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by Simon Annand |
Roy Williams
- Days of Significance
An RSC syndicated
interview with the author of Days of Significance, inspired by
Much Ado About Nothing and written for the RSC's Complete Works
Festival
Can you tell us a little bit about the production - why you chose Much
Ado About Nothing for inspiration and what the audience can expect?
The audience can hopefully expect a world and characters not often
seen on the stage. These are the type of people that the audience
may read about in the tabloids and easily dismiss. I chose Much
Ado because the structure of the piece fitted very nicely with
what I wanted to write about, young men returning from war, first
love, old love etc.
You've set the production in market-town England and the deserts of
Iraq. Given the current political climate how do you think the play
will resonate with contemporary audiences?
I hope it gives them a fresh new insight into the war and its consequences.
I grew tired of seeing dramas about the war that only examined how
it affected the people in power. I wanted to go to the other extreme.
How the war affects this group of young people, how it forces them
to grow up and take a good long look at the world they are living
in as well as themselves.
Is this the first time that one of your plays has been produced and
performed by the RSC?
Yes it is. I'm very excited about it. It has always been an ambition
of mine to have a play performed with the company. It's a massive
honour.
What inspired you to write it? Was it a specific real-life incident?
Yes, you could say it was a real life specific incident, the war
in Iraq. Like others, I am against the war, but, like I have said
already, I had no interest in writing about the people in power. I
remember watching a news item on TV about young people binge drinking
at the weekends in city centres across the country. I wanted to capture
that image and put in on the stage. When I was young, I was no angel.
I partied, drank, took drugs, but me and my mates were coming to a
time in our young lives that we had to take stock of what was happening
in the world and take a stand. Funnily enough, this was around the
time of the first war in Iraq (the early 90s). I remember being against
that one and a friend of mine (who became a Tory voter) wasn't. We
had many rows over it. We are still good friends though.
How did you become involved with the RSC - are you a fan of Shakespeare?
I am indeed a fan. There is simple reason why his plays have been
continually produced for hundreds of years, he's bloody good! The
RSC's former literary manager Paul Sirret, who I first met when he
worked at Theatre Royal Stratford East, asked me if interested in
a commission, and I was.
Are there any dramatists/writers who have influenced your writing?
I am a huge fan of writers such as Barrie Keefe and Nigel Williams.
They have written pieces about young people of their day, (70s) All
writers, young, old, new are inspirations to me.
Have you always been a writer?
You could say that. From a young age I always loved writing stories
and being told stories. It suited my character.
Can you tell me something about your background?
I grew up in Notting Hill in West London, in a single parent family
with my mum and three siblings. I left school at 16, almost joined
the army at 18, but saw the light at the last minute. I was an unsuccessful
actor for a while, drifted from job to job until I decided to go back
to college and take my writing seriously. Thank God, I did.
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