Playwright Ella Hickson discusses Oil at the Almeida
in New Writing, Playwrights, Political Theatre
15th November 2016
INTERVIEW: ELLA HICKSON. Spanning 162 years, from 1889 to 2051, Ella Hickson’s Oil darts all over the world as it unfolds the history of the black stuff through the story of a mother and a daughter, May and Amy Singer. In a discussion of the play’s shape, style, and sexual politics, the playwright tells Matt Trueman about how form unlocked her writing in a process that lasted seven years. Oil ran at the Almeida Theatre from 7 October – 26 November 2017. Recorded at the Almeida Theatre, 11th November 2016.
“Nobody had really nailed that thing of climate change as a human consequence. It’s naive. We’ve been putting guys in pinstripe suits on the stage and going, ‘Those guys, those guys ruined the world.'”
