Young Playwrights 2004 season at Royal Court

Reacting to the success of previous Young Playwrights presentations at the Royal Court, the theatre introduced a new generation throughout most of Autumn 2004.

Genesis is pleased that the Young Playwrights workshops and requests for play scripts have thrown up such a wealth of material that it is possible to give full productions to new plays by five young writers this year. The biennial festival has been expanded into a whole season and was presented at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs between September and December 2004.

Along with the plays, other emerging writers were given rehearsed readings during the months of November and December. By supporting the work of the Royal Court in finding and developing new playwrights, Genesis hopes to encourage emerging talent.

The Young Playwrights' Season is the culmination of a two-year-long process. Over this period the Royal Court Theatre has led writers' groups at the theatre, throughout London and at other venues in the UK. Led by Ola Animashawun, the group responsible for this programme has found a range of young people, running residencies with partner theatres in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Truro and Manchester as well. During the past two years, there has been a total of 415 playwriting workshops. This led to receiving, by January 2004, 549 new plays from all over the world. Each play was read, considered, received its own report - and each playwright was contacted and sent the report. Several of the plays that did not make it through to the 2004 season at the Royal Court are being developed nevertheless.

The Genesis Young Playwrights' Season celebrates new writers whose approaches to theatre are fresh, inventive and even playful.