Moira Buffini is a playwright and screenwriter. She has just completed Tamara Drewe, directed by Stephen Frears, and is currently working on Jane Eyre, directed by Cary Fukunaga, both for Ruby Films. Her plays include Silence, Gabriel, Dinner, Dying For It and Welcome To Thebes, which opens at the National Theatre Olivier in June, directed by Sir Richard Eyre.

What training have you received?
I trained as an actor. I have no official training as a writer, with the exception of the Script Factory’s ‘Writer’s Circle’ a few years ago which was immensely useful.

What themes do you like to explore in your work?
No two pieces are ever the same. If I finish a tragedy I’ll search for a comedy or write a children’s piece. And when I finish that I’ll write a ghost story. I like stories which ask big questions about the human condition-but sometimes I’ll take a day off and just write something funny.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given as a writer?
Write. Write every day. Write with discipline and rigour. Write more. Then cut with artistry.

Tell us the most significant moment in your career so far
I think I’m going through it, and it’s more like a whirlwind than a moment. Having three plays (Gabriel in New York; Welcome to Thebes and Handbagged in London) and two films (Tamara Drewe and Jane Eyre) all in various stages of production at the same time.

You’ll die happy when…
Do you have a different last question? I don’t intend to die happy at all. I imagine it’s pretty terrifying.

Taken from movieScope magazine, Issue 17 (May/June 2010)