Brad Birch

Asa Haynes, Joe Kerridge, Melis Aker, Rachel-Mae Brady and Shona Bukola Babayemi are announced as the 503Five, Theatre503's pioneering programme for early career playwrights. Established in 2009, the 503Five is a scheme for UK-based writers who have developed their craft to a high standard but are not yet professionally produced.

The Royal Shakespeare Company has released production images and a new trailer for Falkland Sound, which is currently in previews at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, with press night on Tuesday 15 August. Check out the photos and video here!

The cast has been announced for the world premiere of BERLUSCONI at Southwark Playhouse. Rehearsals begin on 13 February with first preview on 25 March and press night on 29 March.

Dare Aiyegbayo, Tabby Lamb, Sorcha McCaffrey, Martha Reed and Kaamil Shah were today announced as the 503Five, Theatre503's pioneering programme for early career playwrights. Chosen from 548 applicants, they receive a £2,000 seed commission to write their full-length professional debut, as well as creative support from Theatre503 over 18 months. The 503Five is made possible through the support of the Carne Trust and The Orseis Trust.

Playwright Miriam Battye received the 2020 Pinter Commission yesterday (Monday 25 October 2021) – an award given annually by Lady Antonia Fraser, Harold Pinter's widow, to support a new commission at the Royal Court Theatre. Initially scheduled in March last year, the awarding of the 2020 Pinter Commission had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The evening will reignite the experimental, eclectic, supportive spirit of Poleroid's first new writing nights; some of the UK's most celebrated young theatre makers and Poleroid alumni will join up with a selection of new graduate talent for a joyful night of short work premieres and a look back at Poleroid's last 10 years.

Tickets for the world premiere of FISHERMAN'S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL at the Hall for Cornwall go on sale to the public today, Tuesday 11 May, with priority sales to Hall for Cornwall members having already broken box office records when it opened sales last week.

FISHERMAN'S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL, a new musical based on the true story of the Cornish singing sensations and the hit 2019 film, will premiere at Hall for Cornwall in Truro this Autumn for a strictly limited season. The world premiere will reopen Hall for Cornwall after a period of closure for a multi-million-pound transformation.

musical adaptation of the hit 2019 film, Fisherman's Friends, is set to re-open the Hall for Cornwell this fall, following its £20m redevelopment project. 

Paines Plough have today announced casting for the transfer of Sam Steiner's YOU STUPID DARKNESS! to Southwark Playhouse, a co-production with Theatre Royal Plymouth. An urgent play about the struggle for optimism and community amid the chaos of a collapsing world, the production is directed by former Paines Plough co-Artistic Director James Grieve and the cast includes: Andrew Finnigan; Jenni Maitland; Lydia Larson; Andy Rush. The show opened at Theatre Royal Plymouth earlier this year and will run at Southwark Playhouse from 16 January - 22 February with a Press Night on Monday 20 January.

Theatre503's Artistic Director Lisa Spirling announces the 503Five - recipients of the company's pioneering writers' residency, supported by the Carne Trust and Orseis Trust, alongside forthcoming highlights at the venue including:

Theatre503 has announced ERIN DOHERTY and SOPHIE MELVILLE as the cast for 503Five playwright Ross Willis' debut play Wolfie. Erin was recently featured by the Evening Standard as a 'rising star' and plays Princess Anne in the forthcoming series of Netflix hit The Crown. Sophie's credits include Iphigenia in Splott, for which she received The Stage Award for Acting Excellence and Wales Theatre Award for Best Female Performance, and nominations for Evening Standard Award for Best Actress and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.

Esther Baker will direct Martin Askew's provocative and compelling new play There is a Field, a London story of faith, death and family strife reshaped by local crises and global events.

Cardiff's pub theatre The Other Room, is once again throwing open its doors to the theatre makers of tomorrow with its fifth Young Artists Festival, which will run 08 - 13 April.

Paines Plough and Theatre Royal Plymouth have today announced the full cast for YOU STUPID DARKNESS!, a World Premiere from Sam Steiner (Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons; Kanye the First), directed by Paines Plough Joint Artistic Director James Grieve. The new play, set in a call centre for Brightline helpline, looks at the struggle for optimism and community amid the chaos of a collapsing world. The cast includes David Carlyle, Andrew Finnigan, Becci Gemmell and Lydia Larson. The production marks the continuation of a long-standing relationship between Paines Plough and Theatre Royal Plymouth and follows the success of Love, Love, Love and The Angry Brigade.

Cardiff's Sherman Theatre will present Wales's best emerging talent to a London audience in its New Welsh Voices showcase at Theatre503 on 13 and 14 December. The programme, which brings together the members of both its writer and director development schemes established by the Sherman's Artistic Director Rachel O'Riordan, will also provide a platform for Welsh and Wales-based performers. Sherman Theatre hopes to share the work of the best up and coming creatives it has nurtured over the past three years with a wider audience and promote the country's exciting new work.

Danusia Samal is announced as the winner of the third biennial Theatre503 International Playwriting Award at an event at The Bridge Theatre hosted by 503 Chair Erica Whymanand Artistic Director Lisa Spirling on Thursday 22 November.

BWW catches up with David Mercatali to chat about taking Tremor to the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

A timely exploration of how society reacts to tragedy, Welsh playwright Brad Birch asks pertinent questions about how major events shape our lives, and the choices we make when trying to move on. Tremor is a play about how the present is shaped by the past, and about how we choose to see things and live our lives in a world riven with tension, anxiety and division. Directed by David Mercatali, Tremor received its world premiere at the Sherman Theatre before heading to New York where it played 59E59 Theaters as part of the Brits Off Broadway festival.

Paines Plough and Birmingham Repertory Theatre have today announced the full cast and UK tour dates for POP MUSIC, a World Premiere from Bruntwood Award-winner Anna Jordan (Yen). The new play, which promises to be a night at the theatre like no other, charts two wedding guests' rollercoaster journey through thirty epic years of pop.