Anders Lustgarten

Playwriting Scholar

Anders Lustgarten has been described in the national newspapers as ‘our most exciting political playwright’, ‘Britain's most international dramatist’ and ‘clearly a pseudonym for a Marxist collective’. He writes about the truth with humour and hope, it's pretty simple really.

Anders won the inaugural Harold Pinter Playwriting Award for his austerity If You Don’t Let Us Dream, We Won’t Let You Sleep at the Royal Court. Black Jesus, about Zimbabwe after Mugabe, went to the Harare International Festival while Mugabe was alive. Lampedusa, about the migrant crisis, has been performed in over 20 countries. The Sugar-Coated Bullets Of The Bourgeoisie is an extremely rare depiction of China on its own terms. The Seven Acts Of Mercy combined Caravaggio and austerity in the Swan Theatre at the RSC. The Secret Theatre, at the Globe, is an allegory for mass surveillance set in the 16th century.

Anders is currently writing about Israel/Palestine for the National Theatre, Europe for the RSC and The Great Sheffield Tree Resistance for Sheffield Theatres. He is also working on a slew of TV and film projects.

Prior to becoming a writer, Anders taught on death row in California, was an international 400m runner and was arrested in multiple continents as an activist. Despite this, he still thinks ‘write what you know’ is terrible writing advice.

A selection of Anders' plays

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  If You Don’t Let Us Dream

  Anders Lustgarten's play is an exploration of the government's politics of austerity and a look at possible alternatives.

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  The Sugar-Coated Bullets Of The Bourgeoisie

  Lustgarten's epic play covers the years 1949 when Chairman Mao founded the Communist Party of China to the present day when investors swoop in to make money off the land.