Southwark Playhouse has announced the launch of a new theatre development scheme for emerging theatre companies, to develop, refine and platform their work.
Called FORGE, the scheme will select four exceptional emerging companies, who will be attached to the Playhouse for 9 months and receive free rehearsal space to research and develop new ideas, dramaturgical support from the Southwark Playhouse senior artistic team, free office space for producers, and a week-long slot to platform a show Southwark Playhouse’s ‘The Little’ space to a paying audience.
The scheme will also provide industry mentorship from established theatre professionals and bespoke workshops from the Playhouse team on a variety of key learning topics, to guide and empower them in this creative journey.
Southwark Playhouse Programming Associate, Ebenezer Bamgboye, said in a statement: “We have witnessed the unspeakably tragic disappearance of spaces for early career artists to try things out, grow and learn by ‘doing’ over the last few years in the UK Theatre landscape. This scheme aims to help plug that gap and continue Southwark Playhouse’s longstanding tradition of platforming the next generation of innovative and outstanding UK talent.”
Artistic Director and CEO Chris Smyrnios said: “Ebenezer, our new Programming Associate, has devised a wonderful pilot scheme for helping support the work of new and emerging theatre companies. We recognise how much harder it is to create and develop new work in the current climate and this scheme aims to offer a helping hand to four successful companies in realising their latest projects for the stage.”
Southwark Playhouse runs two venues in South London – Southwark Playhouse Elephant and Southwark Playhouse Borough.
FORGE will run from July 2024 to April 2025; and the scheme is open for applications now until 13 June 2024 at 5pm.
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