a Life 16 Films: How Cinema Made Playwright

Steve Waters examines how the very idea of film has defined him as a playwright and a person in this book. Through the the lens of cinema, it provides a cultural and political snapshot of life in Britain from the 2nd part of the 20th century up to the present day. The films spanning almost a century, starting with (1929) and moving most recently to (2019) each chapter examines aspects of Waters's jourbaney from his working-class Midlands upbringing to working in professional theatre to living through the Covid epidemic, through the prism of a particular film. From to from sci-fi to documentary, from queer cinema to world cinema, this honest, comic book offers a view of film as a way of thinking about how we live. In doing so, it illuminates culture and politics in the UK over half a century and provides an intimate insight into drama and writing.