“It’s embarrassing to think what we look like from their side… it’s not just a flat, they have a whole house, Patrick”

Necessity

a play about the compromises we make to get what we need

The arrival of a letter creates an impossible decision for Mish and Patrick, one that forces the couple to confront the legacies of things left unsaid and what it is they really need from each other.

The kernel of the story of this play was something that actually happened to my parents - a letter mis-delivered to their address which set up some intrigue. I thought it could pose a really interesting moral problem for a young couple.

This was the first time I’d directed something I‘d written at Brighton Fringe - finding our cast was a treat which introduced me to actors who have become collaborators and friends. I remember a friend of mine saying after the show ‘your writing has taken step up’ (I took it as a positive, and not a backhanded diss). The script did feel like a step towards stuff I liked passive aggressive domestic tension and dark humour!

Collaborating with Tim of Broken Silence Theatre has taught me so much as we worked together to get our plays on.

Necessity was produced by Broken Silence Theatre and staged at Brighton Fringe 2016 and Bread & Roses Theatre in 2017.