Rebecca Lenkiewicz: 'I wrote Her Naked Skin so we talked about the suffragettes more'

In our Play Talk series, playwrights discuss the joys and struggles of the writing life. In 20087, Rebecca Lenkiewicz 's play about the suffragettes, Her Naked Skin, became the first original play by a female playwright to be staged in the National Theatre's Olivier. This weekend, a rehearsed reading of the play, directed by Nadia Fall , will take place as part of the NT's Courage Everywhere series to mark 100 years since (some) women were first given the right to vote. Here, Lenkiewicz explains the influences and inspirations behind her writing.

What was the first play to make you want to write plays?

It was never a single play that made me want to write but certain speeches stayed with me. The first was at school - Saint Joan's speech where Joan tears up her confession. She realizes she'll be locked up and she's not actually free to go; she chooses death over prison. That tore me up.

What was your background to becoming a playwright?

I worked very briefly in a sleazy club in Soho; I wrote a play about it because the young women there were so brilliant and extraordinary. Then I went to Central and trained as an actress and wrote a lot when I was "play as cast" at the RSC: I had two lines as a fairy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for a year and a half, and a nice part as a spider woman in Tales From Ovid. I was hugely frustrated and needed to do something more with my mind.

What’s the hardest play you’ve ever written?

I had to write to a deadline when I was grieving and that was harsh, writing seemed inane and pointless and the thought of creating conversation or anything remotely meaningful was like a leaden weight.

Which brought you the most joy?

My first two plays flowed quite easily… they were not commissioned and had no destination. All the ones that followed after that were harder. Each of the plays brings some joy. Actually, with one it was hard to locate any joy at all - it was like pulling teeth and a nightmare with the producers, but even with that runtish one I'm sure there must have been some random moments of joy writing it. My second play The Night Season was probably the most joyful in its rendering - it was funny and very full of hope.

Which playwrights have influenced you the most?

In my formative years, theatre wasn't hugely in my psyche - TV and cinema and books were my primary influence. Pennies From Heaven, Betty Blue, the Brontes: these blew me away. The first playwright who fascinated me and still does was Samuel Beckett.

What is your favourite line or scene from any play?

Paul Schofield as King Lear in Peter Brook's film always made me cry. Lear's forgiveness speech to Cordelia:

No, no, no, no! Come, let's away to prison:
We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage:
When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down,
And ask of thee forgiveness: so we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of court news.

What’s been the biggest surprise to you since you’ve had your writing performed by actors?

Actors are just amazing and often surprising in the most beautiful ways in how they can convey your work or the subtext with such honesty. The best actors take your characters and launch them with such brilliance, intelligence, humour and heart. I love the mixture of profound toughness and vulnerability that fantastic actors have. Most of my closest friends are actors and I have huge admiration for them being on the front line and putting up with the challenges, keeping going when reviews are crap or no one is coming along. And enjoying success with such wonderful verve if that comes along too. They are proper troupers and wonderful raconteurs and infinitely surprising.

What’s been your biggest setback as a writer?

I've had no major setbacks but stress levels have always been quite high, whether work is going well or not. I don't think that necessarily goes with the territory but I imagine it does with many writers.

And the hardest lesson you’ve had to learn?

I handled an angry situation badly last week and was very emotional and wish I'd been more deft. On the other hand we're in it because we are emotional so what the hell. Working with other people can bring such joy but it can also be horrific. I've tried to learn to follow my instincts more and not force myself to be "open" to things or people when I feel from the start it could be a dismal marriage.

What do you think is the best thing about theatre? And the worst?

Theatre at its best is profound and moving; the exchange is amazing when it is live and felt. At its worst it is like a physical headache. Also most British theatre is exclusive, the prices are obscene and make it impossible for it to be an art form for everyone.

What’s your best piece of advice for writers who are starting out?

Follow your instincts, you know your work best. And choose the people you work with very carefully. Human contact with your work can be the source of such joy - or torment...

Are there any themes and stories you find yourself re-visiting with your plays?

I'm always fascinated by women and how they negotiate their lives. Freedom interests me, and outsiders.

Are you on Twitter? Do you find it a help or a hindrance as a writer?

I was on Twitter for a few years and enjoyed the information very much. It's a very powerful tool. I left for various reasons but may return.

Why did you write Her Naked Skin?

I wrote Her Naked Skin because I felt passionately that the suffragettes should be talked about more than they were and honoured and remembered as the remarkable and brave band of women that they were. They endured ridicule and abuse in everyday life and humiliation and torture during repeated prison sentences - and still they held their heads high and went back for more until they felt women would be given the vote.

How do you spend opening night?

Opening night I am usually a bit nervous and gather my beloved troupe of friends and family and go in and watch in quite an outer body way. I am always very touched by the warm-ups that actors do before the show - that moves me far more than anything else. My most memorable first preview was for the Night Season. I was terrified and a very dear friend said she'd hold my hand. She bought me champagne and we drank the whole bottle beforehand on the roof of the National looking at the Thames. I was almost drunk during the play and told off by an audience member for laughing too loud... it was bliss.

What’s the best play you’ve seen this year?

I saw Dance Nation by Clare Barron and The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, and I loved seeing the Almeida and Stratford East stages inhabited by large casts of brilliant young female actors.

What’s your favourite place to watch theatre in London?

I love the Arcola Theatre; we birthed together as my first play Soho opened their theatre in 2000 when it was bricks and rubble. I wrote The Painter for when they moved to their new building a decade later and I'll write a play for 2020 when we will both have had twenty years of making plays. Mehmet, Leyla and Ben run a fantastic space... the stages, the bar, and it's all green... they aim for a 100% carbon neutral theatre.

What other art forms do you love when you’re not in a theatre?

My sister Alice is a poet and painter and my brother Wolfe is an artist so I enter their brilliant worlds of words and visions. And I've always been addicted to cinema.

If the Prime Minister said they were abolishing the theatre tomorrow, what would you do?

The Prime Minister could never truly abolish theatre. It's primal and every kid acts out stories. But if paying theatres all went dark, besides the injustice of it and protesting against it, perhaps a new wave of dangerous theatre might appear... in the forests and on the beaches and in warehouses. People might write in very different ways. With the insane heights that our government and Trump have reached recently it wouldn't be so surprising if they suddenly proclaimed art redundant. There's a lot of political hubris going on. But if someone were to build a wall around theatres someone else will tear the walls down.

Courage Everywhere runs at the National Theatre from November 15-18. Her Naked Skin will be performed as a rehearsed reading on November 17 at 3pm; nationaltheatre.org.uk