If you lead with the anger, it will turn off the audience. And what I want is the audience to engage with the material and to listen and then to ask questions. I think that ‘Ruined’ was very successful at doing that. – Lynn Nottage
In the business of war, the role of women is really to maintain normalcy and ensure that there is cultural continuity. – Lynn Nottage
I was repeatedly told that there isn’t an African American woman who can open a show on Broadway. I said, ‘Well, how do we know? How do we know if we don’t do it?’ I said, ‘I think you’re wrong.’ – Lynn Nottage
I always thought of my mother as a warrior woman, and I became interested in pursuing stories of women who invent lives in order to survive. – Lynn Nottage
I can’t quite remember the exact moment when I became obsessed with writing a play about the seemingly endless war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but I knew that I wanted to somehow tell the stories of the Congolese women caught in the cross-fire. – Lynn Nottage
I’ve been asked a lot why didn’t ‘Ruined’ go to Broadway. It was the most successful play that Manhattan Theatre Club has ever had in that particular space, and yet we couldn’t find a home on Broadway. – Lynn Nottage
I am interested in people living in the margins of society, and I do have a mission to tell the stories of women of colour in particular. I feel we’ve been present throughout history, but our voices have been neglected. – Lynn Nottage
African American women in particular have incredible buying power. Statistically, we go to the movies more than anyone. We have made Tyler Perry’s career. His films open with $25 million almost consistently. – Lynn Nottage
Plays are getting smaller and smaller, not because playwrights minds are shrinking but because of the economics. – Lynn Nottage
My interest in theatre and storytelling began in my mother’s kitchen. It was a meeting place for my mother’s large circle of friends. – Lynn Nottage
I find my characters and stories in many varied places; sometimes they pop out of newspaper articles, obscure historical texts, lively dinner party conversations and some even crawl out of the dusty remote recesses of my imagination. – Lynn Nottage
