British Theatre Guide

News, reviews, features and podcast on theatre across the UK

Writing

Writing podcast episodes

Writing news

Titchfield Festival Theatre

Titchfield Festival Theatre New Playwright Competition

7 August 2022

Titchfield Festival Theatre’s new writing competition provides a cash prize and a studio production of the winning play.

One-to-one mentoring from “some of the greats of British comedy”: Sky Comedy Rep

Writers urged to sign up for Birmingham Rep comedy scheme

5 August 2022

Eight writers will be selected to develop a one-act play in a scheme which is being developed by Birmingham Rep and Sky Studios for a second year.

Clive Judd wins 14th Papatango New Writing Prize

Clive Judd wins Papatango New Writing Prize

17 July 2022

Papatango New Writing Prize-winner Clive Judd will see his play produced at London's Southwark Playhouse.

QuietManDave Prize, in memory of Manchester writer and theatre critic Dave Murray

Flash cash for your writing

27 June 2022

The QuietManDave Prize celebrates short-form writing and offers cash awards for Flash Fiction and Flash Non-Fiction as well as runner-up prizes.

London Library Emerging Writers Programme 2022

London Library’s fourth Writers Programme

26 June 2022

The London Library has announced the participants of it Emerging Writers Programme.

Eloise Pennycott - Winner of NT New Views 2022

Barrier(s) are down for New Views winner

12 June 2022

Secondary school student Eloise Pennycott wins New Views playwriting competition for young people with her play, Barrier(s).

Live opportunities for new talent

10 June 2022

Live Theatre, Newcastle announces major talent development opportunities for 2022.

Stirring up Sheffield - An insider’s account of the battle to build the Crucible Theatre

Father and son team win Theatre Book Prize

9 June 2022

A study of Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre written by its first artistic director, Colin George, and his son has won the Theatre Book Prize 2022.

A Grand opportunity

Write on in Blackpool

2 June 2022

Blackpool Grand Theatre and Northern Broadsides are teaming up with the Royal Shakespeare Company to offer workshops to writers of all ages.

Lawrence Quilty

Hope fulfilled for Lawrence

12 May 2022

The £10,000 2022 Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize has been awarded to Lawrence Quilty.

A Stinging Delight by David Storey

Theatre Book Prize short list announced

12 May 2022

Announcement of the short list for the STR Theatre Book Prize for books published in 2021.

The Originals Playwriting Award

New Original playwriting award

3 May 2022

Original Theatre Company has launched a new playwriting award for emerging and early career playwrights.

WGGB The Writers' Union

WGGB 'groundbreaking' agreement for digital broadcasts

7 April 2022

The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain has agreed principles for digital broadcasts of stage plays by the Royal Court, the RSC and the National Theatre.

Stuart Reid and Damien Dickens in Bert which came out of the Arena Collaborative Theatremakers programme

Arena Theatre updates artist development programme

18 March 2022

The University of Wolverhampton’s Arena Theatre is to reform a programme which has supported more than 1,000 artists since 2014.

April De Angelis

WGGB and HighTide throw lifeline to writers

14 March 2022

Next month sees fifteen new writing commissions made in wake of pandemic devastation.

Women’s Prize For Playwriting

13 March 2022

Karis Kelly's Consumed wins The Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2021.

Writers Exchange at Royal Exchange

Three join writing programme

6 March 2022

The Royal Exchange in Manchester and WarnerMedia have recruited emerging writers afshan d'Souza-lodhi, Stefanie Reynolds and Samuel Rossiter, to their joint programme.

Liam Evans Ford

WGGB Olwen Wymark Awards 2022

6 March 2022

Olwen Wymark Awards in recognition of those who support new writing announces its winners.

Culmination of The Rep’s comedy writing talent development scheme: Sky Comedy Rep

Birmingham Rep and Sky host comedy plays festival

17 February 2022

Birmingham Rep’s “ground-breaking” collaboration with Sky Studios will come to fruition when audiences will be invited to enjoy the work of the comedy writing stars of the future.

Telling Our Stories: A Survey

Survey for WGGB Equality Writes

13 February 2022

Scriptwriters are invited to share their experience as ethnically diverse practitioners in Telling Our Stories: A Survey.

Arthur Hughes who will play the lead in Richard III

Disability centre stage in RSC’s Richard III

8 February 2022

The Royal Shakespeare Company has unveiled details of three new Shakespeare productions, a partnership with TikTok and a new national playwriting project.

Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting

Bruntwood Prize launch

26 January 2022

Submissions are now open for the UK's biggest national competition for playwriting: the biennial Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting.

The Women’s Prize for Playwriting

NE writer is national playwriting competition finalist

19 January 2022

A NE playwright is one of eight finalists in The Women’s Prize for Playwriting Competition 2021.

Bush Theatre - script submissions window open until 21January

Bush Theatre welcomes script submissions

27 December 2021

New writers of full length plays may submit their scripts to London's Bush Theatre.

14th Papatango New Writing Prize

Papatango New Writing Prize open for submissions

12 December 2021

Submissions can be made to the 14th Papatango New Writing Prize which supports four shortlisted writers, as well as the main prizewinner.

Reviews

Plays by Women in Ireland (1926–1933)

Plays by Women in Ireland (1926–1933): Feminist Theatres of Freedom and Resistance

Edited by Lisa Fitzpatrick and Shonagh Hill

Methuen Drama

Released 19 May 2022

Noël Coward: The Playwright’s Craft in a Changing Theatre

Russell Jackson

Methuen Drama

Released 21 April 2022

The Methuen Drama Book of Contemporary Japanese Plays

The Methuen Drama Book of Contemporary Japanese Plays

Tomohiro Maekawa, Satoko Ichihara, Shiro Maeda, Takuya Yokoyama, Yuko Kuwabara

Methuen Drama

Released 21 April 2022

Vignettes

Cathy Crabb, Zoe Iqbal, Alex Keelan, Debbie Oates, Hannah Ellis Ryan and Aben...

HER Productions, Hannah Ellis Ryan, Alex Keelan, Naomi Albans and Kayleigh Hawkins

Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

16–26 March 2022