Charlie Prothero is an up-and-coming playwright, director and filmmaker from Merseyside, currently part of Liverpool's Everyman and Playhouse Playwrights' programme.
Having recently seen his play ‘Boxes: Three Stories' at Unity Theatre, I caught up with Charlie to find out more about his creative process and how he fuses a fascination of people, place and space to explore intimate portraits of Liverpool.
“With boxes, I realised the link between each of the three stories were people who were stuck and not able to talk, and how this can become about intimacy, unpacking why people find it difficult to talk about how they feel and show the benefits of what happens if you do.”
“I like to get inspiration from my own encounters and experiences with people from all walks of life. A particularly important moment came from spending time with a veterans' group workshop, meeting in a church hall and seeing the blokes chatting, taking the piss and getting through difficult points in their life together. It moved me.”
“I also want to make sure that my work in simplest terms provides a good night out at the theatre as much as anything. If people can relate to it and take something away, and have a laugh – that's my job done.”
“The key for theatre is to make everyone feel welcome – come along and listen to some stories, sit in the dark and see something. It's what I've wanted to do since I was a kid.”
Charlie mentions his influences all happen to be called Alan – Alan Bennett, Alan Bleasdale and Alan Ayckbourn, among others. He's also an admirer of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton.
When it comes to the city that inspires him, Liverpool's spirit and sense of humour inform his writing. “I like to reflect the spirit of the region, telling stories that span the depth of the city, away from surface level stereotypes that sometimes make it onto TV.”
Looking closer to home, his next piece of theatre is actually inspired by a story his dad had been working on, encompassing ‘Liverpool's history, the importance of people and friends.'
Human connection through generations is not just a feature of his process and stories he brings to the stage, it's the lifeblood of his work and something Charlie identifies that should be protected amid AI advancement in the creative industries.
“We have the ability to tell stories that properly connect”, Charlie tells me. “There are certain things that can never be replicated”.
Charlie Prothero is the Artistic Director of Dogtale Theatre. View his short films here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzgAEBNiAY4sB133ysjLpZA and find out more on the Everyman and Playhouse Playwrights' programme here https://everymanplayhouse.com/for-artists/playwrights-programme/
