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Over a few short weeks in March I went from planning the next moves for my new play to questioning whether the theatre world as we know it will even continue to exist. This quantum shift has of course affected all those working in the creative industries, making the creative act itself hard to sustain.

UK theatre – while leading the world in the quality of output – is uniquely vulnerable to this public health crisis, and there is simply no way for our industry to survive without major, sustained government support – at all levels of our theatrical ecosystem.

Venues I’ve worked with such as the Arcola and Theatre503 are now facing the catastrophic impact of prolonged closure. These theatres are vital to the development of new work and talent, and they survive on shoestring budgets. Without a functioning network of local, fringe and small-scale venues, the entire ecosystem will wither away.

Sadly it all comes down to money. We don’t need platitudes, roadmaps or good intentions. We need investment. Theatres can’t sit tight and wait for the storm to blow over. They need help now.

Ours is an industry fuelled by passion, but we still have to keep roofs over our heads. While those at the visible pinnacle of our industry may be in some cases richly rewarded, the normal condition for those working in our industry is a variable and insufficient income, which simply cannot withstand long-term interruption.

Some writers have been inspired by lockdown to develop engaging, form-bending new work. I’m not one of them. At a time when an imaginative release would be most welcome, the mundane anxieties of survival get in the way. Still, a crisis like this helps to provide much-needed perspective, and better days will return in time.

For now I’m trying to work on some shorter writing projects, and plan for those better days. In the meantime, check out my blink-and-you’ll-miss-it contribution to the Royal Court’s fabulous Court At Home project, inspired by my favourite Royal Court play of recent years, Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children.

The last few years have felt pretty tough but, given that this is a day for taking stock, I can look back on some writing milestones this decade.

• The Interview at the Arcola in 2010
• The Inside Man/The Interview double bill at the Brighton Fringe
• Shortlisted for the Windsor Fringe prize (Inside My Head)
• Four Rapid Write Response plays for Theatre503
• Two Bruntwood Prize final 40 plays (Closed and Dead Yard)
• A Certain Kind of Girl for The Miniaturists
• Development of Dead Yard at the Arcola Lab in 2017
• The Arcola PlayWROUGHT festival, again with Dead Yard

Along the way I’ve worked with many talented and generous actors, directors and writers, inspiring me to make my own way as a playwright.

Eclipsing all the above are my two proudest achievements: marrying Fabia in 2012 and Adam’s arrival in 2014. Maybe the 2010s have been a rather special decade after all!

I’ve been quiet but busy in 2019. Stay tuned for the lowdown on my brand new full-length play in 2020.