The Playwriting Profession: Setting Out and the journey

Abstract

Playwright Howard Barker says there is a kind of promotion system for playwrights in Britain. They begin on the fringe — perhaps in London at the Bush Theatre or Upstairs at the Royal Court or in Edinburgh at the Traverse Theatre — and if they do good work and develop a reputation, they are promoted to the main house at the Royal Court Theatre. If that goes well, the natural impetus, he says, is either toward writing for television or moving on to the Royal National Theatre or the Royal Shakespeare Company which are the premiere flagships of the culture. However, very few playwrights manage to follow this simple formula. The roads to success as a playwright are various. While it is impossible to describe the typical training and development of British playwrights, the opportunities available and a few selected case histories will suggest how some playwrights became playwrights and how they survive in a profession of severely limited opportunities.