Theatre Writing Partnership was created in 2003, but it really started its life in the mid-nineties. At that time it the five main theatres in the East Midlands region came together to create a script reading service that they agreed to jointly fund and support.
This was a promising step towards an infrastructure for new writing within the East Midlands, yet it became clear that it would be beneficial to create the post of a regional literary manager to evaluate the work and to ensure that there was an effective connection betweent the process of reading scripts and the process of production.
The first regional literary manager was Esther Richardson who began work in February 2001 thanks to a RALP grant and after two years work had laid the ground for the creation of Theatre Writing Partnership. In April 2006 it will become an independent company. The project is now run by Sarah Francoise and is approaching its fourth birthday.
Over the last five years the major ambition has been to increase the opportunities for new work to happen in the region and to respond imaginatively to the contexts in which theatre is made here. Another major objective has been to increase opportunities for local theatre makers and of course writers in particular, with a special focus on young and emerging artists.
Our work has included some major developmental projects such as the Eclipse Writers’ Lab, a scheme which has enabled ten emerging black playwrights to build their relationships with regional theatres and road-test their ideas for mid-scale productions. We have also created a unique Writers’ Development Programme.
Other schemes, such as the East Midlands Playwriting Competition, our playwriting workshops and courses, have helped us identify the vast community of playwrights we now support, and have evolved into ongoing dialogue with and mentoring of a significant number of regional writers.
In the past we have also produced seasons of short plays, including Get Shortie which has led to the production of Satin n Steel on the main stages of Nottingham Playhouse and Bolton Octagon. And Season of Courage, which engaged six diverse artists in creating a response to recent world events, and which has also planted the seeds of future collaborations.