Talking about the Taboo

For me, theatre has always had a magical pull. Whether it was a school show, an all singing, all dancing musical, or a local community production of a classic tale, theatre has always been magical.

Growing up, I adored reading. From the first time I read a book to the moments when books became my only escape, I loved delving into stories and escaping from reality. As the words danced around the page, my mind filled with pictures and images of another world, another time, another life. Every opportunity I had, I would be reading, yearning to find out more about the stories that were encapsulating my every thought.

As I began studying, my love of reading subsided somewhat as instead of stories my mind was filled with facts and figures, all of which needed to be memorised for tests and exams. My spare time was filled with practice papers and mind maps instead of hot chocolates and a really good book.

I think this is when my love of theatre truly began.

All the time I spent studying, I was focused on one thing – passing my exams, which although are important, aren’t the be all and end all. I missed my escapes from reality that I had found through novels and missed the cathartic feeling of finishing a really good book. So, I got involved with theatre – one of the best decisions I have ever made.

In a typical two-and-a-half-hour block, all the things I loved about reading, came alive in front of me. I was once again transported into another place, another time and another life. I fell in love all over again, grabbing any opportunity I could to watch theatrical magic explode and unfold in front of my eyes. I loved every second of it.

And it wasn’t until recently that I understood why.

Books, novels and theatre are so much more than stories. They are retellings of truths. They are pieces of people’s reality retold so that we can understand them. They talk about things that people are just too scared to mention in everyday conversations.

They talk about the taboo.

I made this realisation at our last playwriting workshop with Nicola McCartney, who if you don’t know, is a playwriting mastermind. As she was explaining to us how to write action into a play, she mentioned that most of the time, when you are writing, it’s about a topic people find difficult to discuss normally and that got me thinking. Every book, play and musical that I have come into contact with, is based around and has always talked about an issue most people are too scared to.

Take Yerma by Fredrico Garcia Lorca for example. Written in 1934, this tragic poem looks at the life of women living in rural Spain, one of whom is unable to have children. First of all, focusing a play at this time whose central protagonist is a woman was unheard of. Women had only just got the right to vote in Britain at this point and were very much still seen as the ‘second sex’. The play is emotional and at times brutal in its portrayal of women’s lives at this time, showing the true extent to which, they were undervalued.

This play and so many others open up conversations that otherwise people wouldn’t have had. They open minds and hearts to new perspectives, allowing people to grow and develop.

And that is why I love theatre, because it has the capacity to open hearts and minds.

As I begin writing my play and using my words to create discussions, I hope I have the courage to talk about the taboo and make the theatre that I love so dearly.

Lauren Asher

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