Things That Make You Go "Arrgh!"

There are times when I wonder about the state of theatre in the UK. Today has been such a time.

Over the years that I have been writing for the stage, I’ve realised that it is extremely hard to gain a professional production – and I can understand the reasons why… Who’s going to risk that sort of money on an unknown? It’s hard enough trying to keep a theatre running these days, so why run the risk of small audiences when you use an established playwright that the punters know and fill more seats?

Yet, my plays have won awards and been appreciated by audiences. Maybe I could be the next ‘established playwright’ – I just need the chance to prove myself.

I entered The Play’s The Thing for that very reason. Winning a competition is one of the realistic ways you can get your play into a professional theatre. But, the deadline is approaching. I can’t just hold out on the hope that I’ll win. I need to have my next step planned.

So I did some research. And the results of that research have left me angered at the UK theatre industry.
I discovered 5 playwriting competitions. Of those 5, I can enter none, nil, zero!

One’s only open to Scottish playwrights, an other to Yorkshire playwrights, another to playwrights from the North East, another to those of Caribbean decent… And then the gut-buster; one offering a prize of funding from the Arts Council that’s only open to playwrights that have previously gained funding from the Arts Council!

And the majority fall under such deceiving names… ‘The People’s Play Award’, should include a link that feeds you to a footnote detailing "The term People in this competition only applies to those born or residing in the North East of England – basically because we can’t stand those shandy drinking southern poofs and we’ve no time for Jocks and Taffs!".

Yet these competitions state that they are there to encourage new writing in the country.

It is this regionalism that makes me realise why we are seeing falling audience figures – only the regions get to entertain the nation.

For some reason, because I’m a West-Country boy living on the South Coast, never having taken money from the taxpayer though the Art Council, I (and others like me) are excluded from the opportunity to entertain the public.
This might make others want to give up. But to me, all I want to do is fight! One day I will secure that professional production – and that day I will so proudly state that there are others like me out there looking for their chance and being ignored.

Who knows, this collective I’m involved with could be the first step to making that come true…