Does a playwright's age matter?

From The Guardian (London) and The Sunday Times: Much of the reaction to British playwright Polly Stenham's West End debut has centred on her tender age: 21. But The Guardian asks an interesting question: should a playwright's youth (or, for that matter, dotage) be taken into account when assessing the work?

Labels: plays, playwriting, U.K.

 

Havel then and now

From The Sunday Times: Czech playwright Vaclav Havel is one of our favorite subjects here on the Gofer, but how could he not be? After all, how many playwrights have also been the leader of their country? Or, put another way, would you want to see a play by George Bush? Either of them?

This profile takes the long view, catching him at two key moments in his life. The first comes back in 1989 when, as the Velvet Revolution continued to coalesce around Havel, "an aide rushed in to tell him the Communist party had relinquished its monopoly on power under the weight of public protest. Disbelief, wonderment, joy and once again disbelief passed over his features in quick succession." The second is just a few days ago, as he "anxiously read[s] the reviews of his first play in 20 years."

It's comforting to know that even someone as travelled and sophisticated as Havel still worries about his reviews -- all good, by the way.

Labels: Europe, playwrights, playwriting

 

Vijay Tendulkar, 1928-2007

From the International Herald Tribune: He joined Gandhi's independence movement at age 14. When he was 22, one of the earliest of his provocative plays was heckled off the stage in New Delhi. But Vijay Tenduklar persisted as a social critic, and became one of his country's most respected artists along the way.

Labels: India, plays, playwrights

 

Play searches for truth -- literally

From The Associated Press via Yahoo! News: The Internet and live theatre are perhaps as unalike as any two media could be, one existing entirely virtually and the other only in the flesh. Philadelphia playwright Katharine Clark Gray ">manages to blend the two, though, in User 927, a mystery inspired by AOL's oafish release of 19 million search logs two years ago.

Labels: internet, playwrights, playwriting