National Theatre Partners With Audible To Support Next Generation Of Young Playwrights Across UK

The National Theatre is partnering with Audible as the Official Audio Partner for its New Views playwriting competition to support the next generation of writing talent across the UK.

Through this partnership The National Theatre and Audible plan to work with a young writer to adapt their script and publish it in audio. The participant will be supported throughout the process, gaining invaluable experience in audio development.

New Views is The National Theatre's annual playwriting programme and competition for 14 - 19-year olds which supports students to write their own play with mentoring from professional playwrights, online workshops and masterclasses alongside bespoke training for teachers. Each year one play is selected from hundreds of entries to be produced at the NT with a professional cast and crew, alongside rehearsed readings of eight shortlisted plays. Previous winning and shortlisted scripts will act as a catalogue of plays that may be adapted by the playwright for Audible.

Audible, the leading provider of audio storytelling, is also supporting The National Theatre with the digital delivery of the adapted programme in response to Coronavirus. Participants will be able to access playwriting masterclasses and Audible's expansive back-catalogue of audio content, in addition to online recordings of NT Productions and digital workshops from the NT.

Lisa Burger, Joint Chief Executive of The National Theatre said, "Young writers and theatre-makers are the future of our theatre industry and we are committed to supporting the development of new talent by continuing to provide opportunities and platforms for young people right across the UK in these challenging times. New Views encourages participants to explore their creativity, engage in debate and develop their ideas with the support of fantastic contemporary writers. We are excited to begin our partnership with Audible to develop brilliant new scripts for their platform and ensure the talented voices of the next generation are heard far and wide".

Kevin Addley, Country Manager at Audible said, "This exciting partnership with The National Theatre's New Views programme allows us to help support the theatre at a difficult time for the arts. Discovering and supporting young talent has never been more vital, and we look forward to being able to celebrate new young talent in the coming months".

Applications for schools to take part in New Views 2020-2021 are currently open until Wednesday 7th October. To find out more and to sign up visit: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/learning/schools/secondary-and-fe/new-views

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