Episode 19 - David Ireland: on writing satire and not preaching in art

We first met David during the Covid lockdown when he kindly agreed to do an online event for the Arts&Society Forum. I had seen his play ‘Cyprus Avenue’ at the Royal Court before COVID broke out and really enjoy its mischievous, dark humour.

He has a new play — The Fifth Step, a satire about alcoholism and the AA programme, opening in London’s West End in May, having opened successfully at the Edinburgh festival last year — and reviewed here in Episode 5.

Listeners may have seen plays by David, such as Ulster American — which was performed in London by Woody Harrelson and Andy Serkis; Yes So I said Yes, Sadie, and Not Now. He has written episodes for several TV dramas and recently got his own TV series, ‘Lovers’, on Sky Atlantic. He has a great talent for using dark humour to expose conflict and contradiction.

In this episode we ask David what makes him write and how a play gets started. He talks about growing up in Belfast amid the tensions of the Troubles, and how his work has drawn from these experiences. Although he is now trying to move away from this focus it remains a touchstone for him, including in a new play he is writing about the Palestine/Israel conflict.

He explains why, in writing, he believes art must take precedence over politics and why he avoids preachiness: it’s not the message that counts but the artistic integrity of the work. Yet it is increasingly difficult to avoid politics in art and the ideological political polarisations of the present moment. He talks about the troubling long term effects of the COVID lockdown, about the return to faith, about the importance of being direct, and about the shocking value of violence in theatre… and much else… Enjoy!

Photo of David Ireland © Tommy Ga-Ken Wan