Nuffield Southampton Theatres today announces the launch of a new writer’s group in partnership with the award-winning South West theatre company Up in Arms led by co-artistic directors Barney Norris and Alice Hamilton, to help writers from the local area develop their skills in writing for performance.
NST and Up in Arms will together deliver a programme of mentoring, masterclasses and script in hand reading from some of the best new writing practitioners, playwrights and facilitators to help local writers grow their ideas as well as find their writing voice. The process will culminate in a public showcase, with the aim of finding at least one writer for NST to move forward with and commission for showcase in their new Studio Theatre.
This partnership has been specifically designed for NST to benefit from Up In Arms’ skills and experience of working with new work, making new writing a larger part of their future programming. In return, NST will support Up In Arms in upscaling the company towards producing more mid-scale work which continues NST’s commitment to nurturing creative professionals such as Chelsea Walker (Director of A Streetcar Named Desire) and Jasmine Swan (Designer on the upcoming Women in Power).
The writers group will take place over the summer of 2018 with submissions currently being accepted. For more information please visit: nstheatres.co.uk/about-us/news
Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Samuel Hodges said today, ‘There is a real need to find and support the next generation of writers, on both a local and national scale. There is clearly a vibrant small-scale scene amongst theatre-makers, devisers and writer-performers, but not the scale of opportunity for playwrights that there once was. We’re really excited to be announcing this writers group alongside Up in Arms, one of the most promising new writing companies in the South West, as part of our drive to make our new studio theatre a home for new plays.’
