He has written powerful dramas about the likes of Rupert Murdoch and Dominic Cummings. The playwright explains why hes now tackling 11 vitriolic TV debates that gripped America L ast May, the playwright James Graham found himself in the unfamiliar environs of Question Time. This wouldnt be particularly noteworthy were it not for the fact that, aged 30, he has written the most absorbing account of the crisis-ridden period from 1974 to 1979 ever to have hit the London stage. Sympathy for the devil? Had Labour MP Alfred Broughton been brought from his deathbed to Westminster an action not beyond the realms of possibility in those desperate times the government would have hung on by one vote. Born in 1982, how could he have? But what makes it special is the portrait at its heart of one small place and all the people in it. [4], Pearl performed at the Crucible Theatre in Sarah Kane's Crave and 4.48 Psychosis [5] and at the Bush Theatre in The Angry Brigade (play). Were in a really bad place., Physically, at least, the two of us are in a very nice place. Wikipedia article James Graham (playwright). The writer's political play This House has just transferred to London's West End, four years after it premiered at The National Theatre. But just how did he become one of Britain's most Pearl then went on to play Minnie in Godchild at Hampstead Theatre directed by Michael Attenborough and co starring Tracy Ann Oberman[3]. The past might well be a different country, but even so, a mans neighbour may still think of him even now as a traitor, as someone who let his entire class down. The playwright explains why hes now tackling 11 vitriolic TV debates that gripped America. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. The series is set no prizes for guessing in a village in Nottinghamshire, the county where, 30 years ago, many men continued to work during the long and painful miners strike, a decision that was personally agonising and often quite dangerous: the buses in which they travelled to the pits were attacked; those who crossed picket lines were scabs, and never to be forgiven (Arthur Scargill, the leader of the National Union of Mineworkers, whose power base was further north in Yorkshire, said this explicitly). Description above from the Wikipedia article James Graham (playwright), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. The documentary argues that their combative theatricality (they hated each other Graham says) began the process of reducing political disagreement to a wrestling match, yet in 2021 the idea of 10 million viewers watching two eloquent public intellectuals debate the future of a bitterly divided America seems remarkable. (Though I was sad not to see Adam Hughess play Petras Polski Sklep). Barrie (based on the movie of the same name). These have included American And he doesnt care how unfashionable that makes him: I must be the only playwright fascinated by Edward Heath, he jokes. What memories do you have of Jim Callaghan, or the Winter of Discontent, or Margaret Thatchers first prime ministerial address outside Number 10? The theme of Ink was populism. I was fascinated by how on earth it could get to the point where one mans physical presence in the lobby could save or destroy a government., The onset of the Coalition in 2010 gave him the spur to pitch the idea, but he insists hed have ploughed on even if the Conservatives had won. Her most notable appearance was as the character Nilufer in I May Destroy You in 2020[16]. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace. Basically, everything is a sports movie when I start writing it, he says. Minneapolis, MN, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. James Grahams absorbing new drama, Sherwood, has a richness that simply cant be bought off the peg. His 2012 breakthrough This House dramatised the scheming of the whips offices during the 1974-79 Labour government with such even-handedness that the audience included a cross-bench alliance of politicians. When communities are divided, the pain endures, We Begin Again: a musical for 2020 video, British theatre has a class problem, and coronavirus could make it worse, A letter to my post-lockdown self: Keep listening to the birds, 30 years of televised parliament: how Westminster became mainstream entertainment, Cracked actor: stage stars review Boris Johnson's debut as PM, Understanding Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnsons chief strategist. He was perpetuating this civil war in a really reckless way given that a woman got killed in that referendum. which explored the remarkable demise of the Callaghan government in the no-confidence vote of March 1979. Superstar playwright James Graham joins forces with a host of unknown writers for this erratic night of London stories. Other plays include Ink, about the early days of Rupert Murdoch, which opened at the Almeida in London and transferred to the West End in September 2017 where it played in the theatre next door to James other new play political romantic comedy Labour of Love, winner of the Olivier Award for Best Comedy. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. The play grew out of the 2009 Radio 4 Afternoon Drama How Are You Feeling, Alf? Its a funny old portrait of twenty-first century London:a bit Richard Curtis-y, with little real sense of the capitals cultural diversity bar a dodgy Asian shop owner and a refugee we see only in flashbacks. Its either Moneyball or Cool Runnings: the underdogs who change the world. 2023 BBC. There is a rightness here that I find moving. And in attempting to make the stories relate to each other and so being somewhat subservient to Grahams linking plots theres a bit of a sense that were not necessarily seeing the writers really let rip.That said Sketching is not without its moments, and as a rule the storylines be it Grahams Peter Piper Has a Plan, about a career criminal plotting an inscrutable heist, or Himanshu Ojhas The Hand of Hozan, about a sewage worker who wanders into a police station with a dismembered hand fizz with promise and knowing London references, even if some struggle to hold onto the momentum. James Graham - Playwright. In the background, however, there is his history. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Past tragedy and farce, from the minority government of 1974 to the horse-trading of 2010, prove that ruthless mastery of the narrative is crucial, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every His dramas include The Coalition, Ink, and Sherwood, Written by James Graham and produced by the Guardian in partnership with the National Theatre, this short musical film takes stock of an extraordinary year and resets for the one ahead, Boris favoured pixie dust rather than trust, and barefaced lies rather than resignation with honour, says the playwright and TV writer James Graham, Tensions from miners strike are echoed in Brexit, levelling up and todays rail disputes. Basic social democracy., He picks his battles, like campaigning for greater diversity in theatre and access to the arts. Politics never felt like something that was alien to me, or Westminster-based. The New Statesman's weekly newsletter that helps you make sense of the economic slowdown. