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things can get ugly pretty quickly. with talk of culture wars and battles over values, identity and he gets to tell the stories that define us. if warfare is currently a dominant cultural metaphor, what does that make the artists? warriors? my guest is the groundbreaking playwright and artistic director of the young vic theatre, kwame kwei—armah. in troubled times, can art be persuasive rather than polarising? kwame kwei—armah, welcome to
my place and in order to create something dramatic, i have to make sure that all viewpoints are covered. so, whether someone sits in the far right, which is a different position to me, i still have to understand what it is i think they are saying, or what i think the land that they stand upon, what validity does it have. yes, kwame kwei—armah, sorry i'm speaking about myself and the third person, does political views and as a playwright i have a point i want to catalyse but it has to be fear and almost democratic. you call yourself kwame but you were raised as in roberts, and you were raised in southall, a very ethnically mixed part of london and which the 70s and 80s was the scene of real racial violence and tension. to what extent did that shape you? very much so. it has not
if warfare is currently a dominant cultural metaphor, what does that make the artists? warriors? well, my guest is the ground—breaking playwright and artistic director of london's young vic theatre, kwame kwei—armah. in troubled times, can art be persuasive rather than polarising? kwame kwei—armah, welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much for having me. it is a great pleasure to have you. now, you've been in the theatre business as an actor, a writer and a director for the best part of three decades.
with talk of culture quickly. with talk of culture wars and battles over values, identity and he gets to tell the stories that define us. if warfare is currently a dominant cultural metaphor, what does that make the artists? warriors? my guest is the groundbreaking playwright and artistic director of the young vic theatre, kwame kwei—armah. in troubled times, can art be persuasive rather than polarising? kwame kwei—armah, welcome to
this department. you are kind of mocking it. you are almost mocking an ultra woke agenda? i slightly rebuke the term woke in my generation was slightly before the woke generation used to call ourselves conscious which literally means the same thing, that has been hijacked by the culture was. myjob as a playwright is to look at everything in its totality and pour it into the pot and put some flames on. we progressives and i define myself as a progressive sometimes we forget there is a need for conservatism. conservatism sometimes is just a conservatism. conservatism sometimes isjust a really conservatism. conservatism sometimes is just a really good breaking mechanisms so that human beings can adjust to change. and i think that is what i feel as kwame kwei—armah and it is what i put in the play there are conservative oceans we should pay to attention or we progressives or the next generations will pay the next generations will pay the cost. something like a
agenda for there is. i you or use your work as an agenda for there is.- you or use your work as an agenda for there is. i want to talk more — agenda for there is. i want to talk more about _ agenda for there is. i want to talk more about beneath i agenda for there is. i want to talk more about beneath his| talk more about beneath his place because i was lucky enough to see a few nights ago but before we get to that, more generally about your writing because you have been added for a time, do you do you see yourself as a provocateur? i describe myself as a political playwright, art is a tool for change, incremental change. we can do as an artist is catalyse the debate and i don't see the point of me using my art if it is not to incrementally try to make the world just a little bit better. make the world 'ust a little bit bettenh make the world 'ust a little bit math bit better. but there is a difference _ bit better. but there is a difference between i bit better. but there is a i difference between catalysing a debate and putting across a very clear point of view. do you have a clear point of view on some of these issues you outlined, like race, justice, immigration and inequality? absolutely do but as a playwright myjob is to love every character i put in any of
"woke", and my generation was slightly before the woke generation. we used to call ourselves conscious, which literally means the same thing. that's been hijacked by the culture wars. and as far as i'm concerned, myjob as a playwright is to look at everything in totality and then pour it into the pot and put some flames on it. and what i would say is that we progressives — and i define myself as a progressive — sometimes we forget that there is a need for conservatism. conservatism sometimes is just a really good braking mechanism so that human beings can adjust to change. and i think that's what i feel as kwame, and it's certainly what i put in the play, that there are conservative notions that we should pay attention to or we progressives or the next generation will pay the cost, ie a donald trump after a barack 0bama. what does being a progressive mean in terms of running a theatre? does it mean you believe in race quotas, in race equality across casting,
if warfare is currently a dominant cultural metaphor, what does that make the artists? warriors? well, my guest is the ground—breaking playwright and artistic director of london's young vic theatre, kwame kwei—armah. in troubled times, can art be persuasive rather than polarising? kwame kwei—armah, welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much for having me. it is a great pleasure to have you. now, you've been in the theatre business as an actor, a writer and a director for the best part of three decades.
what it is i think they are saying, or what i think the land that they stand upon, what validity does it have? so, yes, kwame does have — sorry to speak about himself in the third person — does have his own political views. as a playwright, i have a point that i wish to catalyse, but it has to be fair and almost democratic. kwame, you call yourself... i know. ..and of course you are kwame. but you were, as a kid, raised as ian — ian roberts — in west london, in southall — a racially, ethnically very mixed part of london, which at the time, in the �*70s and �*80s, was the scene of racist violence... yes. ..of real racial tension. yes. to what extent has that shaped you? very much so. it hasn't defined me, i hope, but it has shaped me. i remember my father taking me to the tip of our street at the time — i think it was in 1979 — and a pub called the
and the issues it raises. but before we get to that, just a more general point about your writing, because you've been at it for a long time. yeah. do you see yourself as something of a provocateur? i describe myself as a political playwright, that art is my tool for change — incremental change. all you can do as an artist is catalyse the debate. and i don't see the point of me using my art if it's not to incrementally try and make the world just a little bit better. yeah, but there's a difference between catalysing a debate and putting across a very clear point of view. do you have a clear point of view on some of these issues that you just outlined, like race, justice, immigration, inequality? i absolutely do. i think as a playwright, however, myjob is to love every character that i put in any of my plays. and in order to create something dramatic, i have to make sure that all viewpoints are covered. and so whether someone sits in the far right, which is a different position to me, i still have to understand