James Graham: We are in a crisis of the new

Discussing the array of shows based on existing IP, Graham emphasised that they can be “brilliant bridges to getting popular audiences into the theatre and then taking a chance on another show afterwards”, but stated: “You just need to really never let go of the new, because British theatre has always been new”.

He continued: “What I would say as a new writer – and as someone who can’t believe the amount of talent that is coming down the pipeline in terms of writers – is that we need all of us. This includes actors doing new plays, not just revivals, casting directors making sure they put great names into new untested work and West End theatres taking a chance on programming new plays that have done really well in smaller venues.”

On the topic of audience engagement with new stories, Graham added: “Getting audiences for new plays is really hard – you have to work really hard. Amazing development teams, marketing teams and press teams in theatres around the country are having to redouble their efforts to get audiences back into the habit of going to see new plays. It is tough out there.”