Kali Theatre and Curve has launched a new initiative to search for South Asian women writers across 3 UK cities. Its mission is to discover, support and nurture the next generation of aspiring female playwrights – who currently are hugely underrepresented – and bring their rich, diverse voices and experiences to the stage.
The programme, named the ‘Discovery Programme’ seeks to do exactly that. Unearth new writing talent from the South Asian community and bring new stories to the fore. In conjunction with regional powerhouses – Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Curve in Leicester and The Pleasance in London, Kali is looking for 12 talented South Asian writers who want to become playwrights from across London, East and West Midlands.
“We are proud to be launching Discovery with our partners who share our vision and recognise that there is a need for greater gender balance and diversity in the arts. In particular, we want to encourage South Asian women that are skilled writers but may not have ever considered delving into play writing to participate in what is really quite a unique opportunity”, said Helena Bell, Artistic Director at Kali Theatre.
The programme is free and for early stage writers and no previous playwriting experience is needed. If successful, writers will be offered playwriting workshops and script development to help prepare their work for an exciting evening of staged readings with a professional team.
Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said:
“Kali Theatre has been a significant part of Curve’s history, with its productions The Dishonoured, The Husbands and Gandhi & Coconuts engaging audiences in Leicester over the past ten years. We’re thrilled to now look to the future, working with Kali to unearth and nurture incredible new playwriting talent in our region and help even more unheard and unexpected stories come to the stage.”
Those interested in taking part in the programme can find out more by attending an introductory workshop at Curve from 2:30pm – 5 pm on Sat 23 Jun. The deadline for applications is 24 Jul 2018.
(Image: The Dishonoured by Aamina Ahmad)
