Learn with London Playwrights -a new series of resources on theatre & playwriting

Learn with London Playwrights is a series of podcast style lectures, resources, and workshops covering all things theatre related!

Want to find out more about your favourite musical? Fancy a discussion on Fleabag? Or want to brush up on Brecht? The Learn with London Playwrights series is for everyone! Maybe your background isn’t in theatre and you want to know more about those ‘classics’ people rave about. Or maybe you’re obsessed with a particular play and want to get nerdy about it. Whatever your passion, aim, or level of experience, you’re welcome to dig in and find something that interests you. 

In this selection of mini podcast style lectures and accessible handouts, we’ll be diving into a wide variety of subjects from key playwrights to theatre styles to industry advice. Each lecture will be available on our website for members to access whenever they like. We’ll be adding to this over time so eventually the series will grow into a compendium of resources which our members can dip into whenever they want to find out something new or revisit an old topic.

We’ll also be running an accompanying Zoom workshop for each topic for those who want to go deeper into the subject. These will cost just £5 and will also be available exclusively for our members (the dates and time of each workshop will be announced when each topic is released).  

The sessions will be created and delivered by the LPW team and other industry professionals who we will be inviting along to share their expertise on their favourite subjects. 

Why? Firstly, not all playwrights (or our members) come from a theatre background or did a degree or formal training. We firmly believe that this doesn’t make you any ‘less’ of a playwright, but we also know that it can be both empowering and inspiring to have knowledge of key texts and the building blocks of making theatre. Even if you do come from a theatre background, some things can seem like a distant memory (like those Shakespeare lectures you fell asleep in?) and brushing up is never a bad thing. We also think it’s fun to learn new things and to find like-minded people to discuss your interests with. 

So with this in mind, we wanted to provide a wealth of information that you can access easily whenever you like. The sessions will be informative, accessible and fun and will focus on popular plays, well known playwrights, as well as more niche subjects which we think you’ll enjoy (we won’t just be focusing on the classics, that’s for sure!). 

Aims for the project: we’re in this one for the long haul. It will take time to build up our selection of lectures and resources but as it grows, we see this becoming a one-stop shop for anyone wanting to know more about playwriting and theatre in general. 

How will it work: each session will consist of a podcast style audio recording providing an overview of the topic. Accompanying this will be a downloadable handout which will not only give you all the essential information about the subject but will also point you in the right direction if you want to find out more. We’ll also be running a £5 Zoom workshop for each topic where you can go deeper and get involved with discussion, if you want to, 

Who’s it for? Everyone, and we really mean that! You don’t have to have any experience in writing, in fact, you don’t even need to be a playwright! If you’re interested in the content, you’re welcome to join in. All you need to do to access this content is sign up to become a member of LPW. It costs less than £4 per month and as a non-profit organisation, all revenue goes into funding projects like this one (find out more here).

How to take part: if you’re a member, all you’ll need to do is visit the members site to find the resources! The first two sessions on Angels in America and Rent are available now. We’ve got plenty more in the pipeline but  meantime, feel free to let us know in the comments what kind of subjects you’d like to see us cover!