The play Killing Lines was commissioned by the Arts Council after I had an idea for a play set amongst the farming community in Cornwall. It was 2016 and I wanted to explore why farmers were, overall, Brexiters. To me, it was surprising they supported a withdrawal from the EU, given that they survived largely by virtue of the Common Agricultural Policy the funds for which come from Brussels. I learned a lot on my journey round the West Country, as you can imagine. Eventually Brexit came and went, or at least, everyone grew tired of talking about it, and I was persuaded to drop it as the main theme and replace it with something that had become increasingly interesting to me, which is the whole question of the future of farming in the West. There’s so many difference forces at play, but broadly speaking, in the play I pitch a bunch of factory farming enthusiasts against a crowd of rewilding fans. As I finished the first draft in March 2020, all the theatres shut. This was unfortunate timing, though I appreciate that I wasn't the only person whose plans were interrupted by Covid-19. I have subsequently reworked the play, adapting it for radio, and over the next few months, it will be cast, rehearsed and recorded in London.
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