Instructions for Correct Assembly

Thomas Eccleshare is an English playwright who explores in his plays themes of parenthood, the power of stories and the meaning of truth in the modern world. He debuted in 2011 with the Pastoral, which brought him the Verity Bargate Award. In the following years he wrote I’m Not Here Right Now (2015), Heather (2017) and Instructions for Correct Assembly (2018), winning the Catherine Johnson Award and the Fringe First Award. His plays are staged all over the world. In 2020, they were published in his first anthology by the Oberon publishing house. In addition to his theater texts, he also writes scripts for television series. His last major project, Witness Number 3, a four-part drama, aired in 2022. He is also co-artistic director of the visual theater company Dancing Brick.

On the occasion of our next premiere, a staging of Instructions for Correct Assembly directed by Mihai Gligan, Thomas Eccleshare granted the Youth Theater a short interview.

1. Where did you get the idea for “Instructions for Correct Assembly”? In what aspects do you relate to the story?

When I write a play I often start with an image, or something I would like to see on stage. Something that intrigues me. With Instructions I started with this: a body onstage talking to another body and the second body won’t talk. The first body goes to the second, unscrews their head, fiddles around, tries again and, this time, it works! I was intrigued by what was going on and so I wrote the play to find out more.
As the play developed I found I related a lot to the idea of programming someone, raising them. How that process works and how complicated it is.

2. The constant struggle to achieve perfection is one of the topics of the play. Do you consider it to be an increasing problem in the contemporary society?

I’m not sure. I think in different ways that pressure has always been there. At the moment of course there’s social media which projects a certain view of perfection and that can add pressure. But at the same time I think there’s quite a lot of awareness of mental health and that side of things too.

3. What it’s like to be “one of the bright new writing talents in UK theatre”? Do you still wrestle with the feelings of inadequacy that you talked about in 2015, towards the beginning of your career?

I think every writer struggles at times but it’s important to travel with confidence. I don’t feel inadequate certainly, I think I know now that I am capable of writing things that I’m very proud of. If I did it once, I can do it again!

4. You have won the Verity Bargate Award, the Catherine Johnson Award and a Fringe First Award. How can awards influence an artist (positively or negatively)?

Well I don’t love the idea of awards for art, in the sense of making art compete against other pieces of art. But the truth is, in the UK at least, it can be a very good way to get a play noticed, or even get it produced. Winning the Verity Bargate Award was what got my first play produced in London so that was without doubt the main benefit.

5. Besides plays, you also write scripts for TV Series. What are the main differences regarding the creative process?

There are quite a few for me but the two main ones are story and space. In terms of story, TV tends to be extremely hungry for story – you need lots of it! By ‘space’ what I mean is that when I write for TV I imagine a scene happening in the real world, but when I write a scene for theatre I imagine it happening in a theatre space. The actual sculptural, living space of a theatre is such an important part of the medium, so I always have that in mind.

6. What do you expect from Theatre of Youth’s staging of “Instructions for Correct Assembly”?

I can’t wait to see it! I always love to see what other artists do with my work so I’m thrilled to see what you make of it!