matthewturner.info

Sorry for the lack of recent posts but it’s for the very best of reasons. Our son Adam Jericho Turner arrived in November becoming the new fulcrum of our lives. Parenthood has instantly placed all other creative endeavours in a new perspective!

Looking back at 2014, my theatre highlights include two masterful performances: by Andrew Scott in Simon Stephens’ Birdland and Russell Tovey in John Donnelly’s The Pass, both at the Royal Court. I was captivated by these two portraits of charismatic men derailed by fame and struggling to retain the capacity to feel compassion.

I also enjoyed Nick Payne’s Incognito (Bush Theatre) and Tim Crouch’s Adler and Gibb (Royal Court). These were two thoughtful, puzzling plays, both formally inventive yet not too clever to deliver a raw emotional impact, and both stayed with me for months after watching.

My own writing this year concentrated on redrafts of two full-length plays and a proposal for a new play I hope to write in 2015. More of which soon.

I did however find time to write another short play for Theatre503’s Rapid Write Response strand. There was no stopping us until the rain came down was a very personal project for me and I’m grateful to Yasmeen Arden, James Harrison and Daniel Tyler-Smith for handling it with great care and respect.

Don’t forget to join my mailing list for news of plays and other creative projects in the coming year. And all good wishes for 2015.

Huge thanks to Yasmeen, James and Dan for giving life to There was no stopping us until the rain came down at Theatre503 last month.

They really found the heart of the piece and we got some very warm responses from the audience. As always it was a thrill to be working with the team at Theatre503, who are so supportive of new writing.

To celebrate I’ve added one of my previous Rapid Write Response plays, Sixteen, to the Plays section of this site. Take a look and let me know what you think.