welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur. imagine a writer with a blank piece of paper. on the face of it, they re free to take their imagination in any direction they choose, tell any story they like. but it s not that simple. they need money, a commission. they need to win an audience, and for that, they must constantly adapt to changing tastes and technologies. my guest is one of the uk s leading playwrights and screenwriters, lucy prebble. she s had huge hits and one notable broadway miss. for a writer, how daunting can that blank piece of paper be? lucy prebble, welcome to hardtalk. hello, stephen. thanks for having me. it is a great pleasure to have you here. now, you are very busy right now, because a play that you originally wrote in 2012 and put on in 2012 has been revived at the national theatre in london in just the last few days. and it s got me wondering, as you have been heavily involved with the revival, how have you sort of seen the evolution of your own writin
the evolution of your own writing and what interests you? have you changed in the decade? yes, i think i have. i mean, it s so interesting to go back to something you wrote just over ten years ago. as you say, 2012 was the first production of it. it s a play called the effect, and it follows. it follows two triallists taking part in a clinical trial for a new antidepressant and two doctors running it. and the triallists basically start to fall in love, but don t know whether they are actually falling in love or if it s an effect of the new antidepressant that they re trialling. and of course, when i wrote it originally, i felt very close to these young sort of romeo and juliet 20 somethings feeling excited and romantic for the first time. and now i feel much closer to the sort of ao something, older doctors who are, you know, dealing with their past and what that means and, you know, just being a bit more adult and older and, hopefully, wiser. do you feel as in love with the
it is a great pleasure to have you here. now you are very busy right now because a play that you originally wrote in 2012 and put on in 2012 has been revived at the national theatre in london in just the last few days. and it s got me wondering, as you have been heavily involved with the revival, how have you sort of seen the evolution of your own writing and what interests you? have you changed in the decade? yes, i think i have. i mean, it s so interesting to go back to something you wrote just over ten years ago. as you say, 2012 was the first production of it. it s a play called the effect, and it follows. it follows two triallists taking part in a clinical trial for a new antidepressant and two doctors running it. and the triallists basically start to fall in love, but don t know whether they are actually falling in love or if it s an effect of the new antidepressant that they re trialling. and of course, when i wrote it originally, i felt very close to these young sort
now you are very busy right now because a play that you originally wrote in 2012 and put on in 2012 has been revived at the national theatre in london in just the last few days. and it s got me wondering, as you have been heavily involved with the revival, how have you sort of seen the evolution of your own writing and what interests you? have you changed in the decade? yes, i think i have. i mean, it s so interesting to go back to something you wrote just over ten years ago. as you say, 2012 was the first production of it. it s a play called the effect, and it follows. ..it follows two triallists taking part in a clinical trial for a new antidepressant and two doctors running it. and the triallists basically start to fall in love, but don t know whether they are actually falling in love or if it s an effect of the new antidepressant that they re trialling. and of course, when i wrote it originally, i felt very close to these young sort of romeo and juliet 20 somethings feeli
because a play that you originally wrote in 2012 and put on in 2012 has been revived at the national theatre in london in just the last few days. and it s got me wondering, as you have been heavily involved with the revival, how have you sort of seen the evolution of your own writing and what interests you? have you changed in the decade? yes, i think i have. i mean, it s so interesting to go back to something you wrote just over ten years ago. as you say, 2012 was the first production of it. it s a play called the effect, and it follows. it follows two triallists taking part in a clinical trial for a new antidepressant and two doctors running it. and the triallists basically start to fall in love, but don t know whether they are actually falling in love or if it s an effect of the new antidepressant that they re trialling. and of course, when i wrote it originally, i felt very close to these young sort of romeo and juliet 20 somethings feeling excited and romantic for the fi