Abbey Theatre - Amharclann na Mainistreach

The New Playwrights Programme 2011 was launched on Wednesday 4th May. The playwrights met with Abbey staff over coffee and were brought on a tour of The Abbey by archivist, Mairead Delaney. The playwrights have had four workshops so far and attended the dress rehearsals and opening nights of Pygmalion and Perve. Keep an eye out here and on Facebook for blogs and updates on the programme from the six writers.

New Playwrights Programme 2011 Blogs

Neil Bristow on hand in the first draft
For many writers the most exciting part of creating, or at least the most intoxicating part, is the rush of a first draft that you feel is working well. The story flows, the imagination throws up new and unexpected twists, characters develop and the whole thing seems to hurtle towards a fine conclusion. Read more

Tara McKevitt on workshops with Paul Mercier, Mark O Rowe, Billy Roche
Be true to yourself. It’s that simple. Writing is personal. It has to be in order for it to connect with the writer and propel them onwards towards a completion. ‘Why else would you be doing this?’ asks Paul Mercier at his workshop.
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Lydia Prior on Workshop 3
If making theatre is collaborative, writing is usually solitary, so it was a huge treat to spend the rest of the workshop in a detailed discussion of a play we’d all read: Hedda Gabler. Specifically, we were examining how Ibsen builds the character of Hedda, and Bryan had carefully identified each moment in the play which contributes to the development of this extraordinary portrait of a woman careening towards crisis. We all had different perspectives… Read more

Neil Bristow on Workshop 4
In the fourth workshop of the New Playwrights Programme the writer Stacey Gregg came in to talk with us. The previous night had seen the premiere of her play, Perve, on the Peacock Stage.Fresh from the success of the evening, if a little tired from the post-show celebrations, Stacey was in good form and kindly shared a couple of hours to talk about her writing experience and field any questions we had. …
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Tara McKevitt on Workshop 7
After more years than I care to reveal living on this planet, I have only come to realise that what people say, and what they do, are often two entirely different things. Who knows what anyone is really thinking. Do people even know themselves? I express my latest new found observation to the rest of the group at the Language and Dialogue workshop lead by Bryan Delaney. Read more

Neil Bristow on Workshop 7
In late July we had a workshop on the issue of language and dialogue. Though quite a specific theme, I found it also tied in to several workshops we’d had previously, not because material was repeated, but because of the growing awareness of the inseparability of the various elements that make up a successful play (or indeed any work of art). Read more