We sat down for an exclusive interview with Jonathan Moore, writer & director of Shakespeare’s Cousin at White Bear Theatre. “You must choose whom and what you serve. Not to choose is itself a choice.” Censorship, religious bigotry, cancel culture and xenophobia. A play for today. Set in Elizabethan England. By the multi-award-winning writer and director of Inigo, which also premiered at the White Bear.
This show runs from 10th November to 28th November at White Bear Theatre – Tickets here.
1. Robert Southwell was celebrated in his lifetime but is now largely forgotten; what drew you to his story, and why do you think his legacy has faded?
I was drawn to his story by his artistic genius, which was suppressed and erased from history by the Reformation.
2. Shakespeare’s Cousin explores censorship, religious intolerance and state oppression; what parallels do you see between Southwell’s world and our own?
Xenophobia, religious bigotry, state torture, and the role of an artist in a time of political oppression. Sadly, these things are still around today.
3. How did you explore the tension between Southwell’s artistic genius, religious convictions and the political power that ultimately condemned him?
I do this largely through the interrogation of Southwell by Sir Richard Topcliffe, where these issues are examined rigorously. I “interrogate” these ideas through the interrogation in the play to make them work.
4. The interrogation between Southwell and Sir Richard Topcliffe drives the play; how did you develop their opposing perspectives beyond a straightforward battle between hero and villain?
There are times when Topcliffe seems to understand Southwell and when Southwell tries to understand Topcliffe, but the polarities of good and evil are fairly clearly defined, as they were in Nazi Germany.
5. Having worked extensively across theatre and opera, what can theatre offer when examining history that a more conventional account cannot?
While historical research and documentaries can give us the facts, theatre can give us a window to the soul.
6. The play draws parallels with contemporary debates around censorship, xenophobia and cancel culture; what do you hope audiences will reconsider about dissent and state authority?
I would like them to see that this is a battle that has been around for a long time, and the importance and challenge of never selling out one’s dreams and principles for a more inclusive, socially just society. No matter what the cost.