Writing 'Master Class' is a biography of David Pownall's play, Master Class (1983), from conception to coming of age.
Threaded through the account of the inception and development of the piece are twists of authorial life-story necessary for the telling. Whereas a novel or poem can be kept a secret until it is properly finished, a play has to go out to meet the people early. On the day the script is put into the hands of actors, the soul of the thing passes out of the author's control. It can be bent, battered, warped - or improved within its being far beyond expectations....