BBC Writers Festival 2017 / "Killology"

Last week, I was one of the many hopefuls who attended the first Welsh Writers Festival, at Cardiff’s Chapter Arts Centre. It was the official launch of the BBC Writersroom in Wales, and as well as free food and drink, there were sessions aimed at writers who are interesting in working in areas such as childrens’ TV, radio, and comedy-drama. For me, though, the highlight was the appearance of Cardiff-born Andrew Davies, author of many notable TV adaptations (“Pride and Prejudice”, “War And Peace”, “House Of Cards” etc), who provided several useful tips, quips and snippets. I was fortunate enough to be asked to blog about it on the BBC website, where I provided a fuller summary of the event, but I think it’s fair to say it was an enjoyable day, with optimism in the air.

My latest reviewing assignment for the British Theatre Guide was Gary Owen’s “Killology”, playing at the Sherman Theatre, prior to moving on to the co-producing venue, London’s Royal Court Theatre. Given an ominously bleak staging, it takes as its starting point the idea of violent video games influencing behaviour, and turns into an emotionally resonant mediation on fatherhood. Possibly his best yet.

"Killology" (photo: Mark Douet)