Royal Court director: The young write great plays as they don’t hold back
YOUNG Londoners who have written plays for their peers in a pioneering project by the Royal Court are much less inhibited than adult playwrights, according to its director.
Debbie Hannan said there were no limits on what the eight to 11-year-olds could produce in its writing workshops, and the result was that they fearlessly tackled “everything from fart jokes to racism and multi-culturalism”.
The youngsters’ plots sometimes shifted suddenly but seemed to work perfectly for their peers, she said.
“You definitely can tell they’re written by children because they’re totally uninhibited. And if a corner needs to be turned they will turn. Children relate to that. They don’t question it.”
Of the dozens produced, eight plays were chosen for a tour of schools by an adult cast under the title Primetime. The project will end with a run at the Royal Court from July 18 to 25.
Ms Hannan said: “The actors have found it a real fun live experience. The kids want to high-five them and repeat lines back and there’s a stage invasion. The response is like no other.”