writing

I’ve been working on a kind of self-help tract for my own self, to reconcile some of the contradictions of being a caring artist in the shadow of capitalism. This is the second notebook post on the …

Since late lockdown, I’ve been working on a kind of self-help tract for my own self, to reconcile some of the contradictions of being a caring artist in the shadow of capitalism. For a while I …

Some subroutines I’m trying to run for my writing, whenever possible. Or whenever I remember. Warning: contains pedantry. 1. No roles, only desires Many of my stories are about people who wouldn’t …

How being a musician affects scriptwriting and storytelling – The second in a series of short (ish) articles – WARNING: contains autobiography – 2. Craft work I've been thinking about a gig I went to …

How being a musician affects scriptwriting and storytelling – The first in a series of short (OK, short-ish) articles – 1. Story ghosts One of the amazing things about making digital music – …

It's been a tough year for anyone working in the performing arts, and I want to pick apart something I'm hearing more and more, especially as theatres announce their re-opening programmes and …

So my play Babel's Cupid has just been announced as one of the three runners-up for the Yale Drama Series Prize 2021. Over the moon, me. Many thanks to judge Paula Vogel and Yale Drama Series, and …

On quantum emotions. Writing drama, you're regularly asked to justify the actions of the fictional people you're creating, to give them clear reasons for doing what they do and saying what they say. …

[EDIT, 2021. This article from 2018 contains thoughts and reflections on the practice of Chris Goode, who at the time was horrendously abusing many people involved in his work, and beyond. But I've …

Here's two interviews with me talking about making stuff and all that. The questions were from students at Bath Spa University. 1. Interview by Connor Sullivan on sound design and site-specific …

Horse God The pantheon of gods in Sri Lanka is a complex hierarchy of beings ultimately subject to the cycle of birth and rebirth in the same manner humans are; a process that in Theravada Buddhism …

One of the main drives of these Sura Medura residencies is to push and take risks with our practice. The residencies are hosted by Neil Butler, who’s got strong form in making and producing radical …

Hikkaduwa 2018 On the beach a tourist couple are ankle-deep in the surf, and she's performing the kind of frolicking you only perform at the edge of the sea if you have a camera's gaze upon you. The …

The Museum of Important Incidents was established some years ago (precisely when is unimportant) in order to celebrate the truth. Fame and infamy and the works of so-called significant persons are …

We don’t see the ghosts we used to. Because of course the cities are brighter than they once were, they cast a glow over the countryside, the nights are full of cars and noise. The skies above us are …

(Author’s note: I am, occasionally, a theatre critic.) Please do not use the phrase ‘self-indulgent.’ It will almost always be factually incorrect. You’re perfectly entitled to use the word …

Watch out. Absolute marathon, this one. Over the next few months I’m working as a dramaturg and writer alongside some great artists, as well as giving a few talks and workshops about sound design for …

The film above is edited from footage we shot in Normandy this summer, around a screenplay I've been writing called Utah. I’ve been writing it for about 7 years now, on and off. Well I say ‘writing’. …

Oh hello. Well, a while back you might have seen Rupert Christiansen’s Telegraph blog on the subject of women in theatre. If not, here it is. I’m not going to get rude about Mr Christiansen’s …

How I’m writing Dark Land Light House: – In 2008 we outlined a story. A sci-fi horror set on a lighthouse in space. It was meant for radio at first. – Then we thought about it as a film for a while. …

Thing is, I like working from scripts. I don’t much care what format the script comes in, or whether it’s in the right order, and I’m never averse to suggesting abstractions or deletions; but the …

To be clear, I made this chart for myself... (Click here for full-size readability fun.) I’ve been getting back into the frame of mind where I’m writing theatre for other people to produce. And I …