Edward Bond

[Conchis]

Why should a creator have less perspective than someone else? That seems a strange idea to me.

Bond loathed the 2008 West End production of The Sea, which I enjoyed and which enthused me to explore his work in more depth. Although I was aware of it before, I hadn't realised how accessible and funny (in a very individual way) his plays can be (admittedly The Sea is described as 'a comedy').

I don't think Bond's perspective on his own work is less valid than anyone else's. But he is very specific (some might say 'dogmatic') about what he wishes to be brought out in performance; a different director, coming to the work anew, might see different things and want to bring these out.

It's all about works swimming clear of their creators - something that tends to happen with all enduring works of art. I think Shakespeare and Ibsen (to name but two examples) would be surprised and shocked - perhaps not always disagreeably - at how their plays have been performed by later generations.