Eclipse Theatre's "Revolution Mix" movement, which aims to create "the largest ever national delivery of Black British stories produced and performed in regional theatres" is to collaborate with the National Theatre's New Work Department on up to ten research and development workshops.
In the first placement, writer Shamser Sinha developed a draft of his new play Ujamaa with support from director Roy Alexander Weise and musical director Tayo Akinbode which was presented as a rehearsed reading at the National Theatre to an audience of Revolution Mix co-producers, theatre partners and artists from across the UK.
Fourteen UK-based writers are working with twelve partner theatres around the UK on a series of stage plays, radio plays and short films, taking 500 years of black and Asian British history as a starting point.
Dawn Walton, artistic director of Eclipse Theatre, said, "this is a fantastic opportunity for our writers to use the resources of the NT and its broad networks. As a company, our remit is to create and programme quality, challenging work across the regions, and the National Theatre’s New Work Department shares this ambition: aiming to develop work which will be delivered beyond its London stages.
"By working together on Revolution Mix, we can help artists by providing a support network as well as the tools to navigate what can be an impenetrable industry for Black and Asian writers."
Emily McLaughlin, Head of New Work at the National Theatre, added, "the National Theatre's New Work Department is delighted to be supporting Eclipse Theatre's Revolution Mix initiative with its partner theatres all over the UK. We believe it will play a significant role in generating a new and productive era of Black British playwriting."