By Stephen Jeffreys
Published by NHB
The late Stephen Jeffreys (he died last year) was one of the most respected figures in the playwriting world. With plays such as The Libertine, A Jovial Crew and a world-renowned adaptation of Hard Times under his belt, he ran a highly influential series of workshops for 20 years. This posthumously published book, edited by Maeve McKeown with foreword by April De Angelis, has been in development for a long time.
His gift is his ability to break the art of writing a play into accessible digestible components without ever patronising the reader or dumbing down – actually the mark of a fine teacher in any discipline.
His opening section structure examines (with examples such as three stage Macbeth) different sorts of stories. Then he moves on to character and how a playwright might explore an individual’s story, breadth and depth. The third section is about writing methodology including dialogue, subtext and angle. Finally he moves on to finding material – from research, specific experience, history, novels, films and so on. It’s all very practical as well as immensely informative. No wonder Stephen Daldry is quoted on the cover saying: “What Stephen Jeffreys doesn’t know about playwriting isn’t worth knowing”
There’s plenty of very useful advice and discussion here for any teacher toying with the idea of writing a play or guiding students wanting or needing to.