In and out of theatre

Playwright GARY HENDERSON writes about adapting David Galler's acclaimed medical memoir Things That Matter and his patient wait for it to hit the stage

There are two memorable messages that bookend the first life of the stage play Things That Matter. Both came to me from Philippa Campbell, then literary manager of the Auckland Theatre Company. The first was an email in September 2016: "We'd love to have a conversation about whether you'd be interested in adapting something as a new play." The other was a text message five years later, in August 2021: "There's a very real chance that we'll cancel."

The text arrived on my dumbphone while I was in a Devonport cafe. I'd ferried over from the city to fill the gap between watching the final noon dress rehearsal of Things That Matter and the opening preview that evening. I'd noticed a few people on the boat staring at their smartphones with some concern, and in the cafe the same thing was happening.

I asked a stranger what was up. A Covid case. The new Delta strain. And then my phone beeped.

I had always been sceptical about adaptations. Why would anyone want to spend their precious, limited creative life reproducing someone else's work instead of bringing new art into the world? Not my idea of a good time - until I was invited to examine a PhD about adaptation. During the viva voce, the oral part of the examination, I'd thrown my question at the candidate. Why not create a new work of art? Their simple response: "But it would be a new work of art." I've carried that answer with me ever since.