Patrons: David Babani Don Black Judi Dench Maria Friedman Cameron Mackintosh Julia McKenzie Paul Nicholas
Harold Prince Tim Rice Jeremy Sams Stephen Sondheim Richard Stilgoe
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Getting an audience: how new playwrights get noticed
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When many people think of the theatre, they think of dusty velvet and Shakespeare. Unfortunately, the world of theatre is one that is closed to many, wrapped in mystique, and seen as inaccessible to anyone without the right contacts. Young writers of novels are often celebrated in the mainstream media and become household names, but young
playwrights
rarely receive the same degree of attention. This is hardly surprising, given that going to see a play is generally a much more expensive and inconvenient thing to do than picking up a paperback novel on the high street. Despite all this, young playwrights do manage to break into the scene and go on to become respected and influential writers.
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So, how would a talented new writer gain access to the people who matter in theatre and a chance of seeing their work performed? The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is one of the best known opportunities for new writers - and an effective one. The festival does not select or invite its artists, nor vet performances for quality, allowing talented newcomers the chance to have their work judged by those who really matter the public. That public may well be a broader cross-section of society than the average audience, given that festival tickets tend to be significantly cheaper than theatre tickets, and possibly more broad-minded or forgiving than a demanding audience at a large London theatre. There are other opportunities too - Edinburgh's success has led to the establishment of many other fringe arts festivals, both in the UK and abroad.
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Emerging playwrights should also look out for theatre development schemes run by the theatres themselves. London's Royal Court Theatre
, for example, runs a successful studio and writing programme designed to support new writers by involving them in playwriting groups and experimental theatre. In recent years, the programme has supported the careers of a number of highly successful young writers, including Mike Bartlett, who received an Olivier award this year at the age of 29, and Polly Stenham, who had her debut play 'That Face' performed by the Royal Court at the age of just 20.
New playwrights need talent to succeed, along with a considerable amount of determination and a little bit of luck. The important thing is to get work performed, even if that's simply in front of peers at a workshop plays are not novels and cannot be perfected by an eager writer working at home alone. They need to be performed and practised to get them to the point where they could be shown to a paying theatre audience. Tom Stoppard's 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' debuted at the
Edinburgh Fringe
in 1966, launching his career if the writing is good enough, then audiences will listen.
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