We caught up with Lucy Danser, creator of If This Is Normal, to find out a little more about the development of this timely and exciting play, and why it is so important to support emerging creatives.
What inspired the writing of this play?
I really like writing about stuff that I, or others, struggle to get our heads around. When discourse becomes difficult or polarising, it's really helpful to be able to create a set of characters who can all represent different voices and opinions. For If This Is Normal I was particularly interested in the conversation opening up around consent. There's often a desire for it to be very black and white and while I applaud that, I've noticed that generally that's a very superficial way to look at it. In reality, life is way more nuanced and I came across a lot of real life stories that inspired me to dig deeper and explore the grey areas. The play has definitely triggered responses across the spectrum so I think it's doing its job of being a conversation starter!
Information overload and weaponised language feel like such contemporary themes - is there a particular message you hope audiences will take away?
I try really hard not to impart a specific message in my writing because I'm in no way an expert in what we should all be doing, even if I do have my hunches! I'm much more interested in getting people to think more deeply about how they and their loved ones are living, and maybe inspire them to make changes or to reconsider what they might take for granted. For me personally, I think it's really easy to use phrases like 'information overload' or 'weaponised language' as throwaway or even loaded comments, they have a lot of baggage associated with them nowadays and are often used to make a point. I just want to explore what their impact on young people might actually be.
What were the biggest highlights and challenges in bringing this play to fruition?
I imagine I'll sound like a broken record saying this but the pandemic naturally threw us for a loop! We'd had a great run at the Edinburgh Fringe, plus a transfer to VAULT Festival so we were really raring to head off on tour and then everything just stopped. It's been hard to know when the right time was to try again, and to get the original team back together but that's exactly what we're doing.
What would you say to anyone who is thinking of booking a ticket?
Um, I'd say thank you! It's both exciting and pretty scary to be putting on a show right now and we're only doing it because we totally believe that we have an important story to tell, which we do with gusto! But people taking a chance on emerging creatives and new shows are exactly what the industry needs right now!