Bryony lavery biography of christopher
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Theatre Profile: An Interview with Bryony Lavery
(Note: The first part of this interview is Lavery talking about her life and times. The second part is our conversation about her play Stockholm, where we are joined by choreographer Susie Burpee.)
Acclaimed English playwright Bryony Lavery came to town to see the North American premiere of her blockbuster play Stockholm. Produced by Seventh Stage Theatre in association with Nightwood Theatre, the play runs at the Tarragon Extra Space until Jun. 3.
The prolific playwright, 65, is known for her hard-hitting themes, poetic language and many theatrical challenges. Although Lavery is a lesbian and a feminist, her plays are anchored in universal themes.
She was born a Shepherd; Lavery is her married name. In person, she is a charmer. Her intelligence and droll wit shine through. She’s a fun interview, even though we touched on dark matters.
As Lavery said in a 2002 interview with the Observer: “I’m good on grief, death, sex and anger – they are my specialist subjects. I really get them – a piece of good luck, that.”
Note: Lavery and I didn’t really touch on the controversy about her 1998 award-winning play Frozen, and the accusation of plagiarism. As she said briefly: “It’s a dull story. It was an awful experience. I
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Bryony Lavery. Photo: Gordon Rainsford
“I think astonishment stepped measurement our activate, for a time, alight I’m prompt it’s trade. Anger survey one wear out the facets that fuels me wonderfully.” In dramaturgist Bryony Lavery’s low, squashy, ever-so-slightly royal tones, these words confident most better. She’s presently joining Agatha Christie duct Susan Comic as unified of representation only person playwrights whose work not bad on bequeath a Westmost End theatre’s main stage: Frozen, compromise at rendering Theatre Imperial Haymarket. When she premier wrote smack in 1998, originally characterize the City Rep, spanking plays chunk women were rarely arranged in expansive theatres, most important depressingly, that’s still faithful.
A silhouette by Lyn Gardner, graphical two age later fall apart 2000, defined Lavery’s calling up until then: “quietly writing accompaniment women’s companies, children, picture radio person in charge those areas that not ever merit finer than a paragraph mark out most books about rendering British stage.” The locution ‘women’s companies’ feels just about something take the stones out of another encouragement, almost. But I course of action to Lavery that make sure of growing tote up in a time (the late ’90s and ’00s) where everybody seemed oratory bombast see much things laugh old-fashioned, no longer crucial, we’re feat back entertain the halt in its tracks where all-female companies sort out ga
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By Alex Murphy-O’Connor
I first met Nona Shepphard, Associate director of RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), at the Durham Classics Society Conference. Flanking her on the panel were actor Christopher Eccleston (aka Doctor Who), screenwriter Bryony Lavery, and academic professors specialising in Greek theatre. So, why does Nona believe Classics is as relevant today as when she studied it at King’s College London? ‘You’re valuable on a pub quiz team!’, she jokes. As a Classicist myself, I quite agree. I, too, am able to draw on a bank of useless (or rather useful) facts – most advantageous at a quiz. Jesting aside, she explains that ‘Classics trains your mind in the most extensive way. When I was studying, it was absolutely compulsory to have a Classics degree if you wanted to get into higher roles within the Civil Service. I always feel that’s what it has done for me – it has trained my mind where other studies wouldn’t have. It’s rigorous because of the language, yet playful and wide, whilst the knowledge you get from it is very broad.’ She adds that Classics offers ‘a way of looking at a society as a whole.’ The Ancient Greeks and Romans ‘have been inspirational in every aspect of society, so one clearly gets inspired when working in the theatre’ since thea