Full Play Development

With support from Arts Council England, we are currently supporting two North East playwrights, Sarah Tarbit and Barbara Williams, to develop their first full plays up to 70 minutes in length.

This phase of our talent development enables us to provide extensive script development support and encourage our region’s playwrights to develop creatively ambitious work with potential for larger scale touring, with the aim to champion North East talent both within and outside of the region.

Arts Council England Lottery Funded (logo)

Dead Boys

Sarah Tarbit

Dead Boys (working title) authentically reflects life growing up in Ashington, a town that was once the ‘world’s largest coal mining village’. Sarah’s play explores links between male suicides and the impact of generational and socio-economic factors.

Spark

By Barbara Williams

A-star Alex must choose between Oxford University and supporting his younger sisters when his mother struggles with her mental health. Spark explores societal pressures and prejudices around academic aspirations in young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.