Alexander Zeldin on Theatre, Inequality, and the Modern Family

British playwright and director Alexander Zeldin (born 1985) discusses his trilogy The Inequality, which includes Beyond Caring (2014), Love (2016), and Hope Faith and Charity (2019). His works are based on direct immersion in the worlds they depict: for Beyond Caring, he worked as a temporary domestic worker; for Love, he spent time with families in emergency housing; for Hope Faith and Charity, he frequented community centers offering hot meals. Zeldin emphasizes that his theatre is not political but civic, aiming to reunite people who would not normally meet. He reflects on the modern family, influenced by 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century ideas, and on loneliness in the metropolis, citing Olivia Laing's The Lonely City and Perec. He notes that Brexit and COVID-19 have deepened inequalities and isolation in England. His casts mix actors with non-actors, such as Hind Swareldahab, a pharmacist and former political refugee from Sudan. Zeldin cites Peter Brook's joyful faith in theatre, Bruegel, Alain Platel, and Chekhov as influences. He is an associate artist at the Odéon in Paris and lives between France and England. The interview was conducted by Chiara Pirri Valentini for Artribune during the Romaeuropa Festival 2021.