Punk Rock (Modern Plays)

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The climactic scenes are both exhilarating and disturbing which is a testament to the pacing of the play and direction of Jane Miles. I try to be as creative with the structure of my pieces – fundamentally how many scenes there are, and where and when they are set – as I would be with language or image or action. This is a tender, ferocious and frightening play, all at the same time. There is something seriously wrong with its six main characters. Six miserable people suffering from the condition of being teenagers with its ups and downs, its lights and its shadows. And in their case there are too many shadows. I tailor my conversations to resonate with as much life as possible with the people I am speaking to, and I think of my audiences in the same way.

The two characters, William and Lilly, who are known as the two main characters of the play, both embody the theme of love. In the play, William seems to take a liking towards the new girl, Lilly who doesn't like him but ends up liking another character, Nicolas. The theme of love is shown through William's body actions towards Lilly and his type of language used. An example of this is shown when William eventually asks Lilly out using romantic language, but is then rejected by Lilly. Soon after this, William's character turns and we see a more darker side to him because of her denial of his love towards Lilly. Stephens paints a vivid, diverse portrait of friends who you can't actually call friends. This group is inherently recognizable: friends who seem to have bonded because they're the only ones who can get through it together, no matter how mean they are to one another (and they're really, really mean). A threat of violence hangs in the air from the moment Japhy Weideman's moody lights rise on Mark Wendland's airy, rundown schoolroom set. The MacGuffin-filled text and production becomes a game of "who's going to snap first?" An astonishingly brutal climax (not for the faint of heart) is more of a "duh" moment than a surprise, but it still shakes you to the core, and you won't feel right for quite some time after. Katherine Press – Hi Simon, and thanks for joining us. What general advice would you give to new writers, both on writing and on getting their work noticed? Everything human beings do finishes up bad in the end. Everything good human beings ever make is built on something monstrous. Nothing lasts. We certainly won't . . .This 2009 play has not dated at all. If anything, it is more timely, more plugged into the zeitgeist than ever. Perhaps that is one reason there is another production of it somewhere, every couple of years, including in Spain and France. It is set in an English private school, specifically in the seniors’ library, which no adult – at least in the play – ever enters. The characters are teenagers, but this is not The O.C. or the confected angst of Home & Away.These teenagers are in the midst of their ‘trial’ A-level exams – but that provides just one more pressure on them. The subtext throughout is fear and we see how fear can develop into rage and violence. KP – What differences have you observed about the UK and US theatre scenes, or indeed any other countries you’re particularly familiar with?

KP – Which writers or wrights would you recommend people read/watch for examples of great structure (other than yourself of course!)? Beautiful City Theatre put on a production of this play in Montreal at The Centaur from 5–14 May 2016, directed by Calli Armstrong. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. The New Wolsey Young Company performed the play from 3 to 7 December 2013. Tom Chamberlain played William Carlisle and Gemma Raw played Lilly Cahill. Some critics have criticised Stephens for unoriginality, however. For example, Leo Benedictus, writing for the guardian in 2009, said "The critics spot various possible influences such as The History Boys, Another Country, Lord of the Flies, Elephant, If…, Skins, and The Catcher in the Rye." [18] Legacy [ edit ] Identity Crisis [ edit ]He writes so passionately and soulfully for ordinary people who are in really difficult predicaments. People who are violent, or whatever, can have immense humanity in them as well - Simon writes about that very well." Daniel Mays, actor

SS – ‘Should’ is a dangerous word. But I always consider my audiences. I think of the plays as being a conversational gesture. I tailor my conversations to resonate with as much life as possible with the people I am speaking to, and I think of my audiences in the same way. Speaking of the characters, these are good too. It is clear how they all fit into the little group even though some characters have a much bigger role in the story than others. The interaction between them is great though, funny at times, angering and just plain tense at others.

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The Australian premiere was on 27 July 2012 performed by pantsguys Productions in association with the Australian Theatre for Young People [4] It is not surprising, given Stephens's zest for what he does, that he has been a natural choice for theatres wising to acquire a dramatist. He was resident dramatist at the Royal Court in 2001, a tutor on the Royal Court's Young Writers Programme between 2001 and 2005 and the first resident dramatist at the National. He has also taught in prisons. What has teaching taught him about writing? 'Dramatic narrative needs present tense action,' he says, almost without hesitation. He makes me laugh by describing the common tendency in apprentice playwrights to write about ancient family secrets which are revealed 'four fifths through the play, often in a drunken confessional speech.' This is 'theatrically inert' he says. Another problem is that people see life as 'something that happens to them'. It is the playwright's task, as he sees it, to change the question from 'Why is this happening to me?' to 'Why am I doing this?' It is a lesson that offers a commentary on Stephens's own work which is nothing if not immediate. Manchester School of Theatre produced the play in April 2012, directed by Chris Honer, starring Lucas Smith as William Carlisle. School theater DISK of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague produced the play from 3 April 2012, directed by Ivo Kristián Kubák. [9]

The Nottingham New Theatre produced a production in their 2014 Autumn Season, directed by Bridie Rollins and Lara Tysseling. So first and foremost, this is a play and reading a script is always dramatically different to reading a book because it really only gives you the text and sometimes some stage directions to reveal what the characters could be doing. But mostly it's open to interpretation.Which is always interesting when you think about how it could be staged. The Fortune Theatre (Dunedin, New Zealand) produced this play, opening 27 June 2015, directed by Lara Macgregor. [13] I directed his play Port at the Exchange, and I think it's one of the best things I've ever done. His writing is so detailed, so psychologically rich, so daring in terms of his emotion. He's not very English in that way." Marianne Elliot, director

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SS – For me it is fundamental and increasingly creative and exciting. As wrights rather than writers our work concerns itself with shaping and making. Dramatic structure is like song structure in music. It contains the force of the melody and idea more than any other element. I always wanted to be a songwriter. At university I realised I couldn’t sing and that the theatre could be a form that synthesised my teenage love of drama and live music, so I just started writing plays. I try to be as creative with the structure of my pieces – fundamentally how many scenes there are, and where and when they are set – as I would be with language or image or action. The scenes of seduction and rejection are both witty and heartbreaking, while the boastfulness of these future masters and mistresses of the universe irritates but rings true.