The Royal Court will showcase the skills of theatre’s youngest writers this summer with Primetime, a new production made up of nine short plays written by pupils from London primary schools.
Cementing the Royal Court’s reputation for discovering the talents of young writers, Primetime’s talented playwrights are aged between eight and 11-years-old. Audiences will be able to see their work performed in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from 28 May to 31 May before the show heads off on tour to 15 primary schools across London.
Created during the venue’s Royal Court’s Young Writers Festival and Peckham Young Playwrights projects in 2012 and directed by Ned Bennett, the short offerings boast intriguing titles ranging from Bad Guy Rope to Emperor’s New Fudge.
Audiences should expect to be taken on a whirlwind of crazy adventures with Primetime’s line-up of captivating characters, including a talking sausage roll, a troop of cocktail-loving monkeys and a long-nosed hippo called Gary (of course).
Speaking about the tour, Vicky Featherstone, Artistic Director of the Royal Court, commented: “This tour is one of the most important things the Royal Court can do. To encourage young writers, to produce their work professionally, to captivate audiences with these imaginative and fearless plays will endlessly inspire and ensure that the future of theatre is safe in their hands.”
Children will be given the chance to try their hand at the art form with two free family writing sessions taking place during its run at the Royal Court and a programme of workshops during its subsequent tour. London primary schools can also enquire about booking a free performance of the production at their school by emailing dionwilson@royalcourttheatre.com
The full line-up of playwrights who will be contributing their short pieces to Primetown comprises Temidayo Abayomi-Joseph, Jose-Luis Aquino-Mejia Naseem Charrat, Ruby David-Pimlott, Anya Davies, Lucas Ferrar, Jack Franco, Joseph Burke-Gaffney and Isabelle Kennedy-Grimes.