Teenage Girl Writes Play For Royal Court
Published on 6 August 2009 by Jonathan Dudley
A teenage schoolgirl is to become the youngest person to have ever had a play staged in a London theatre.
Anya Reiss, the 17-year-old daughter of a Westminster Abbey canon, wrote Spur of the Moment while at a young writer's course at the Royal Court theatre. The daring, expletive-peppered family drama is to performed at the prestigious venue in early 2010.
Reiss considers the play's narrative to be "what-ifs" from her own life but insists that it is not autobiographical. Jeremy Herrin, the Royal Court's deputy artistic director, described Spur of the Moment as "shocking but also funny". He went on to describe Reiss herself as "very gifted" and "wise beyond her years".
The play closely examines taboos, impulse and the family dynamic and features a scene in which a 12-year-old character kisses her parent's lodger, a man in his early 20s.
Casting and exact dates have not yet been announced, expect Spur of the Moment at some point in early 2010 at the Royal Court theatre.
