2023 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio, the first time his plays were brought together in one book. The RSC and Associate Regional Theatres marked this anniversary by selecting and celebrating a series of 37 brand new plays that reflect the world we live in today.
Alongside support offered on 37plays.co.uk by the RSC, Norwich Theatre provided four unique opportunities for a range of individuals to get involved in the project over the course of 2022 and 2023.
The Scriptwriters Series
We invited participants to hone their scriptwriting skills over the course of four focussed writing groups. With both local and national playwrights bringing their own expertise, the line-up of guest speakers consisted of Molly Naylor, James McDermott, Archie Maddocks, and CJ Lloyd Webley. Most participants were completely new to sharing their writing with others. This free open-access programme of scriptwriting workshops was created for people to drop in after work, grab a beer, and share with likeminded people.
“The leaders were so encouraging and it was so nice to meet them and recognise them as people who struggle with writing as much as everyone else. It’s given me a lot of motivation to keep writing.”
Climate Writing
In partnership with UEA, Norwich Theatre hosted a series of creative writing workshops, climate talks and in-situ writing sessions that guided 10 participants through writing their own climate-focussed script. The project equipped new-writers with the tools to write their own ecological pieces that encourage the viewer to explore the many responses to the climate crisis, and the many different facets of the climate debate. A final showcase offered a chance for participants to share their work in a supportive space with new friends.
“Completely amazing. Turning up at theatre each Monday made me feel like something was really possible.”
Young Carers Create!
After consultation with The Benjamin Foundation and Caring Together, Norwich Theatre delivered a programme of workshops specifically for young carers aged 12 – 17 that saw the group develop their own script based on their life experiences. Working with 11 participants, each week saw the young people develop an area of the script, starting themes and structure, right through to writing their own scenes based on characters they had co-developed. A finished script was written that included elements from everyone’s ideas. In the final workshop, the participants enjoyed a table read where they took on the different roles. The young people grew in confidence week by week, and formed friendships by the end of the programme.
Feedback touched on the benefits of “meeting other people who understand about the pressure of being a young a carer but also who are interested in being creative too.”
Access First
Norwich Theatre delivered a series of workshops in partnership Vision Norfolk after it was identified that people with visual impairments are hesitant to engage with the theatre. Initially focussing on the creative use of audio description within the scriptwriting process, with a masterclass by expert Ben Wilson (Sheffield Theatres), the workshops were participant-led and ended up being safe spaces to connect with others through storytelling.
“I appreciated being shown new ways to develop my skills as a storyteller – ways that are true to my own style and skills but which I hadn’t considered before. I also loved the way we quickly became a cohesive working group, affirming one another.”
37 Plays Hosting
In celebration of new writings, this ambitious and ground-breaking new project continues to capture the stories of our nation with our hosting of two of the new folio plays this October. With just two days of intensive rehearsals with local community actors, we will be taking to the Playhouse stage and sharing script-in-hand performances.
The Ever Changing Sea by Jordon Grant. Jordon is a North-Eastern writer from Billingham who studied playwriting with Stephen Jeffreys at RADA.
This is a wonderfully odd and quite beautiful play about two teenage friends, Joe and Ciaran, from within the care system. Joe, who has been rejected by a local fisherman who has been grooming him, thinks he can hear the sea talking to him. Wading out, he goes in and out of the water changing form. A poetic meditation on care, love, abandonment and the way we change ourselves for others. A vivid and mature take on a subject of complexity and sensitivity.
North Star by Tom Murray. Tom is the newly appointed Shaffer playwright-in-residence at Trinity College, Cambridge 2023-24.
This play is based on real events, when Nazi Deputy Leader, Rudolf Hess, flew a solo plane to Scotland in 1941 to end the war and crash landed in a farmer’s field. North Star joins farm labourer, Davy, and his mother, Mol, as they take him in for tea. In a darkly comedic tale of myth and madness, the past begins to unravel. It’s a play about loss, colonialism and the myths we tell ourselves. It challenges the notion of British exceptionalism at the heart of our national identity, confronting the uncomfortable realities of our own history.
Sam Patel, Head of Creative Engagement at Norwich Theatre, said: “This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to share their creativity with the potential of bringing their play to life. Norwich Theatre will be working closely with communities in Norfolk to hear and share their untold stories and experiences.”
Erica Whyman, Acting Artistic Director of the RSC, said: “37 Plays represents the most ambitious, public writing project in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s history. After these last two years, we all have a story to tell, and what better way to have those stories come to life than write them for performance. Working very closely with our resilient partner theatres up and down the country, we will set out to encourage everyone to find their voice. Shakespeare offers us such an amazing array of plots and characters, and with this 37 Plays, I have no doubt we will unearth an equally rich kaleidoscope of stories; comedies, tragedies, untold histories, from the fantastical to the startlingly familiar, we will celebrate new voices for different dramatic platforms whether that’s on our stages, on our streets, in schools, online or in new locations and spaces we haven’t explored yet”.
