We interviewed writer Tobias Graham about his debut play Sink– showing for the rest of this week only as part of our Foreword Festival! Book your tickets here and don’t miss out!
Describe Sink in three words.
Angsty, hopeful, wonky.
Sink is set in a bathroom at a house party – what inspired you to write the play?
I was inspired by the bittersweetness of house parties; the mix of euphoria and heartbreak, the strangeness of falling in and out of love. House parties are breeding places for drama with people dancing and fighting and experimenting with drinks and drugs and their bodies. There’s a real beauty to be found in these moments, but due to the drunken nature of house parties, the beauty always feels so ephemeral. We wake up the next day and nothing has changed. I wanted to capture this feeling in my play.
The characters are all so different – do you have a favourite?
I love them all for different reasons and they all inhabit certain aspects of my personality, so I definitely feel a connection to each character. However, the play started with Crispin, sat on the toilet, trying to piss, and the rest spiralled from that one image. I guess, for me, he feels like the heart of the play and so I’ve always felt a particular love for him.
What’s the best fancy dress costume you’ve ever worn?
I was the Queen of Hearts at my 22nd birthday party- I’m talking fishnets, a tight red skirt, a black sequinned crown and awful makeup. Truly iconic.
And the worst?
I wore a taco costume that I found on the floor outside Waterloo station. I gave it a wash but it always felt particularly gross. I did throw on a ginger wig to make it slightly more glamorous…
What do you want the audience to talk about in the bar afterwards?
I want them to talk about how much fun those parties look. Fancy dress parties are so ridiculous, you can’t go wrong. And then, I want people to reminisce. The play feels nostalgic, and so much of it is about memories and time and how caught up we can get in the pressures to exist in certain ways. And then I want them to buy me a drink. Glass of wine. Or a shot tequila.
Any advice for playwrights writing their first play?
Have fun and experiment. Don’t be afraid of letting other people into the process. Don’t strive for perfection.
‘SINK’ runs at the Space 21st – 25th March