I remember the first time I went to the Theatre, it was to see Equus with my Mum at Hull Truck. I was 18 and had never seen a play in my life. Why would I? I thought that the Theatre wasn't for people like me, wasn't for someone from my background, didn't represent the community I lived in. No one I knew or hung around with ever saw plays, Theatre was for the 'other'. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I went to see Equus, actors with movie star looks speaking like the Queen, something far removed from the life that I knew. But what I saw was bloody fantastic, it really spoke to me, ignited emotions within and opened my eyes to just how powerful the Theatre can be. The fact they had Yorkshire accents too was icing on the cake. I left feeling like the Theatre could be for people like me after all, it's for everybody, Theatre can be a deep human experience. Not just one small section of humanity but across the board.
So why had I never seen a play before? Well for one it was never encouraged at school or in the home, but also we were in Hull so opportunities were scarce. When I moved to London a few years later to work with the National Youth Theatre I was buzzing about the amount of Theatre on offer, saw play after play, extensively read all the greats and even began writing myself. But their was always that feeling of playing catch up, a feeling that I'd missed out or been short changed coming from the North.
So why had I never seen a play before? Well for one it was never encouraged at school or in the home, but also we were in Hull so opportunities were scarce. When I moved to London a few years later to work with the National Youth Theatre I was buzzing about the amount of Theatre on offer, saw play after play, extensively read all the greats and even began writing myself. But their was always that feeling of playing catch up, a feeling that I'd missed out or been short changed coming from the North.