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Show: If Not Now, When?
Society: National Theatre (professional)
Venue: Dorfman Theatre, National Theatre
Credits: by Isabel Hague from CAPA College in Wakefield. New Views Winning Play.
Type: Sardines
Author: John Chapman
Performance Date: 02/07/2019
If Not Now, When?
John Chapman | 03 Jul 2019 13:08pm
If Not Now, When by Isabel Hague – New Views 2019 Winner. Photos: Emma Hare
The winning play in the National Theatre’s New Views playwriting competition for 14-19 year olds is If Not Now, When? by Isabel Hughes from Wakefield. It was given three performances in the Dorfman and I was lucky enough to be present at one of them. I say “lucky” because it is clear that the writer has huge potential and I’ll be glad to say in future years that I saw her professional debut.
The first thing that struck me was just how mature the dialogue and the structure of the piece were. The writer is still only 16 but already she has a canny ear for the rhythms and inflexions that her characters use. And this equally applies to the adults portrayed as well as her teenage protagonists. At the centre of the play are siblings Liam and Chelsey who are dealing with the realities of life at a far younger age then they should be. Liam has succumbed to the temptations of vodka often leaving his slightly younger sister to pick up the pieces. She becomes pregnant and is unceremoniously deserted by the father. If it all sounds a bit issue led …well it is but the telling of this particular tale is vibrant, often darkly humorous and strangely life affirming.
Liam is a bit of what would be called in Liverpool a “scally”. Clearly intelligent although at the same time having avoided formal education, he thinks he’s a good catch (he nicknames himself the Barnsley Chop) and is fiercely protective of Chelsey. She in turn looks up to him and tries to persuade him that he’d be better off without the drink. As played by Josh Barrow and Emily Stott these were two well realised, engaging and totally believable characters. They were, of course, well served by their writer but even so here are two more young people with a bright future in the world of theatre.
The rest of the cast provided strong support; I particularly enjoyed Jack Bandeira as the feckless Connor. Staging was kept relatively simple with good use of lighting to delineate locations (Paul Knott) and the director (Elayce Ismail) kept the action flowing across the many short scenes. I have no idea how long a rehearsal period the play was given but I’m sure the National would have pulled out all the stops to ensure a production of top quality. If there were still some rough edges that would have been smoothed out with previews, etc. it was entirely in keeping with the world of the play that this should be the case.
All that said it was, in the end, the writer’s triumph. Over 300 scripts were received so to find that not only have you won out over fierce competition but that your first piece is to be given a professional production must have been like a dream come true. From what I could see it was thoroughly well deserved. Congratulations to all involved and especially Isabel. I, for one, will be following your future work with a keen eye. And more power to the New Views programme – you are doing some very important work.
Talking of which…
Applications for the NT’s annual playwriting competition New Views 2019/20 are now open! To find out more and to apply, click here.
Participating schools and colleges learn about playwriting from some of the finest writers in the industry and write their own 30-minute plays. Students take part in in-school workshops with professional writers, as well as following an online course by playwright Jemma Kennedy and having the opportunity to watch NT productions or NT Live broadcasts. Teachers receive professional development at the National Theatre at the start of the programme and partner with a professional playwright to mentor the students in school.
- : admin
- : 02/07/2019