Opportunities – Pick of the Week: Hampstead Theatre launches Inspire: The next playwright programme (18-25)

Each week we look through our pile of writing opportunities to pick out one we think is particularly worth your time. It could be an innovative brief, great prize money, a high-profile company, or just plain fun.

This week’s pick: Hampstead Theatre launches Inspire: The next playwright programme (18-25) 

Description: The Hampstead Theatre is launching Inspire: The Next Playwright Programme, an opportunity for playwrights to develop their craft under the mentorship of award-winning playwright Roy Williams. The programme is open to writers aged between 18-25 and it is completely free to enter.

What’s so great about it? Firstly, apologies if you’re over 25 but this week’s pick is such a great opportunity for our younger readers, we felt we had to highlight it! The Inspire scheme, run by the Hampstead Theatre begins in September 2017 and chosen playwrights will attend monthly group sessions with Roy Williams and visiting practitioners, as well as one-on-one meetings. Writers will also get the chance to submit drafts of their work for feedback and to hold a reading of their work the Hampstead. At the end of the scheme, all scripts will be considered for presentation in the Downstairs Studio so this a real chance to get your work out there on the London stage! If you want to apply, you’ll need to send in a sample of your work by 2 July. Writers will also receive a £200 bursary towards travel costs throughout the year.

Read the full details here.

Please note, we’ve posted this for your convenience and we’re not affiliated with the organisers of the opportunity.

Photo courtesy of Hampstead Theatre

2 thoughts on “Opportunities – Pick of the Week: Hampstead Theatre launches Inspire: The next playwright programme (18-25)”

  1. So many schemes like this are aimed at 18-25 or 18-30. I can’t remember the last one I saw for ‘older’ writers… there should be a requirement that theatres offering a scheme for young people have to offer one for those over the age limit too.

    1. Focusing writing initiatives towards “18-25″s is misguided political correctness – not to mention, brainless. It is fostered by funding which wrongly believes that initiatives for the young is more valuable than encouraging community and cohesiveness.

      Complaining about it here, however, is a waste of effort – so, too, complaining to the theatre’s artistic director. Try complaining to the local newspaper. The majority of theatre go-ers are not in the 18-25 bracket; plays meant to appeal to them attract an order demographic, not youth en masse.

      There is a great deal that is wrong with the publicly funded theatre system, primarily the notion that if they are doing something that attracts an audience their work has quality and is worthwhile. It is not in the interest of those supported by the system to change it so it continues to promote mediocre work and a broken system.

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