Yes it does; I’m going to explain why and provide a solution, which I expect to be ignored, but that’s okay, I don’t really care what people think, because I’m a goddam bonafide maverick writer!

I’ve been to quite a few new shows, with new actors, new writers and not so new attention seeking directors. That’s the first problem with fringe theatre – it’s full of rich kids mouthing off without any concern for their audience. The second problem is that it’s so expensive to put on a show, you’re left with the first problem.

Alright, apart from the “rich kids” comment, let’s say you agree it’s costly, but what do I mean by writers not having “any concern for their audience”?

How many times have I been to new shows to see baffled or bored faces in the audience?  These very same faces will lie to the actors and team, telling them Oh yes, it was very good, it reminded me of… (insert the name of a popular film that has no link to the work whatsoever).  The audience didn’t get it, but the team didn’t care.  Should they?

While sitting around twiddling my thumbs moaning about the addictive qualities of procrastination, the following quote was recited to me:

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.

(Cyril Connolly, 1903 – 1974)

Here’s what I have to say in response:

Bollocks.

(Karl’s Imposter, living in the real world)

Let’s look at examples of many rich kids, poor kids, delusional artists and attention seeking writers who don’t care about what their audience expected.  Actually, I can’t be bothered.  I’m just going to speculate that most of them have disappeared without a trace.  Unless, that is of course, they have more money to keep putting on more of whatever they fancy.  Without success in the first production, there will be no faith in the second, there will be no support from the sponsors or funders, there will quite simply be, no more of that shit.  Even the arts council will tell you, they expect you to make a profit.  Artistic intentions – what?

This is the real problem with new writing.  New writers are so desperate to tell their story (and get a pat on the back), they forget about (or don’t even know) how to please their audience.  It’s bad enough they’re mostly lazy as hell, but once they get the chance to have their classic poetry read out on stage, in the middle of an urban comedy, by a character who can’t even spell, you can forget about talking any sense to them, and so they run on with their show, have the time of their lives, get a crap review, and with no chance of any further funding, sink without a trace.

How can we stop this?  Why am I even writing this?  I am tired of people thinking theatre is crap.  I am tired of people thinking theatre is for posh people.  I am tired of posh people pretending they like theatre they can’t understand in the slightest.

To make a good piece of theatre, to make a good film, to make a good anything, you’ve got make your audience think it’s good.  If you want to write for yourself and alienate your audience, that’s fine, I just hope you’ve got some money to keep going.  Don’t talk to me about art, have you not realised that next to each piece of work in a gallery, there’s a small card EXPLAINING WHAT THE FUCK THE PIECE IS ABOUT?  Theatre and film doesn’t really have that, there’s often far too much to explain for every word spoken (and the audience came to watch a film, not read a book). If the audience likes what they see, they’ll tell other people.  They’ll tell them that your work is good.  And that, my dismayed friend, is what they call… success.

Now that doesn’t mean you have to immediately burn that abstract script that you’re dying to put on.  In my humble opinion, the best thing to do is to first make work that the audience will understand or appreciate.  After you have made your success, nobody will argue with your bizarre idea, and will applaud you in advance.  You’ll put it on, everyone will scratch their head, and you’ll sink, albeit with some trace, and a sense of satisfaction that you expressed yourself to the widest audience possible. Don’t believe me?  Ok, easy example.  Think of Charlie Kaufman’s films, ahem, Synecdoche, New York.  How about Michel Gondry?  Think about the level of accessibility of each film they made…

That’s enough ranting for now.  I need to go and work on my cross dressing wrestling hospital drama, I’m 100% sure you’ll love it and understand the underlying message of distopian paralysis.