David Byrne: I don't agree politically with everything staged at the Royal Court
David Byrne, artistic director of London’s Royal Court theatre, has admitted he does not "politically agree" with everything that is staged at the venue, but backs work based on its quality.
Byrne drew a distinction between work about knotty subject matters that "moves conversations forward" and work that is "regressive" or provocative for the sake of it.
Byrne was speaking to The Stage at the 25th-anniversary celebration of the Genesis Foundation, a charity founded by arts philanthropist John Studzinski that has supported emerging artists at venues including the Almeida Theatre, the National Theatre and the Royal Court.
Byrne praised Studzinski’s passion for the arts, as well as his determination not to influence the content of the work made with his support, allowing it to be bold and provoke conversation.
"The Royal Court’s mission is to be ahead of public taste," he explained.
"Therefore, all of our supporters and staff and artistic community around the building are, I think, locked into the sense that that is going to be part of the artistic adventure – that we are going to be trying things out that are going to be uncomfortable to the audiences."
Byrne said that the Royal Court’s programming was not only frequently "ahead of public taste", but also ahead of "its own taste" sometimes.
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"The programme here is very dissonant," he said. "I don’t politically agree with everything we put on stage, but I think it has a right to be there because it is of quality.
"And it’s coming from an artist that is definitely moving a conversation forward, in a way that demands and deserves to be seen. We need supporters who are going to be behind that mission."
Byrne added that he did have some "red lines" in terms of what he would stage, adding: "You have to make sure that what you’re presenting is not regressive.
"Is this moving the conversation forward? Is this getting closer to unknotting some of the big questions in our society – the big questions at the heart of what it is to be human?
"Normally, it’s very clear when artists are taking real risks and pushing towards something new. It’s very different having an artist say things that would rightly upset people because they are hurtful or purposefully trying to provoke."
Asked whether he had ever experienced sponsors or supporters attempting to influence content on the Royal Court’s stage, Byrne replied: "Yes, but I think as long as you’re not influenced by it, it’s okay."
"But I think my job as artistic director is to be able to parry that, and to make sure that that is part of the contract, and it doesn’t get pushed too far."
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