Playwright Chris Bush: Writers should not patronise young audiences

Playwright Chris Bush has argued that writers should not patronise young audiences by sugar-coating work written for them.

Bush was speaking at the UK Theatre Awards 2022, after her stage adaptation of Kate Pankhurst’s Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World scooped the award for best show for children and young people.

"Sometimes work for young people can simplify or talk down to [them] in a way that isn’t helpful," she told The Stage.

"When you’re writing figures like Anne Frank or Rosa Parks, people had really difficult lives as well as incredibly important and moving lives."

She added: "[It’s about] trying to find that balance of the uplift and the joy but not sugar-coating, and I think we should never be taking young audiences for granted; they can actually absorb and process a lot more than sometimes we might initially give them credit for."

Bush argued that writing for young audiences came with "a lot of responsibility".

"Some people look down on making work for young people, whereas the opportunity to be potentially the first show that somebody sees is such a privilege and such an important thing," she added.