Authors Electric

The National Theatre Photo by  M N  on  Unsplash Half-way through last month, an announcement came from Rufus Norris, director of the National Theatre ( The Times , 14 th June ), that sent my heart into freefall. No longer would the Theatre put on “fairly straight adaptations” of European classics, as it seemed these only appealed to ‘theatre aficionados’ (people who go to the theatre?). Instead, historic plays would be remodelled to appeal to a ‘broad audience’ (ie the general public) who apparently have demanded that, for instance: 1.     Ibsen’s Peer Gynt should morph into David Hare’s Peter Gynt 2.     Chekhov’s Three Sisters become a new play by Inua Ellams set in 1967 Nigeria 3.       Sheridan’s The Rivals be rewritten by Oliver Chris and Richard Bean as Jack Absolute Flies Again . Really? The general public has demanded this? How does Norris know? Goldoni's original 1746 play...

 Another in an occasional series, where our writers share their sources of inspiration. Dennis Hamley - visit website           Only once can I put my hand on my heart and say I’ve been truly inspired to write with the sudden mysterious lightning flash we all long for. That was for Hare’s Choice , when a multitude of impressions suddenly came together to give me sight of an idea which is the nearest to truly original writing that I have ever achieved,  owing nothing to any genre which I know of.           It's a moment I can’t forget and don’t want to but something which is, I fear, fairly unlikely to happen again. But I can dream.           I must be just about the only writer in the world who doesn’t keep a notebook handy. For me, inspiration, the getting of ideas, is usually quite a mundane affair. The lucky and unl...