--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The next time I write a play - in order…" description: "\"The next time I write a play - in order to get audience trust for a particular sort of tragic line, I'll try to bring the audience a good distance befo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/colm-toibin-3377_afraid_the-next-time-i-write-a-play-in-order-to_1726578.png" --- # The next time I write a play - in order to get audience… ![“The next time I write a play - in order to get audience trust for a particular sort of tragic line, I'll try to bring the audience a good distance before that. Part of that is allowing comic moments to occur. I had been afraid of that - that once the audience started laughing in the play, they…” quote by Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/colm-toibin-3377_afraid_the-next-time-i-write-a-play-in-order-to_1726578.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/colm-toibin-3377_afraid_the-next-time-i-write-a-play-in-order-to_1726578.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/colm-toibin-3377_afraid_the-next-time-i-write-a-play-in-order-to_1726578.png) > “The next time I write a play - in order to get audience trust for a particular sort of tragic line, I'll try to bring the audience a good distance before that. Part of that is allowing comic moments to occur. I had been afraid of that - that once the audience started laughing in the play, they would never stop.” [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing tragedy with humor builds audience trust by providing emotional relief before intense moments. **In simple terms:** Use comedy to ease tension before tragedy. Key Takeaway Insert light moments before serious scenes. Themes trust humor tragedy audience engagement Mood thoughtful balanced Type advice theatrical When to use this quote - theatre production - screenwriting - live performance Key Concepts dramatic pacing emotional contrast Questions to Reflect On - How can you gauge the right amount of comic relief? - What signals indicate the audience is ready for tragedy? A Different Perspective Audience may become distracted if humor overwhelms the narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) [Afraid Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-audience-532389/) [Allowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allowing/) [Allowing Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allowing-comic-1389514/) [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Bring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bring/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Comic Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-moments-1389512/) [Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [I write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-write/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Laughing Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing-play-1389513/) [Line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/line/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Never stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-stop/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Next time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-time/) [Occur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occur/) [Once](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/once/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Part](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/part/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Sort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sort/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) [Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-play/) ## Related quotes > [It doesn't matter if you're play-pretending crying or play-pretending laughing, you're still play-pretending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-kunis/it-doesn-t-matter-if-you-re-play-pretending-crying-or-play-pretending/) [Mila Kunis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-kunis/) > ['The Diary of Anne Frank' gets pretty dark toward the end. But there are some comic moments in the early part of the play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-devito/the-diary-of-anne-frank-gets-pretty-dark-toward-the-end-but-there-are/) [Lucy DeVito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-devito/) > [He sort of gets comic moments. Not a lot of directors do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcdonald/he-sort-of-gets-comic-moments-not-a-lot-of-directors-do/) [Kevin McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcdonald/) > [I wouldn't overall say that "The Diagnosis" is a funny book. I would say that it has comic moments. It's a modern tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-wouldn-t-overall-say-that-the-diagnosis-is-a-funny-book-i-would-say/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Financing films that are demanding is a task, in itself. Because people are so afraid of taking any kind of chance, because they're afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/financing-films-that-are-demanding-is-a-task-in-itself-because-people/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [“You're afraid of the audience, aren't you?" "Yes, but it's not stagefright. It's that I'm there as the geek. They like to watch me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/you-re-afraid-of-the-audience-aren-t-you-yes-but-it-s-not-stagefright/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I can never remember being afraid of an audience. If the audience could do better, they'd be up here on stage and I'd be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-can-never-remember-being-afraid-of-an-audience-if-the-audience/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [The danger with success in television is "Haven't we shot this episode before? Didn't we shoot this scene two years ago?" I think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-olyphant/the-danger-with-success-in-television-is-haven-t-we-shot-this-episode/) [Timothy Olyphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-olyphant/) > [I wish I could remember how to write a play. I can't remember how they happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-wish-i-could-remember-how-to-write-a-play-i-can-t-remember-how-they/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [It's wonderful to be able to sit down and write a play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bond/it-s-wonderful-to-be-able-to-sit-down-and-write-a-play/) [Edward Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bond/) > [anyone who writes plays is unbelievably persistent, because there isn't a need in the world for plays. Somehow you internally have to feel a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/anyone-who-writes-plays-is-unbelievably-persistent-because-there-isn/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [I don't write a play from beginning to end. I don't write an outline. I write scenes and moments as they occur to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-don-t-write-a-play-from-beginning-to-end-i-don-t-write-an-outline-i/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [GOOD AS NEW was born out of the idea of writing a play where the stakes were high and the collisions were of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/good-as-new-was-born-out-of-the-idea-of-writing-a-play-where-the/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [I did a thing called 24 Hour Plays, a thing they do every year on Broadway. A bunch of playwrights and actors get together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-raab/i-did-a-thing-called-24-hour-plays-a-thing-they-do-every-year-on/) [Scott Raab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-raab/) > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More by Colm Toibin > [I first went to Barcelona in 1975 after university, and I stayed for three years. I learnt Catalan because that's what everyone speaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-first-went-to-barcelona-in-1975-after-university-and-i-stayed-for/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“What is hard to understand is that our dreams matter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/what-is-hard-to-understand-is-that-our-dreams-matter/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Suffering is too strong a word, but writing is serious work. I pull the stuff up from me - it's not as if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/suffering-is-too-strong-a-word-but-writing-is-serious-work-i-pull-the/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Three of my novels and a good number of my short stories are told from the point of view of men. I was brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/three-of-my-novels-and-a-good-number-of-my-short-stories-are-told/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [It may be enough to study history in all its nuance and ambiguity for its own sake. But there is no country free of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/it-may-be-enough-to-study-history-in-all-its-nuance-and-ambiguity-for/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [The only routine I have is that I finish everything I start. I wake up early every day - about 6.30 A.M. - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/the-only-routine-i-have-is-that-i-finish-everything-i-start-i-wake-up/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [While historians may go on attempting grand, sweeping and defining narratives, they work in a time when readers know that another narrative always lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/while-historians-may-go-on-attempting-grand-sweeping-and-defining/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [John McGovern taught me that it's OK to write repeatedly about the same things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/john-mcgovern-taught-me-that-it-s-ok-to-write-repeatedly-about-the/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Some of our loves and attachments are elemental and beyond our choosing, and for that very reason they come spiced with pain and regret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/some-of-our-loves-and-attachments-are-elemental-and-beyond-our/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Solitude is good in the evening. Dublin is a quiet city when you get to a certain age, when your friends settle down and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/solitude-is-good-in-the-evening-dublin-is-a-quiet-city-when-you-get/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“The details of what I told him were with me all the years in the same way as my hands or my arms were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/the-details-of-what-i-told-him-were-with-me-all-the-years-in-the-same/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [I did think of becoming a priest quite late on, when other boys were thinking of knocking over fences and going out with girls.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-did-think-of-becoming-a-priest-quite-late-on-when-other-boys-were/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“Here in this cemetery, which they began to stroll around once more, the state of not-knowing and not-feeling which belonged to the dead seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/here-in-this-cemetery-which-they-began-to-stroll-around-once-more-the/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“I don’t go in for change. It is not one of my subjects. I have always taken the view that noticing change is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-don-t-go-in-for-change-it-is-not-one-of-my-subjects-i-have-always/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“There will always be reservations, things one must leave out, events one can’t explain without handing over a full map of one’s life, unfolding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/there-will-always-be-reservations-things-one-must-leave-out-events/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) [Explore all 132 Colm Toibin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) [Darlene Senger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-senger/) > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) [Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The next time I write a play - in order to get audience trust for a particular sort of tragic line, I'll try to bring the audience a good distance before that. 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