The Monster in the Hall

“The thing about teenagers is that their starting position is that you’re probably bullshitting them.” So says acclaimed playwright David Greig, a writer with a proven track record in creating interesting scripts. “So, you have to win them.” The latest play Greig hopes to win audiences with is The Monster in the Hall. In it, a young woman has to care for her eccentric father, who suffers from MS, and fears the authorities will interfere.

The idea came from a guidance teacher who spoke about a bright but troubled student. “She was having to look after her mum and was worried about Social Services finding out she was doing that because she was afraid
they would want to separate them. I just thought that was interesting. I didn't know about that sort of world, that there were kids in that situation.”

To better understand the situation, Greig did a series of workshops with youths who were carers. “I got a lot from them, their stories, and it all snowballed from there.” However, the play itself isn’t based on real events. “It’s total fiction. In fact, in some places it’s improbable fiction and is actually a farce.”

Though Monster is billed as a play for teenagers, Greig thinks it will play to a larger audience. “If you write a good play for teenagers, then everyone will like it because what you’ll have to do in order to make it work is have really good characters and a really good story with good humour.”