ETT (English Touring Theatre) today announces the second year of its flagship playwriting programme Nationwide Voices in collaboration with five new partner theatres and companies.
The year-long development programme aims to nurture and amplify a cadre of five exciting new voices, helping to bring their work onto mid-scale stages across Britain.
Year two of Nationwide Voices is led by ETT in collaboration with Bristol Old Vic, Graeae, Nottingham Playhouse, Octagon Theatre Bolton and Theatre Royal Plymouth, with venues and companies offering an attachment for their chosen playwright, who each have a meaningful connection to the local area. This year the playwrights are Amy Bethan Evans (Bristol Old Vic), Lettie Precious (Graeae), Naomi Obeng (Nottingham Playhouse), Hannah Wilkin (Octagon Theatre Bolton) and Mich Sanderson (Theatre Royal Plymouth).
Nationwide Voices exists to connect writers with mid-scale theatres and companies to help them break through onto main stages, while also facilitating theatres and companies nationwide in platforming fresh and imaginative voices. These five talented writers will develop their craft and expand their practice to the mid-scale through regular workshop sessions led by award-winning playwright and Artistic Director of tiata fahodzi, Chinonyerem Odimba. Throughout the course of the programme, each writer will develop a play of imaginative ambition and scale, with opportunities to develop their pieces with and for local communities. These plays will then be shared spring 2022 in a festival of rehearsed readings, with ETT and partners working towards further commissioning, co-producing, and touring the plays in the future.
Artistic Director and Executive Producer of ETT, Richard Twyman and Sophie Scull today said: “Nationwide Voices sits at the heart of ETT’s mission and our efforts to foster exciting new talent nationwide; to reflect the diversity of our nation in the work we develop and the artists we collaborate with; to make work that resonates with a wide range of audiences, that is both creatively empowering and financially accessible; and to work with playwrights who are pushing the boundaries of form and content to platform their voices on mid-scale stages.
We are excited to be working with five excellent partners who are cultural leaders making fantastic work across England – Bristol Old Vic, Graeae, Nottingham Playhouse, Octagon Theatre Bolton, and Theatre Royal Plymouth. The five playwrights, Amy, Lettie, Naomi, Hannah and Mich are all outstanding, deeply imaginative talents, and we are lucky to work with them – and with the brilliant Chinonyerem Odimba, whose guidance and insight will be a vital part of the programme. We look forward to supporting them to make work that resonates nationwide. We are grateful to the John Ellerman Foundation for making this programme possible, and for the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust for their additional support.”
