In the Same Boat presentsWrite to Play...
An evening with Philip Ridley
September 20th 2009
Show starts: 8pm
Running time: TBC
In The Same Boat presents Write to Play with Philip Ridley. Listen to Philip be interviewed by Michael Coveney about his life and work; volunteer to participate in reading from a play of his choice; watch Philip perform some new poems: be the first to see a new short Ridley play, and join us in discussion with Philip about his themes, styles and methods of writing.
Born in London’s East End, Philip Ridley studied painting at St Martin’s School of Art. His first stage play, The Pitchfork Disney, caused a sensation when it premiered at the Bush Theatre in 1991 and is now generally regarded as the work that kick started the whole ‘in-yer-face’ writing revolution. Prophetic and controversial in equal measure (Faber and Faber, his long term publishers, notoriously refused to publish his play Mercury Fur), Ridley has one of the most distinctive signature styles in contemporary theatre; a mesmeric mixture of the magical and the menacing, celebrating the world around us in all its beauty and barbarism. Despite his breathtaking range of talents - he is a poet, children’s novelist, short story writer, stage director, photographer, playwright, painter, lyricist, screenwriter, librettist, film director - Ridley has always described himself with the single word: ‘Storyteller’.
Plays include: The Fastest Clock in the Universe, Sparkleshark (Lyttelton, National Theatre, 1997); Mercury Fur (Paines Plough/ Menier Chocolate Factory, 2005); Leaves of Glass (Soho Theatre, 2007); Piranha Heights (Soho Theatre, 2008). Feature films: The Krays (screenplay), The Reflecting Skin (writer and director). His latest film is Heartless starring Jim Sturgess.
‘I rely on Philip Ridley to leave me shaken and shocked. His considerable imagination reaches places I prefer not to visit, unless escorted by a writer of his moral seriousness’ The Evening Standard
‘Ridley is the master of modern myths’ The Guardian
‘Ridley is a visionary’ Rolling Stone Magazine
Write to Play… events focus on a contemporary playwright, changing venues each time and striving to give audiences the opportunity to engage with playwrights.
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