David Edgar: the King James Bible and the English Reformation

29th March 2011

 

INTERVIEW: DAVID EDGAR

The playwright, whose play about the making, 400 years ago, of the King James Bible, Written on the Heart, will premiere at the RSC’s Swan Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon in the autumn, talks to Heather Neill about its story – the story of the English Reformation. Recorded at the Institute for Race Relations.

I’m interested in compromise and in how you deal with political movements that inevitably start off being extreme, whether its anti-racism, communism or feminism… and then have to come to terms with the world around them or perish. There are stunning parallels between Islamic fundamentalism and Protestant fundamentalism.