The 5-minute Interview: Louise Page, Playwright

'I'm often labelled a feminist playwright, but I'm not one'

Over the past 30 years Page, 52, has written for a host of acclaimed productions, ranging from 'The Archers' to 'Bad Girls', and been awarded many accolades, including last year's Dingle International Award. This weekend marks the opening of her play, 'Salonika', at the West Yorkshire Playhouse

The best age to be is...

At the moment it's 52.

I wish people would take more notice of...

How much time they spend indoors. We're breeding a generation of children who spend all their time in gloom. You have to get out.

The most surprising thing that happened to me was...

Realising all the skills that being a writer had equipped me with. I work in schools and businesses and universities. Actually that was a surprise, I never thought I'd work for a university – my dad's an academic.

A common misperception of me is...

That I'm not shy. I can give a lecture but I'm less easy about social situations. I'm always looking at the subtext. I think quite a lot of writers are bad at that. I often get labelled a feminist playwright, but I'm a feminist everything; a feminist upholsterer; a feminist cook. I take that label away when I write. I'm just a playwright playwright.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is this...

You might as well do it.

I am not a politician but...

I'm going to make shops shut their doors in cold weather, especially charity shops. They wedge their doors open, then have extra heaters on and lots of them are supposedly battling against the effects of climate change.

I'm good at...

Practical things. I love sewing, making, knitting. My idea of a really good day is to do a puzzle – no ships, no geraniums – while listening to a good audio book.

I'm very bad at...

Waiting.

Toby Cohen