Berkoff's Women

I met Linda Marlowe in the early Seventies when I was working on Kafka's The Trial. I was impressed by her daring and openness to anything new - very different from the traditional shout-and-spit, John Osborne school of theatre.

I wouldn't describe Linda as my muse - but she aids and facilitates. When we were doing Decadence together on stage, sometimes it became too daunting even for me - I went through agonies of nerves. She consistently gave me the praise and energy to fight on. She's my Lady Macbeth - and I mean that as a compliment.

Our leading actresses, with the exception of Diana Rigg, are puddingy types. Linda was very striking when young - she still is - and she tended not to be given the juicier roles. The British theatre doesn't know how to use actresses like her. She was doing jobbing work and I suggested that, instead of all these ghastly parts on television, she put together a one-woman show which would give her independence and show her talent - though my original idea was for a study of women in drama generally, rather than specifically a show about my work.

I wasn't closely involved in Berkoff's Women - it's Linda's bag. There's no unifying theme, but I like the scene where she expresses a short story I wrote, called Mecca, about a wallflower at a dance hall. It's a study of a woman seeking solace and sanctuary and a lament for our lost lives. I've always written freely about women and feel comfortable inside a woman's head. The best playwrights are on the cusp - they have both male and female in them. Tennessee Williams is the most brilliant example, and I'm second to him.