What are the themes of your play?
Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew explores grief and the ways we are allowed to express it – particularly amongst black men and their families, queer histories and how they are carried on, and parent-child relationships when everyone is simply trying their best.
Why did you write it and why now?
I think for so many of us, the past few years have weighed heavy with grief. For myself in particular, in the year preceding writing Lavender… I experienced two of the greatest losses I’ve ever known, and in that time I constantly found myself clawing and scratching for a place to let the mess of grief spill out in its entirety. I did not want to be ‘polite’ with my mourning, but was met at every turn by a society that demands apologies for the smallest amount of tears.
The nature of loss means we watch it evolve from heartbreak over what is no more, to fond memories over what once was. Coming out of that year, I felt urgency in dedicating words to that feeling; the bittersweet reminiscence that follows sorrow, and most importantly how we pass on who they were.
In autumn of 2022 I was lucky enough to be offered a place on the Bush Theatre’s Emerging Writers’ Group, where I was able to write this play during my time in the group. I wrote this play for a society that doesn’t let us grieve how we need to, that keeps us closed and locked up, for the generation we still ache for the loss of, and for the generation that is trying with all their might to know those lives cut short.
Which playwrights are you influenced by and in what way?
Immediately Tyrell Williams. His writing is a constant source of inspiration for me in letting the branches flourish overhead, whilst constantly holding tight to stories at their root. His creation of characters that are full to the brim of twisting contradictions within themselves is so fantastic to read. Travis Alabanza, Amanda Wilkin, Mika Onyx Johnson and Benedict Lombe all also straight away spring to mind. All playwrights who have had me on my feet, heart surging out my chest, desperate for a pen and paper after witnessing their work.
What do you want to achieve as a playwright?
I want to continue to write stories that are strong in their voice, and strong in their message. My voice as a writer right now centres itself in the natural world, and I hope that never leaves. Expanding the walls of science and art makes both better, and I hope I can continue to fill as many theatres as I can with bugs and plants and all the queerness they are filled with.