Struggle? Resilience? Disaster? Love?

A Greek tragedy. 

A Greek tragedy is a play in which the protagonist falls to disaster through the combination of personal failing and circumstances where they find something to assist them through it, usually love, to victory. Nevertheless, we must remember that not all tragedies end with courageous victories or  pleasant endings, but actually with heart wrenching disappointment or failure. 

For this month, I have been given a Greek tragedy to read and analyse. When first hearing the words, ‘Greek tragedy’ I was shocked. My feet taken from me almost. I wasn’t used to such dramatic narratives. Narratives full of struggle, resilience, disaster and love. Although, when I began to consider my own life, I suddenly came to the realisation that our every day lives are our very own Greek tragedies. 

We can be those powerful characters who have determination to achieve a goal. We have all faced struggle, resilience, disaster and love meaning it is something which connects and perhaps holds humanity together in this world of madness and confusion. In my opinion, I believe love is the strongest of these four factors and is something in which nobody could thrive without. 

However, we may ask ourselves what is love? 

To me...love is escapism and happiness. Whether it comes in the form of a family bond, unbreakable friendship or promises of romance, they are all of equal importance and play a massive part in the success of our lives.

When reflecting on my own life, it is clear to see that I am lucky enough to be surrounded every day with all three of these cherished relationships. It is truly wonderful. These people are affectionate, supportive and understanding. I would make no progress in my goals, have a lack of success and motivation without these certain people. Ultimately, my life would not be the same, not without love. 

These are the most important people in my life. My everyday sources of inspiration, who I have great love for.

Although I have been hesitant about perusing my passions and dreams, my loved ones have encouraged me to leap over the hurdles which hold me back and take part in new and life-altering experiences such as taking part in Bunbury Banter’s young playwrights programme, developing my knowledge and love for the theatre. Initially, the fear of interacting with strangers, opening up my ideas, sharing my deepest thoughts and being rejected at first brought butterflies to my stomach and forced them to dance. Nevertheless, the treasured people in my life proved to me that I was capable of being accepted and encouraged me to take advantage of this exhilarating experience. No surprises...they were right! 

As cliché as it may sound, love is a formidable force. It has the ability to shape your future, bring you sheer happiness and eliminate your fears. Most of all, love is inspiration. 

I have decided to use this almighty power of love as a central theme in my future playwriting. I strongly believe that love is a theme which would capture the audiences attention, whether it be a conventional or unconventional telling of experience of love. I feel it is important, as someone with such an amazing opportunity, to use it to share many ideas with the world. Personally, I feel like the importance and power of love in humanity is a lesson which every single one of us should learn and I want to be the one to teach it. 

Love has been a favored topic of philosophers, poets, writers, and scientists for generations. From ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to ‘A Doll’s House’ love is the piece of string holding everything together. 

I am striving to be the next person to tackle this magic. 

Wish me luck! 

Jill Watson

Jill is part of the Bunbury Banter Young Playwrights Programme 2019-2020