This friendly and informal course is an introduction to playwriting and aimed at those at the beginning of their playwriting journey. The course explores some of the key aspects of writing a play for the stage. It also lifts the lid on playwriting, giving you an understanding of how the theatre industry works and how writers get their plays on stage.

Hosted by Live Theatre’s creative team, with workshops from leading theatre professionals, this 10-week course will cover storytelling, plot, character, dialogue and theatricality.

Previous workshop leads have included: Bruntwood Prize winner Anna Jordan (Succession/Killing Eve/YEN) – BAFTA Breakthrough Vinay Patel (Murdered By My Father/Doctor Who) – Writer and Artistic Director of Tiata Fahodzi Chinonyerem Odimba (Unknown Rivers/Adulting/My Best Friend Married A Warrior) – Bruntwood Prize winner Phoebe Eclair-Powell (Fury/Wink/Epic Love and Pop Songs) – Joint Artistic Directors of Paines Plough Charlotte Bennett & Katie Posner – Writer Luke Barnes (There Should Be Unicorns/The Jumper Factory/All We Ever Wanted Was Everything), Olivier Award winning producer and writer Chris Foxon (Old Bridge/Shook/Hanna) and screenwriter and playwright Karim Khan (Corrosive/Beyond Shame/Orange Juice)

Throughout the 10 weeks you will also develop and explore an idea for a stage play, leading to a sharing of the work by an ensemble of professional actors at the end of the course.

The 10 sessions will take place both in person at Live Theatre and online for those who would prefer from Sat 4 Nov 2023 to Feb 2024.

Applicants must be 16+ and from the North East of England

This is an introductory course but they welcome writers with any level of experience

Application deadline

Tue 30 May 2023

From the applications, a group of writers will be selected and offered a place on the course. The selection process will be based on the writing example provided and who we think will benefit most from being on the course

They aim to let all applicants know the outcome of their applications by Autumn 2023.
Writers on the course will need to come up with an idea for a stage play to develop over the duration of the course.
Early 2024, each writer will have their work performed, script in hand, by an ensemble of professional actors in an informal sharing of the pieces developed whilst on the course.

https://www.live.org.uk/td/playwriting