"I've always liked new writing"
About this Quote
There is something quietly radical about an actress saying, with disarming simplicity, "I've always liked new writing". Staunton isn’t name-dropping auteurs or flexing literary taste; she’s staking out a preference that doubles as a work ethic. In an industry that worships legacy brands - Shakespeare, prestige revivals, the comforting churn of familiar IP - “new writing” is a vote for risk: untested lines, living writers, scenes that haven’t been sanded down by centuries of interpretation.
The phrase “always liked” matters. It frames the impulse as instinct rather than strategy, suggesting a performer drawn to the present tense of culture. New writing doesn’t come pre-approved by history; it arrives messy, political, sometimes structurally odd. An actor who likes it is implicitly saying: I can handle ambiguity. I’m willing to be part of the script’s first public life, not just its reenactment.
For British theatre especially, the subtext lands with extra force. Staunton came up in a tradition that prizes craft and repertory discipline, but also one where “new writing” has been the engine of social realism and institutional renewal (think the postwar wave through today’s National Theatre pipeline). Her line reads as a small defense of that ecosystem: playwrights who aren’t dead yet, stories that haven’t been validated by ticket sales in another decade.
It’s also a subtle statement about power. New work gives actors leverage to help shape tone, rhythm, even meaning. Liking it means liking the chance to co-author the moment.
The phrase “always liked” matters. It frames the impulse as instinct rather than strategy, suggesting a performer drawn to the present tense of culture. New writing doesn’t come pre-approved by history; it arrives messy, political, sometimes structurally odd. An actor who likes it is implicitly saying: I can handle ambiguity. I’m willing to be part of the script’s first public life, not just its reenactment.
For British theatre especially, the subtext lands with extra force. Staunton came up in a tradition that prizes craft and repertory discipline, but also one where “new writing” has been the engine of social realism and institutional renewal (think the postwar wave through today’s National Theatre pipeline). Her line reads as a small defense of that ecosystem: playwrights who aren’t dead yet, stories that haven’t been validated by ticket sales in another decade.
It’s also a subtle statement about power. New work gives actors leverage to help shape tone, rhythm, even meaning. Liking it means liking the chance to co-author the moment.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
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