| Some things don't travel well even within borders. We have shows about different parts of New York City that don't travel well to other parts. On a superficial level, we have many plays that do not naturally resonate for those without any personal experience with the specific culture, history, etc. But we have many great plays, in the UK and US, in which the playwright, director, etc, bring the audience into the place and time and make it resonate. When a play doesn't achieve this, we call it parochial, and that's a fair comment, not borne of condescension but of a clear-eyed view of the material. And then there is also this thing called pride, never a desirable reason to stake one's fortunes on, and also one that rubs its possessors the wrong way when brought to their attention. These are things that the crucible of producing a play in New York and/or London assays before rendering a verdict. We have a long list of plays from the UK that flourished in New York even though their subject matter was hitherto virtually unknown here. Those achievements do not flow from building a fortress around that subject matter (which seems to be the crux of what you are doing). |
