We interviewed playwright Louise Breckon-Richards about her play Four O Clock Flowers– showing for the rest of this week and the final show our Foreword Festival! Book your tickets here and don’t miss out!
Describe Four O Clock Flowers in three words.
Grief, Mothers, Forgiveness
What inspired you to write the play?
Current news, being a mother myself and incidents happening near to home.
It’s a very topical subject matter. Did you have to do a lot of research and how did you incorporate this into your process?
The story centres mainly around the mother’s grief, and I tried to imagine what that may feel like to lose a child, but as a company, my director and the other actors have been doing lots of research to incorporate into the process.
The show tells the story of two mothers who clash over a stabbing, why did you decide to write from their perspective?
When I first started writing the play, there were two boys in it who played out what actually happened in real time. However, as I wrote further drafts, I realised that I was interested in the two mothers and the aftermath of these events. How do they pick up the pieces after losing something so precious and how do they forgive each other and themselves?
Was it important to you to give a platform to slightly older female actors?
Definitely. I am making a conscious choice to do this with everything I write. As an actress myself, I feel like it’s very important to write older female characters. You can often feel invisible once you reach a certain age as an actress, and unless we keep writing female parts that drive and lead a piece then we will only feel sidelined.
What do you want the audience to talk about in the bar afterwards?
How it was interesting to see two perspectives. How they may have been moved.
You are also an actor – how does it feel to be on the “off stage” side of the process?
It’s very strange. I’ve had to learn to sit still for longer periods of time and often want to get up and join the other actors as I love being active. It feels like a different type of vulnerability, and risk, exposing your thoughts through writing rather than when you play a part, but I cant wait to see what the company presents.
Any advice for playwrights writing their first play?
Patience. Persistence. Perseverance.
‘Four O Clock Flowers’ runs 28th May – 1st June