Martin McDonagh's Unapologetic Plays: Rejected by Theatres for Raw Language!
McDonagh expressed his frustration, stating that only in recent years have theater companies refused to stage his plays due to disagreements over the wording in them. He mentioned that theaters wanted to make changes to the language to suit their own preferences or what they believed would be more acceptable to their audiences, despite his status as an established writer with a strong ticket-selling record.
This issue of censorship and changes to artistic works has been a topic of controversy in recent times. The decision by the publisher of Roald Dahl's stories to alter some wording to make them suitable for modern audiences was met with backlash and was ultimately reversed in February after prominent authors like Salman Rushdie spoke out against it, calling it censorship. McDonagh, known for his controversial fictional work, believes that writers should not fear threats of personal injury, as they may not be real threats at all. He expressed the importance of writing something dangerous or explosive, even in the face of censorship or government suppression of dissenting voices.
McDonagh emphasized that state-sponsored censorship of writers is not improving and that governments seem to be increasingly afraid of dissenting voices. Despite the challenges, McDonagh remains committed to pushing boundaries in his writing. He mentioned that the upcoming production of The Pillowman will feature Pemberton and Allen because they are "cool people and quite dangerous in their own art forms as well." He also advised aspiring writers to step away from social media, stop checking the internet, and "go out and outrage." According to McDonagh, it is a "very frightening time" for writers, but he remains steadfast in his dedication to creating provocative and challenging works of art.