I am doubtful how quickly you can learn to create literature or art. You may win the chance to sing in an opera on TV, but you'll never reach the standard of an artist who's trained for years." Ravenhill agrees. "This is different from the playwriting competitions that theatres have been running for years. They take their long-term responsibility to the writer seriously. I've worked as a literary manager, and it can take years to develop a promising playwright."
The veteran playwright Alan Ayckbourn fears the winner may become a five-minute televised wonder. "My concern is what happens to the writer afterwards. There are plenty of people who have had one work staged, but can they create a second? I wouldn't want to be a novice writer subjected to such pressure. In the words of Brian Aldiss, 'Anyone can become a writer. Very few can stay one.'"
Joe Penhall, author of Blue/Orange, is a little more hopeful. "If anyone can get a play put on by that method, I wish them all the luck in the world. You've got to try everything these days. Just be wary of the cameras putting extra pressure on an already stressful process." A lot also depends, he feels, on who develops the winning script. "Some theatres, such as the Royal Court, are brilliant at this; others just mess with your mind."
Penhall's big problem with the new television series is that it could prove excru-ciatingly dull. "If Channel 4 thinks that scrutinising a script will make exciting TV, then best of luck to it. To me, it's like watching ink dry. Writers are very insular and obsessive people. They choose this profession so they can lock themselves away in their house and never have to talk to anyone." Ravenhill raises another problem. "It doesn't usually matter if a playwright is boring - many are naturally dull people. But TV viewers need someone to root for, so here the question of personality becomes critical."
Despite their misgivings, these celebrated playwrights have some pearls of wisdom for the winner. "I was going to say 'Take the money and run' - but this is the theatre, so there isn't any," says Penhall. "But beware of instant celebrity and remember that you're going through a manipulative process."
Ravenhill is more practical: "As soon as you've won, try to get away from everything to do with the show. Lock yourself away for six months and write your second play. If you can come back with something good after that, you might just stand a chance."
Wannabe playwrights should call 0901 111 1504, or visit www.channel4.com/culture/ showcards/T/tptt.html
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