It was in the late 1950s just after its opening that the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry pioneered the work of new writers like Arnold Wesker. The theatre made a name for itself by launching one of Britain?s best playwrights. The Writing House, which was set up in 1998 funded by the Arts Council of England?s A4E scheme, aims to restore that pioneering spirit and place Coventry back at the hub of the best new plays and new writers, writes Julia Negus.
The Writing House was created by Theatre Absolute, an independent new writing theatre company based in Coventry, and the Belgrade Theatre. Both companies felt concerned that not enough time or resources were given to the new writing they were developing. The Writing House is a service for writers which nurtures the relationship between the producing house and the writer, and the creation and development of new plays. We work on average with six writers a year in structured workshop sessions with actors, directors, and in some cases with designers.
Whilst providing an opportunity for writers to work in close contact with directors and actors without pressure of time or financial restraint, the nature of the projects taken on are flexible. A writer may be in the exploratory stages of an idea for a play, or they might bring a finished or semi-finished script and spend time road-testing and if necessary reworking it. Theatre Absolute and Belgrade Theatre aim to work with writers whose plays they are committed to producing.
Most recent examples of our success can be seen in Theatre Absolute?s double award-winning ?Car? by Chris O?Connell. After being developed in workshop in 1999/2000, it went on to win two major awards and toured nationally and internationally. For the Belgrade Theatre there has been the growing success of Kathi Leheay, who has developed work with the Writing House, and also for Bob Eaton, the theatre?s director, whose own work such as ?3 Minute Heroes? has been a big success at the theatre after benefiting from time spent in workshop and development. This success is poised to continue for us when Theatre Absolute goes into production this July with ?Raw?, also written by Chris O?Connell.
So what now? It?s forty years since Coventry embarked on its first serious adventure into the world of new writing. Now in it?s entering a second phase, the ethic will continue, but will also spread to build partnerships with BBC Radio 4 in Birmingham. It is also intended that a writer in residence will be appointed, who, amongst other duties, will just have the luxury to write!
We feel that Coventry can become a strong point of referral for writers in the Midlands and the nation beyond. For the future, on tour with Theatre Absolute or on the stage of the Belgrade Theatre, people can expect to see the continuing creation of bold and daring theatre that feels alive and expressed and that feels like it has had space and time to be explored and considered.
Julia Negus is Producer at the Writing House. t: 02476 257380 e: julia@theatreabsolute.demon.co.uk