Playwright's Progress Showcase

Please join us at Leicester Square Theatre at 2pm on Friday 9th May, to celebrate the ‘best of British’ new writing for the stage.

Drawn from over 220 submissions of unproduced, unpublished plays nationwide, Imran Yusuf’s Westernization and Kate Davidson’s The Ostrich (details below) feature in the showcase. And are an exciting reflection of this unique script development project, promoted by the Writers’ Guild in partnership with Royal Central School of Speech & Drama (RCSSD) and Leicester Square Theatre.

WESTERNIZATION by Imran Yusuf - A married couple in crisis takes a comic journey from East to West. Over one night of metaphysical flight and fantasy, they navigate a world of authority figures, taking in gender politics, gymnastics, green tea and God; they argue, fumble and dance a way through the fundamentals of their relationship. What on earth can they – or any of us - do when the ground beneath their feet is shifting at a rapid pace?

THE OSTRICH by Kate Davidson - Middle-aged banker Teddy gets a shock when he goes home for his mother’s birthday to find that her dementia has significantly deteriorated. With neither of his sisters able to pay for nursing care, Teddy must make the tough choice about whether to put his feisty mother into a home. In this witty and poignant family drama secrets come to light, but does Teddy face up to painful reality or keep digging his head further into the sand?

This showcase will be a staged reading, performed by actors of the highest calibre, largely drawn from Central’s alumni, and is the culmination of a whole process of readings and workshops, which have been led by the distinguished directors Gwenda Hughes, Tim Trimingham, Janette Smith & Grainne Byrne. And is the distillation of the work of eight chosen playwrights and their plays.

So the Playwrights’ Progress Showcase at this exciting central London venue is an event not to be missed, especially as the tickets are free.

The performance will run no later than 5 pm, when the theatre bar will be open for refreshment.

This project is funded by the Arts Council England and the Writers’ Foundation (UK) with further financial support from RCSSD & Leicester Square Theatre.