As Tom Murphy commanded the audience with his gentle manner, intriguing characters and unbelievable modesty, you could immediately see why he is held in such high esteem. An amalgam of life story, readings and discussion about writing, this was an historic event, providing a unique glimpse into the mind of one of Ireland’s most amazing playwrights.
After eight fantastically varied readings, stretching from the comical to the exceedingly dark, Tom answered questions from Conor McPherson and the audience.
Was it easier writing your first few plays?
“Yes. You need to enjoy amateur status, before you declare yourself as professional. That’s when the stress hits. In the early days, writing was a therapeutic way to deal with issues such as anger. It was an escape also.”
You went from notoriety to a completely different approach. Why was this?
“I didn’t want to get typecast. After the success of Whistle in the dark, people had lots of preconceived ideas about me. There was a lot of partying in London at the time and people almost expected me to come in and smash a bottle over their heads. But the violence in that play was emotional, apart from the bottle.”
What was the most important play you wrote?
“Famine – it was a public landmark. I expected a wave of plays with the same theme afterwards, but there wasn’t. I was surprised by that.”
Was a book easier to write than a play, bearing in mind the crazy world of theatre?
“My first instinct is theatre. The book was accidental. I think many playwrights are in the business because syntax and grammar eludes us – it certainly does me. Maybe that’s why we turn to theatre. I realized very young that I wouldn’t be able to emulate the best prose writers. But I’d return to novel writing again.”
Your characters often stretch beyond those of other writers. What do you aim for with your characters?
“I aim to satisfy myself. As a writer, there can be lots of different endings, but this is only the case when you don’t know your characters well enough. I want to go beyond and I’m glad that you think my characters do. Sometimes they need the bizarre. I have noticed that the harsher my characters are, the more romantic they are. The cracks show and so does the pain of being gullible. The more romantically realistic my characters are, the harsher it is when the letdown comes.”
Tags: theatre, tom murphy