The annual awards season is drawing to a close, and we're thrilled that so many NHB plays and theatrebooks have picked up gongs along the way. The King's Speech won both the Bafta and Academy Award for Best Screenplay; Simon Callow beat off stiff competition to take the Sheridan Morley Prize for Theatre Biography with … Continue reading THEATRE AWARDS ROUND-UP: with James Seabright
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THE KING’S SPEECH Special
The King's Speech dominated this year's Oscars, winning awards for Best Film, Director, Actor and Original Screenplay. Here, its author, David Seidler, explains the inspiration behind the film – and why it is such a personal story to him. The crackle of the radio always got me excited. I loved that radio. The case was … Continue reading THE KING’S SPEECH Special
Spotlight: A SCREEN ACTING WORKSHOP
NHB has just published A Screen Acting Workshop, an invaluable new resource book by internationally renowned acting coach Mel Churcher, with a Foreword by Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons. Mel has worked with actors of all backgrounds and experience – from drama school students at the start of their careers to Hollywood stars including Daniel Craig, Angelina … Continue reading Spotlight: A SCREEN ACTING WORKSHOP
A double-dose of fun: revisiting VERNON GOD LITTLE
Playwright Tanya Ronder sheds light on the experience of reworking her 2007 adaptation of Vernon God Little, the Booker Prize-winning novel by DBC Pierre, for the Young Vic’s fortieth anniversary season. When the idea was proposed of redoing Vernon God Little at the Young Vic, it took precisely one second to be 150% behind the … Continue reading A double-dose of fun: revisiting VERNON GOD LITTLE
Five minutes with Bruce Norris – author of CLYBOURNE PARK
Bruce Norris’s raucously funny and fearlessly shocking racial satire Clybourne Park opened in the West End this week. Since its UK debut at the Royal Court Theatre in 2010, the play has received widespread critical acclaim – hailed as ‘the funniest play of the year’ (Evening Standard), ‘genius’ (Times) and ‘out of this world’ (Independent) … Continue reading Five minutes with Bruce Norris – author of CLYBOURNE PARK
PART 5: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition 2011
Andrew Sheridan is a joint-winner of the 2008 Bruntwood Playwriting Competition for his play Winterlong – 'a dazzling debut' Guardian. Set in Manchester, the play explores what happens when a baby is discarded a few nights before Christmas. Sheridan is also an actor, and has appeared in award-winning TV, film and theatre. How would you … Continue reading PART 5: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition 2011
PART 4: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition 2011
FIONA PEEK...worked for many years as an actress and director in Ireland, before returning to England and completing an MA in Dramatic Writing. Her first full-length play, Salt, was joint-winner of the 2008 Bruntwood Playwriting Competition, and was premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in February 2010. Until you’ve had a play accepted and … Continue reading PART 4: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition 2011
PART 3: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition 2011
VIVIENNE FRANZMANN...was a Drama teacher in London for twelve years. She left teaching in 2009 to pursue writing after winning the 2008 Bruntwood Playwriting Competition for Mogadishu. The play also won the George Devine Award in 2010. What did it mean to win the Bruntwood Prize? The first thing was that it was a total … Continue reading PART 3: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition 2011
PART 2: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition 2011
BEN MUSGRAVE...on winning the inaugural Bruntwood Prize in 2007 for his play Pretend You Have Big Buildings How has winning the first Bruntwood Prize affected your career as a writer? A week before the prize announcement, I had given up my job to concentrate on writing full-time. Winning the prize felt like a miraculous validation … Continue reading PART 2: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition 2011
Going Public: What playwrights feel about their reviews
Playwright and tutor Steve Waters explains the power of the review, and offers advice on how to deal with them, whether they're good or bad. As I sat down to write this piece, I was waiting for reviews for two new plays of mine: Amphibians, a project I have developed with Offstage Theatre Company, and … Continue reading Going Public: What playwrights feel about their reviews
The Prompt Book 