CALL FOR EMERGING SA PLAYWRIGHTS

South African Next Wave is calling for submissions of contemporary South African plays for production in the UK.

Rob Drummer, Literary Manager at HighTide Festival Theatre and freelance director and producer, is visiting South Africa this spring to work with emerging playwrights across South Africa with a view to discovering bold, contemporary new plays for production in the UK.

Working out of the Market Theatre and Baxter Theatre and spending time in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, Drummer is looking for diverse new writing to champion both in South Africa and the UK.

Drummer has already started collaborations across South Africa and this project is supported by the UK Arts Council and British Council and is intended to stimulate international collaboration. Whilst in South Africa, Rob is keen to meet with playwrights and theatre makers, directors and academics who can contribute to the contemporary moment in South Africa and who are keen to have their writing or work produced internationally.

As Literary Manager at HighTide and as a director, Drummer has championed countless playwrights and their plays and has had work produced all over the UK. He is especially keen to contact emerging writers, who may have not had full productions but are keen to develop their writing. There is an exciting opportunity for several plays to be produced in the UK and in South Africa.

“I am keen to produce bold, provocative plays that tell a contemporary story about South Africa, the multiple voices, the multiple realities and context of the South African experience. I will be looking to programme these plays in the UK in 2013 if exceptional work is discovered and want to promote these playwrights in the UK as the most exciting unheard voices coming out of South Africa, now,” says Drummer.

“I am keen to start a creative and collaborative dialogue with every playwright I potentially produce and will welcome the playwright to any production in 2013 as well as carrying out development over distance from the point of programming through to the production,” he continues. “I am looking for plays that have potential but may need work, and I am looking to introduce these plays to a wide audience and network of theatre makers in the UK.”

Anyone with a new play or who would like to know more about this call for submissions should e-mail Rob directly at robert.a.drummer@gmail.com

The deadline for submissions is October 12 at 17h00.

Follow the project on www.southafricannextwave.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @robert_ad | #SANextWave