Playwrights ‘need government rescue package’

Playwriting is in “a bit of a crisis” and needs support from government, the Royal Court’s artistic director David Byrne has said.

Speaking in an interview with the Telegraph, Byrne said it feels as though “there hasn’t been ‘a movement’ in British theatre for quite a while”.

“It definitely feels as though playwriting is in a bit of a crisis at the moment,” he said.

“And it’s also very difficult to make theatre a career. But it’s our job to reinvent it. To water ourselves down to some lesser or more palatable version of ourselves would be to risk anyone caring about theatre at all.”

Byrne said that since taking up his role at the Royal Court at the start of this year, he has had to make difficult decisions, including restructuring the Court’s literary department.

“Ever since the time of the ancient Greeks, it has become more expensive each year to run a theatre.

“And yes, I’ve said before that we definitely need a rescue package from the government to get people writing for the stage instead of heading off into TV, for instance.”

“In more difficult times, we have to be truer to our mission than ever before.”