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Roy Williams
19 March 2007
Biography
Roy was previously Writer in Residence at The Royal Court and has been at The Almeida Theatre since December 2005. He is also writing new plays for The Royal Court, The Tricycle Theatre, The Lyric Hammersmith, Tiara Fahodzi, Eclipse Theatre and Out of Joint as well as three commissions for the National Theatre. He is currently developing a single film for Channel 4 called FAITH and is adapting his stage play FALLOUT for Company Pictures/Channel 4and writing a single for BBC’s DECADES project.
FORTHCOMING THEATRE
2007
DAYS OF SIGNIFICANCE
RSC
THEATRE
2005
LITTLE SWEET THING
Hampstead theatre & Tour
SLOW TIME
National Theatre Education Tour
2004
SING YER HEART OUT FOR THE LADS
RNT Cottlesloe Theatre
Also RNT Lyttleton Loft, 2002
2003
FALLOUT
Royal Court Theatre, Jerwood Theatre downstairs
2001
CLUBLAND
Royal Court Theatre Upstairs
Won 2001 Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright award
2000
THE GIFT
Birmingham Repertory Theatre then Tricycle Theatre
LOCAL BOY
Hampstead Theatre
1999
SOULS
Theatre Centre Tour
LIFT OFF
Royal Court at the Ambassadors
STARSTRUCK
Tricycle Theatre
Winner of 31st John Whitling Award and the EMMA award for best play.
1998
RISE
Community play for the Tricycle Theatre
TREKKERS
Royal National Theatre Studio
1996
JOSIE’S BOYS
Red Ladder Theatre Company
THE NO-BOYS CRICKET CLUB
Theatre Royal Stratford East
WGGB nomination for Best Writer, TAPS nomination for Writer of the Year
TELEVISION
2002
OFFSIDE
BBC Educational 30 min TV drama
Winner of BAFTA Children’s Film and Television award for Best Schools Drama
BABYFATHER
BBC, 2 episodes for Series 2
RADIO
2001
TELL TALE
BBC Radio 4 Friday Play
HOMEBOYS
BBC Radio 4
Part of BBC First Bite Young Writers’ Festival
Interview
Interviewer:
So, Roy, what did you think when you were approached to write a link for the chain play?
Roy:
I felt very flattered at first, to be asked to be a part of it, but also excited cos it seemed potentially that it could be a lot of fun and I think for playwrights, particularly for myself, when you’re writing a play it’s hard work and, you know, there are days when you kind of beat your head against a wall, your heads bleak because you can’t get a particular scene or thing right. But, what is also good about it is that you sometimes find the fun in it and I just felt this was a great opportunity. I just thought ‘wow’ it will be hard work but it seemed like fun you know to do ten minutes, to pass it over to the next playwright and they do the next ten minutes and then you see how it all pans out. So I kind of thought, ‘wow’ above all else it will be fun.
Interviewer:
Were you nervous about writing with other people in this way, about might happen to your work and what might happen to the characters you created.
Roy:
Not nervous, not nervous, just curious - very, very curious, because I think the way it was spelt out to me – a chain play – I just sort of embraced that and I thought ok well I’ll just do my ten minutes and then see, with much curiosity, how somebody else adds to that and I just kind of thought well that’s the whole point of it, you know. It didn’t seem the right place to become sort of territorial - no this scene is mine so it’s got to be followed on in this way. I just thought that’s not the spirit of this whole thing. I just thought…I’m always looking for different ways of working, you can’t get any different than this and what you have written about you feel quite attached to it.
Interviewer:
And you started it didn’t you, you’ve written the first link?
Roy:
Yeah
Interviewer:
Where did you get your idea from?
Roy:
Oh dear, from various…I think its an idea I’ve been having in the back of my head for a play I’ve wanted to write for quite some time and I just kind of felt well this is as good a place as any to really kind of try it out and see if it works for the theatre. I don’t know if it is something I will go back to or not - it was just a story that I had that I had locked away and I just thought well I’d like to give a go for this and you know it has been well received by the other writers. They all thought… you’ve done a really good beginning so that’s good.
Interviewer:
They’ve read your link but you haven’t read theirs.
Roy:
No, I’ve not read theirs and I want to keep it that way I want to see how it is. Cos again, I’m really looking forward to…ignorance is bliss…I just want to go and see how they have taken my story on…I’m very very curious to see it .
Interviewer:
So you’ve got no idea what’s happened?
Roy:
No, no idea and I like that
Interviewer:
And has anything struck you particularly about this way of working?
Roy:
It’s kind of the same as the way I normally work, it’s just we’re stopping mid sentence cos that’s what I literally did, I didn’t say this is the end of my scene, cos what I think the Almeida said was - what we don’t want is, like you know you do ten minutes and that’s it , end of Scene I and they do like Scene II and so I said ok I’ll just end it on a sentence, full stop.
Interviewer:
So with a normal play that you’d embark upon writing you’d, I’d imagine, have a beginning, middle and an end.
Roy:
Yeah
Interviewer:
And with this play…
Roy:
I had no end
Interviewer:
….did you just think I’m just going to write the beginning or within this scene did you try to do a beginning, middle and an end?
Roy:
No, no I just wrote the beginning. I just wrote the beginning and that was quite liberating actually to just to let it go. To just say ok well I’ve done my ten minutes, let it go Roy and see what the other person gives to it. The more I think about it the more it is kind of nervous… cos I think what are they going to do to my characters.
Laughter
Roy:
What have they done to them, but, again, you have got to embrace the fear sometimes so and you know it’ll be fun!
Interviewer:
Great!
Roy:
I hope.
Interviewer:
Thank you.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the interviewees and are not necessarily shared by Coutts & Co
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