A Travesty of Dramaturgy: Liam Williams @ Edfringe 2016

FIGHT in the DOG Presents TRAVESTY Boy really meets girl. The debut Play by Liam Williams Assembly Studio Five, George Square 3-28 Aug (not 15th), 17:30 (1 hr), Tickets £6-11

Ben doesn't even like Anna that much. She doesn't take life seriously enough. And then a couple of years go by and he's in absolute floods and she just wishes things could be different.

This is a play about gender, the ethical dimensions of modern love, and a mandatory sillier third theme to make the thing seem less serious, in this case lemon tart.

Travesty, in its portrayal of a couple of young, slightly lost, (more or less) middle-class people who meet, start having sex and then don’t so much fall in love as cautiously negotiate their way into it, sheds light on our assumptions about gender and the hidden inequalities in romantic relationships between men and women. 

This is a funny, honest, unflinching look at modern relationships. 

What was the inspiration for this performance?
Partly personal experience, partly through conversations with my peers which exposed a general anxiety about what romantic relationships mean for  twenty-somethings now that life-long monogamy seems an outdated notion and the general human future doesn't look too clever. 

I also sought to become more clued up about feminism and began reading a long Reddit thread of women talking about the overlooked difficulties and inequalities they've encountered in romantic relationships. The play was probably inspired by all of that.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?
This is the first time I've produced my own work so there was a great opportunity to recruit a team of talented friends. I'm very lucky to be working with a bunch of  terrifyingly competent young people whose careers are only just taking off. 

How did you become interested in making performance?
My background is in stand-up comedy but I've always envied the facilities  theatre-makers enjoy: multiple actors, set, props, audiences who actually listen etc. 

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?
No. Very different. More involved and collaborative than stand up and much more rewarding. 

What do you hope that the audience will experience?
Amusement and at least three other emotions. 

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
One very specific strategy. But you'll have to come and see the show to find out what it is.  

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
Not especially. I suppose I like the way comedians such as Daniel Kitson and Louis CK push themselves in forms beyond stand up. A bit like Woody Allen, I guess, though I'm not sure whether it's cool to admire him anymore.

The plays I read in the build up to writing Travesty which influenced me most in one way or another: Lungs by Duncan McMillan, Look Back in Anger by John Osbourne, Aliens by Annie Baker, Boys by Ella Hickson, Constellations by Nick Payne