THE Royal Court's Young Writers' Festival, responsible for many dozens of young writers gaining their first public exposure - including initially Andrea Dunbar and most recently the likes of Judy Upton, Nick Grosso and Michael Wynne - is this year highlighting young writers from Scotland.
The festival, now in its 23rd year, was announced by Stephen Daldry, the Court's artistic director at a press conference to confirm the go-ahead for the theatre's ambitious #22m redevelopment and the Court's move (for the next two years) to the West End.
Based at the Duke of York's and a temporarily, radically altered Ambassadors Theatre, the season which includes revivals of the award-winning Mojo by Jez Butterworth and Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane will see the Young Writers' Festival playing in the Ambassadors alongside new plays by Harold Pinter, Jim Cartwright and newcomers Mark Ravenhill and Asian writer, Ayub Khan Din.
Described by Daldry as being ``at the very heart of this theatre's work'', the biennial festival focuses on a different geographical area each time. Last time it was Essex.
Again supported by Marks & Spencer, the two-year scheme is now approaching its final stages. For the past 18 months, workshops have been held in schools, community centres and theatres throughout Scotland urging would-be young dramatists to ``write a play''.
Run by Royal Court writers, directors and actors, the emphasis, as the Court's literary manager, Graham Whybrow, puts it, ``has been as much about the process of writing a play as it is about presenting plays in production''. But now the final ``count-down'' has begun. With plays submitted by people of ages ranging from eight to 23, next week sees 20 of the Court's associates sitting down to choose which plays will go forward.
What kind of subjects are Scotland's youngsters coming up with? Some readers report obvious television influences. But Caroline Hall, recently appointed Royal Court associate director, formerly director at the Tron and Lyceum, is less willing to be drawn: ``The subject matter varies so widely.''
What they all share, she says, apart from the incredibly high standard of writing, is that they are expressions of issues about which they feel strongly.
``Some are drug-related, but others deal with racism, abusive relationships and some are more lyrical and create imaginative worlds in the past or present.''
The Court's activities in the north are not just confined to the Young Writers' Festival. Recent workshops have also seen ongoing script meetings with Scottish writers David Greig, David Harrower and Chris Hannan at Edinburgh's Theatre Workshop.
In the meantime, after their autumn premiere in the West End, the Young Writers' Festival tours all the plays presented to Inverness, The Lemon Tree in Aberdeen, and the MacRobert Centre in Stirling.
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