5 MINUTES WITH DAVID PINNER

​Before David Pinner became a full-time writer, he was trained at R.A.D.A., and he has acted in many stage and television plays.

The cult movie, THE WICKERMAN, is based on his 1967 novel, RITUAL, (Hutchinson/Arrow), which was re-published in 2011 by Finders Keepers and Endeavour.
In 2014 the sequel to RITUAL; THE WICCA WOMAN was published by Endeavour.
His other novels; WITH MY BODY (Weidenfeld and Nicholson)
and THERE’LL ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND (Anthony Blonde).
 
He has had several plays produced in London; FANGHORN, starring Glenda Jackson at the Fortune Theatre; LUCIFER’S FAIR, Arts Theatre.
THE POTSDAM QUARTET, with Clive Swift at Lyric Hammersmith, directed  by David Giles, and at the Lion Theatre, New York, directed by Jacques Levy; and at the Jermyn Street Theatre in 2013.
THE LAST ENGLISHMAN, with Kate O’Mara at the Orange Tree.
CARTOON, SHAKEBAG and AN EVENING WITH THE G.L.C. at the Soho Poly.
SINS OF THE MOTHER, Grace Theatre; LENIN IN LOVE with James Faulkner, New End Theatre, and OH, TO BE IN ENGLAND, Finborough Theatre. 
His other produced plays; THE TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC, with Philip Madoc as Stalin at The Gateway Theatre, Chester; DICKON with Joseph O'Connor; THE DRUMS OF SNOW; HEREWARD THE WAKE ; SCREWBALL; REVELATIONS; SKIN DEEP;
ALL HALLOWS’ EVE  and MIDSUMMER.
 
 
Penguin Plays (New English Dramatists)  published his plays DICKON, FANGHORN and DRUMS OF SNOW.
 
Oberon Modern Playwrights have published his ‘Stalin Trilogy’ THE POTSDAM QUARTET, LENIN IN LOVE and THE TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC;
his ‘Three Power Plays’ DRUMS OF SNOW, RICHELIEU and PRINCE OF TRAITORS;
his ‘Seasons’ Quartet’ REVELATIONS, MIDSUMMER, ALL HALLOWS’ EVE and LADY DAY;   his ‘Vampire Trilogy’ FANGHORN, EDRED THE VAMPYRE and LUCIFER'S FAIR;  his 4 one act plays ‘The Joy of Misery’ CARTOON, AN EVENING WITH THE G.LC., SHAKEBAG and SUCCUBUS; and OH, TO BE IN ENGLAND.
 
Imperial College Press have published his play about Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke; NEWTON’S HOOKE.
 
DROPPING OUT OF A SEA WEED SKY, his book of poem, is published Levellers Press.
 
Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?


I was an actor, but latterly I’ve spent most of my time writing plays, novels and poetry.

To get the ball rolling and get everyone relaxed, here is a hopefully lighthearted question to break the ice, which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life and have them complain at you about they way you treated them in your work.


My thousand year old, Anglo Saxon bisexual vampire, who slept with Shakespeare but didn’t bite him.

Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?
 
History and politics have been the biggest influence as I have written plays about Hereward the Wake, Oliver Cromwell, Cardinal Richelieu, Napoleon, Karl Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao Tse Tung – and unfortunately many of them created a great deal of real, mass horror!!
 
 
The term horror, especially when applied to fiction always carries such heavy connotations.  What’s your feeling on the term “horror” and what do you think we can do to break past these assumptions?.
 
I think we need to infuse all our works on horror with a great deal of mordant, draconian humour, which profitably lighten our darkness.   

A lot of good horror movements have arisen as a direct result of the socio/political climate, considering the current state of the world where do you see horror going in the next few years?
 
Climate change will prove to be the greatest of horrors.

Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it?
 
It allows them to live in the world of fearful imagination, but without having to suffer the consequences.
 
What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre?
 
My thousand-year-old vampire, Edred, who lives in a church and who love garlic, but he can’t die – even though he wants to!

In the past authors were able to write about almost anything with a far lesser degree of the fear of backlash, but this has all changed in recent years.  These days authors must be more aware of representation an the depiction of things such as race and gender in their works, how aware are you of these things and what steps have you taken to ensure that your writing can’t be viewed as being offensive to a minority group? 


I’m very aware of them so now I’m very careful what I write.

Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you?

Clive |Barnes in the New York Post wrote about Stalin play, which is appropriately called THE TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC; ‘David Pinner is a recording angel with a mean pen.’

What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult?

Beginning a new work, but once I’m into it….

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?

Not that I know of.

How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?

Yes, the sound of the name is very important.  My vampire, Edred is equally Ed-Dread.
 
Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years?

Every new work is a leap in the dark, and then you learn how to fly.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing?

My father said ‘You will only ever be a good as your technique, and when your technique is good enough, it won’t show.’

To many writers, the characters they write become like children, who is your favorite child, and who is your least favorite to write for and why?


I have too many favourite children, so I can’t name them.

For those who haven’t read any of your books, which of your books do you think best represents your work and why?

‘Ritual’ because it was the inspiration for the Cult movie, ‘The Wickerman’ and my Stalin play, ‘The Teddy Bears’ Picnic’.

Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next?
 
My last play was ‘EDRED THE VAMPYRE’ and I’m working on the screenplay of my novel, THE WICCA WOMAN’.

What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you?
 
‘The Brothers Karamazov’ by Dostoevsky was my favourite.