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With reference to my play Franco’s Bastard I would point out that playwrights from Sophocles to Shakespeare to Stoppard have used historical figures as models for the characters in their plays. This doesn’t mean that those plays are biographical even though in most cases the characters appear as themselves. I recently wrote such a play – Utah Blue – based on the life and death of the American murderer Gary Gilmore. For half the play Gary is on stage as his own ghost. Does this mean I believe in ghosts? If I’d wanted to write a play about Cayo, I would have called my character Cayo and written about things that actually happened. What I wanted to write about was nationalism/fascism/language – those things that confront us as a nation with, arguably, a new sense of democracy. If those who are complaining about my play had not been so hell bent on identifying my character with their late friend and in the process, using my play to garner some belated glory for him, they would have understood that many of the things my character Carlo says about what he wants for Wales, I would say myself. What I’m worried about is that Wales may be predisposed to racism. We have adopted as a nation a kind of linguistic apartheid which encourages ideas of ethnic purity (some say you can’t be truly Welsh unless you have five generations of Welsh speaking behind you). This philosophy activated would lead to ethnic cleansing. That’s fascist. In the meantime we are divided – mostly by language. We have no strength as a nation. The divisions cause us to be constantly looking inwardly at issues of identity. A confident nation doesn’t worry about these things. A confident nation has a voice in the world. It’s an example to the world and its writers and thinkers are listened to. We’ve become an example of how not to do it. I’m not opposed to the Welsh language. I made sure all my children learnt it because I believe in cultural unity. This is not about language. It’s about hegemony and separate development. I profoundly believe that all the children of Wales should be taught both languages from the moment they start school; if not then it should be depoliticised. We seem to use language not to communicate but to excommunicate. We use language to discuss which language to use and empty all our language of true political debate. This creates a vacuum into which simplistic and often vengeful, racist and fascistic ideas can move. That is what my play is about. |
| Dic Edwards web site: |
| Dic Edwards e-mail: dicedwards@playwright30.freeserve.co.uk |
Tuesday, May 14, 2002 |
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