Playwright and former Londonist editor Hazel Tsoi-Wiles has always wanted to write. So much so that at 16 years old, she secured a place on the Royal Court Young Writers programme and participated in many of its theatre writing initiatives, ending with the Unheard Voices programme for East Asian writers in 2011.
Despite her endeavours, the phone didn’t ring and no plays were produced. So when she heard about the year-long Almasi League Writers’ Programme, led by award-winning writer Courttia Newland, she decided to apply. Since being accepted, she has redrafted her full length script Memoralising and is being mentored by writer and actor Daniel York.
Tsoi-Wiles reveals to Joy Francis how she learnt about stage craft and producing, transitioned from being a writer to being a British East Asian writer and why she is now happy to talk about race and culture in her work.
You were part of the Royal Court Young Writers programme from 1996. What sparked your interest in playwriting?
I did my first course with the Royal Court when I was 16. I really liked the idea of new writing and doing new plays. The fact that we could create our own material and experiment appealed to me. I stuck with the Royal Court for many years after that first experience as it took the writer into the heart of its output. I hung around for two years, then went to university and then came back for another writing course. I also did a work placement before moving on to other things and then I went back. The last time was in 2011, when the theatre was launching a new series [Unheard Voices] for specific under-represented groups. They did two for East Asian writers and I was part of the first intake. It was 11 weeks long with other people like me with the same aims.
Where would you say you were at with your writing when you started The Almasi League Writers’ Programme with Courttia Newland?
It took me a while to work it out really. I started the programme thinking I’d like to focus on writing as someone addressing my cultural heritage and collaborating with people who weren’t working colourblind. I wanted to meet new people and bring my own project into a new programme. What I ended up doing was reworking material I had started developing at the Royal Court at the Unheard Voices programme three years earlier. I thought, this is the exact right place and I’m with the exact right people to go over my old material. It felt great to revisit the ideas and discussions I had started at the Royal Court. The course was very tailored as we had individual feedback with Courttia and space within the group to bring in our own work. It felt like a logical and neat progression from what I had started, and it was intellectually challenging. We talked a lot about what it means to be a black writer and a writer of colour. Will you always be that? Is the aim to eventually be, or not to be, referred to as a writer of colour? It was good to talk to people and get their opinions on this topic.
What was it like being with writers of mixed genres?
It was really useful to see what was common for us as writers, especially writers of colour, from non-white backgrounds. It was interesting to see that no matter what medium you are writing in, we have our common concerns, whether you are writing speculative fiction, fairly tales or plays. I think being the only playwright in the group made me think about what works for an audience. When reading my work out to the group, I realised this doesn’t work at all, as you are reading it off the page as a play, which is performed. When you read your stuff to other playwrights, they probably hear it differently from those who don’t write plays or scripts. That was incredibly useful for me as they received it as an audience. I realised how valuable this was when I got to the end of the programme. What would a paying audience receive from this play? Courttia was excellent at getting me to think about stage craft. This has come up for me before, but having someone who has mounted plays and is an established playwright who knows about stage direction was invaluable.
What was your experience of trying to get your work noticed, and what would you say are the barriers facing writers of colour?
I always did writing programmes for the opportunity just to write and to see what would happen. Inevitably, I would get to the end of a programme, have a reading with an audience and then say, that was nice and then wait for the phone to ring. It never did. When I got to Courttia’s programme, I was ready for a new conclusion. I met actors and directors who invited me along to witness how to put on a show, what it takes to get funding and to raise interest in the work, things I had never really covered before. Working with Courttia, and meeting other people through him, taught me that the barriers are universal. Across theatre and performances, you need money and people to back you. You need spaces, audiences and actors who you need to pay. There is a real business element to it, which I never really thought about before as it was always about the writing.
What type of writer would you say you are now?
I am firmly a British East Asian writer for the stage. Before the course, I was very hesitant as I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be that. I’ve got here having been through the programme and meeting people who have made me confront that question. Don’t ever assume that I don’t want to be known as a British East Asian writer. That’s who I am. That’s how I write and that’s how you need to refer to me. Go there. I would be slightly annoying to be referred to as just a writer as there is something you can’t ignore or dismiss about me. Meeting me as a writer, I think you have to address the Chinese elephant in the room.
What next for you and your playwriting as I believe you are working with the actor and writer Daniel York?
I’m using him as a sounding board as my script develops. He has been invaluable as a contact throughout the programme; as someone who is really doing it. He has an interest in debating for roles for East Asian actors on stage and TV, and he is doing great work with the Act for Change project. We are keeping in touch and we will work properly together at some point. On the back of the programme I have a renewed interest in writing non-fiction. I used to work on the Londonist, reviewing theatre, events and topics relevant to London. The programme has inspired to just write and approach writing as fun. Writing shouldn’t just be locked down to producing the perfect script. It isn’t all about suffering and striving to meet this perfect goal. I have started a blog to put all the stuff that just comes out of my head. Another thing I’ve realised is that it may be uncomfortable to bring up race and culture in your own work, but that discomfort may be useful and a good place to explore your writing. You can use it for creative, intellectual and social change. Being on this programme has changed me a lot as before I wouldn’t want to talk about it [race and culture] all the time.