Playwriting (27) A guide to creating verbatim theatre

Verbatim theatre is a type of theatre-making where the text is generated from interviews with 'real life' people. In this second film, Robin Belfield gives advice on how to create your own piece of verbatim theatre.

Over the next few weeks, I capture episodes of the National Theatre: Playwriting series. These are instrumental lessons, as I work at my play "The Room." The above are my notes.
 

Playwriting (26) The ethics of verbatim theatre

Maybe I ought to give a verbatim script a try, that is, drawing on quotes from housemaid interviews and stories.

You can also draw on imagination, and merge it with realism (verbatim script).

Over the next few weeks, I capture episodes of the National Theatre: Playwriting series. These are instrumental lessons, as I work at my play "The Room." The above are my notes.
 

Playwriting (25) Sean O'Casey

Sean O'Casey (1880-1963) was born into a lower middle class family in Dublin and went on to establish a successful career as a playwright at the Abbey Theatre during the 1920s.  The most celebrated plays of this era are "The Shadow of a Gunman" (1923), "Juno and the Paycock" (1924), and "The Plough and the Stars" (1926).

Over the next few weeks, I capture episodes of the National Theatre: Playwriting series. These are instrumental lessons, as I work at my play "The Room." The above are my notes.
 

Playwriting (24) Mike Leigh

Over the next few weeks, I capture episodes of the National Theatre: Playwriting series. These are instrumental lessons, as I work at my play "The Room." The above are my notes.
 

Playwriting (23) Carry a notebook

I schooled myself into using the Notes app on an old iPhone, and carried that practice to my Galaxy Note.  It's far handier, and it's easier to copy onto my journals.

Over the next few weeks, I capture episodes of the National Theatre: Playwriting series. These are instrumental lessons, as I work at my play "The Room." The above are my notes.
 

Playwriting (22) Do it because you have to

We write the impossible, because it’s a play we care very deeply about.

Over the next few weeks, I capture episodes of the National Theatre: Playwriting series. These are instrumental lessons, as I work at my play "The Room." The above are my notes.
 

Playwriting (21) Don't be boring

If you’re a political writer, don’t settle for conveying information. That is the main way to kill your play.

The way to bore your audience is to present to them things they already believe (or know).

Over the next few weeks, I capture episodes of the National Theatre: Playwriting series. These are instrumental lessons, as I work at my play "The Room." The above are my notes.