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. Naturally, attention turns to a local criminal family, the Sparrows, one of whose businesses is a ramshackle archery range (another is home-made ketamine). James Graham is a multi award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Sometimes I think I was too hard, but not very often. Cummings gung-ho contempt for journalists, MPs and judges while he was at No 10 did make Graham think twice. The rest, as they say, is Thatcherite history. After seven years, hes still attached to Paul Greengrasss movie version of George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four. SherwoodBBC One, 13 June, 9pm; now on catch-up, This article appears in the 15 Jun 2022 issue of the New Statesman, The Big Slow Down. Graham grew up in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and was educated at Ashfield Comprehensive School and the University of Hull, where he studied drama. That book is already a metaphor so you dont need to shrink it by saying, Is Big Brother Facebook?, His output may seem eclectic but to Graham theres a common thread: Great stories from our recent past that are useful vessels for exploring anxieties and tensions that were all dealing with today. I went to bed completely obsessed with it, says Graham. An enthusiast for the finer points of post-war political life, Graham has been a rising star in this field for a while. Plus its not every day you get to see new work by the guy who did This House in an East End music hall. So in the plays flashback to Buckleys 1965 Cambridge Union debate with James Baldwin, both actors are black. Twitter is an outrage machine and theatre is an empathy factory.. L ast May, the playwright James Graham found himself in the unfamiliar environs of Question Time. Despite the focus of his research, though, he found it tough going. Writing in The Telegraph, Dominic Cavendish said This House is "the most intelligent, entertaining and informative political drama of this decade". Graham is known for giving both sides of a political conflict their due. The very valid question was: should he have been comfortable watching it? he says. His forthcoming BBC drama Sherwood explores how a double murder years later reopened old wounds. Grudges are held as tightly as pint glasses. He hadnt planned to become a spokesperson for theatre He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2020 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Drama and Young People in British Theatre in Greater London SE11, England. I think that as young writers we have to take responsibility for our own history! Unlike many politicians today, when it comes to the vision thing, James Graham has got it licked. Our weekly culture newsletter from books and art to pop culture and memes sent every Friday. Sketching is obviously a very lovely idea, wherein playwright James Graham has attempted to parlay some of his enormous recent success it wasnt so long ago that he had two plays open next door to each other on the West End into a leg up to playwrights at the start of their career. The process of writing the first draft was the hardest Ive ever experienced. James Graham is a British writer, known for his work on stage and television. What happened to him in 1984? Though he studied drama at Hull, he raves about history: I stole from Shakespeare the idea that you can examine whats happening today by looking at events from the recent past. Manage Settings As an actual night of entertainment its solid. His other credits include musical Finding Neverland - for which Graham wrote the script and Gary Barlow the music and lyrics - and Privacy, which made its debut on Broadway earlier this year starring Daniel Radcliffe. As an endeavour its noble. Thats a good question, Graham says. James Graham is a playwright and screenwriter. All I can say is that there was a deliberate intention to make people like him, or people who read his newspapers, feel like they could get a defence, but then they have to sit there and listen to the prosecution., Far more controversial was Benedict Cumberbatchs rendering of Cummings in Brexit: The Uncivil War. I think audiences can feel, not sympathy, but empathy for his loss of control.. 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I knew I had the end of the story, Graham recalls. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Inspired by Charles Dickenss exuberant Boz, Sketching weaves together a number of lively London-set playlets from nine writers. "The Seagull: Headlong, Oxford Playhouse", "The Two Gentlemen of Verona review delightful dip into the power of love", "Crave (Sheffield Theatres) | WhatsOnStage", "The Angry Brigade (Bush Theatre) | WhatsOnStage", "The Glass Menagerie (Nuffield, Southampton) | WhatsOnStage", "Julie review, Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2016", "Ink review James Graham's riveting account of the birth of the Sun", "Review: Three Sisters (Almeida Theatre) | WhatsOnStage", "Review: Three Sisters at Almeida Theatre", "The London Independent Film Festival wraps 12th season, and announces 2015 Awards", "I May Destroy You cast: Who is actress Pearl Chanda? Barrie (based on the This is probably quite a sensible idea (the show runs at 2.5 hours as it is), but it clearly limits the exposure everyones getting, and theres not a huge amount of clarity about which plays will be on when. 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That said Sketching is not without its moments, and as a rule the storylines be it Grahams Peter Piper Has a Plan, about a career criminal plotting an inscrutable heist, or Himanshu Ojhas The Hand of Hozan, about a sewage worker who wanders into a police station with a dismembered hand fizz with promise and knowing London references, even if some struggle to hold onto the momentum. Childrens Theatre Company 2023 2024 Season Unprecedented: Real Time Theatre from a State of Isolation. Its a genuine desire to allow any audience member to come to the work as cleanly as possible, he says. It worked all too well. WebDramatist and screenwriter James Graham (Teri Pengilley/The Independent) If youve never heard of James Graham before, you certainly will have by the end of this spring.
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