'ROAR' Gives Playwriting Its Due: Apple TV+ Series 'ROAR' Creator Liz Flahive Talks About Feminism and the Power of Playwriting in Exclusive Interview!
ROAR gives playwrights their due.
ROAR is a new series coming to Apple TV+. The show is an anthology made up of eight teleplays, each following a different woman, in a different genre, battling a different sexist reality. Of course, pro-woman media is not new. There are hundreds of movies and television shows that scream 'GIRL POWER' to the high heavens. ROAR, however, takes it a step further.
Not one story line is tired. Everything is original, unique, revealing, risky, and raw. It is the kind of show that makes you think you know what's going to happen, but then twists it so far that you find yourself surprised while simultaneously having your eyes forced open to startling realities. It's the kind of show that makes you say, "Oh yeah, that is what it's like."
How has the show managed to so successfully put its finger on the pulse of the female experience in such inventive ways? Many members of the creative team, including the creators of the show themselves, have their background in playwrights. We got a chance to sit down and speak with one of the creators of the show, Liz Flahive, about the impact that theatre has had on her ability to create this modern masterpiece.
"I think the thing that's cool about playwrights, especially playwrights that find a foothold in TV, they're very much– they're usually character first. They're not scared of big ideas. They know how to hold a scene for a sustained period of time on the page, and I think, as a playwright, you have conversations with actors. You have conversations with directors because nobody owns your play except for you. You are in the creative soup as a playwright. You're sort of thrown into the deep end when you're in production, and I think television, since writers are also producers, you need, kind of, that nimbleness. You need to be listening to a scene, and then, if it doesn't work, getting in there and doing something about it. You need to be able to have creative conversations with department heads. And having come from theatre and having at least the experience there doing that while also trying to hold onto your vision, is a really good training ground for television."
ROAR exemplifies everything Flahive described ten-fold, honing in on characters, allowing things to become absurd in a way that pierces the reality. The powerful group of women was able to hang tightly to their visions, allowing for the brilliant subversion of tired female tropes. "We love playing with female tropes and turning them on their heads and keeping you engaged but a little bit off balance is exciting." The immense fearlessness captured in every breath of this show makes it an empowering must-watch.
ROAR comes to Apple TV+ on April 15th, 2022.
