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Write A Play And Get It Performed: Dialogue

by Lesley Bown and Ann Gawthorpe

As soon as you have two characters speaking, you have dialogue. Even if they are talking at cross-purposes or not listening to each other, it is still dialogue.

However, dialogue is not the same as conversation, which can be rambling and pointless. Dialogue has specific functions. It can be used to give information to the audience, but it has to be done with subtlety. Don’t make characters tell each other things that they already know, and don’t give information in large chunks – your audience will be bored, and won’t absorb much of what they are’ve beingen told.

Dialogue is also used to move the plot forward even though actions and events are the main plot drivers.
The third function of dialogue is to reveal character. Make sure that everything your characters say is in the voice you have given them, and is consistent with their characteristics.

You also need to think about other aspects. Don’t have all dialogue moving at the same speed – vary the tempo. Keep speeches short unless there is a good dramatic reason for a character to speak at length. Where there are more than two characters on stage try not to have any of them silent for too long.


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