Newcastle’s Live Theatre and Northumbria University have announced a new Writer in Residence programme which will run from 2015 to 2018.
Paddy Campbell, writer of Live Theatre successes Wet House and Day of the Flymo and a Northumbria University graduate, will be the inaugural Writer in Residence, from May 2015 to May 2016. During the year he will develop new work and collaborate with students and staff at the University to enhance research and teaching.
Lucy Winskell OBE, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business and Engagement), said, “I’m thrilled that the first Northumbria University and Live Theatre Writer in Residence will be one of our graduates, the playwright Paddy Campbell. Paddy’s recent plays at Live Theatre have demonstrated his tremendous talent and I’m extremely excited to see what he produces next while working closely with staff and students at the University.
“This three-year collaboration will build on the University’s partnership with Live Theatre and our joint commitment to enhancing arts and culture in the region and beyond.”
Paddy Campbell said, “I feel greatly privileged to have been given this opportunity. Live Theatre has supported my writing from the very start and I'm thrilled to have the chance to develop new plays for the company during my residency. I moved to Newcastle fifteen years ago to study at Northumbria University and had such a good time I decided to stay. I'm hugely grateful to Northumbria for their partnership in this residency and look forward to working with them during the next year.”
Currently in Rendezvous, which runs until this coming Saturday, Live is celebrating the life and work of Julia Darling who was writer in residence at the theatre from 2001 to 2003, and this year marks the tenth anniversary of her death.
“At a time where when we are remembering the legacy of Julia Darling, one of our writers in residence who did so much to encourage other writers,” Max Roberts, the theatre’s artistic director, said, “it is appropriate that Paddy, who has come through Live’s writing development programme, is the first partnership Writer in Residence between Live Theatre and Northumbria University.”
Another previous writer in residence who has had a long and fruitful relationship with Live Theatre is Lee Hall whose work includes Billy Elliot and The Pitmen Painters. His latest play, Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, has its English première at Live Theatre from 1st to 24th October.