"The golden age of new writing is passing"
"The golden age of new (theatre) writing is going to pass," the literary manager of Paines Plough, Jessica Dromgoole, told The Stage this week, "and there will be less than half the new writing that is produced today."
She is concerned that the reduction in the amount of Lottery grants available will mean that companies will not be able to develop new writers to the extent they have in recent years.
A lot of Lottery money has gone into developing new work and into mentoring schemes in which established writers work with newcomers, she said. This year the company is working in conjunction with Bolton Octagon, Bristol Old Vic, the West Yorkshire Playhouse and Live Theatre in Newcastle. Using a £250,000 Lottery grant, ten writers, chosen from 100, are commissioned per venue and then each venue produces a full production which they tour around the others.
However, without on-going funding, "it will grind to a halt next year," she said.
The Tron, Glasgow, is the winner of this year's Peggy Ramsay Foundation Play Award. The company wins £35,000 for Further Than the Furthest Thing, with an additional award for playwright Zinnie Harris. Runners-up Bryony Lavery and Jenny MCleoud also win cash prizes. Altogether 64 plays were submitted for the award.
The Royal Shakespeare Company is looking for a new major sponsor after Allied Domecq announced that it would discontinue its £1.1m sponsorship in 2001. The RSC does have other sponsors - sponsorship this year totals around £2m - but the loss of Allied Domecq will be a great blow, especially as ACE has not yet made a decision on stabilisation funding.