Young writers’ work will take centre stage at the North Wall’s first ever festival of new plays, says William Crossley

ALCHEMISTS aimed to purify, mature and perfect things, whether turning base metals into gold or creating an elixir of eternal life.

Alchymy: Plays from the Lab, aims to help young playwrights purify, mature and perfect their work and bring it to the stage.

All the writers will have taken part in the North Wall’s script development and writing workshops as part of the ArtsLab residential programme, which was created to help nurture the talents of young dramatists, directors and actors.

Alchymy will open with a showcase featuring new works developed by young writers, aged 18 to 25, during this Easter’s 10-day ArtsLab project, which will be performed in public for the first time.

The full three-day festival programme will include about 15 new plays. Some will be performed as rehearsed readings, some will be semi-staged, either in the North Wall’s main auditorium or the drama studio, and one or two fully-staged shows in the main auditorium that will probably be refined versions of plays that have already been performed in London, from writers with more professional experience.

The festival is being co-ordinated by the North Wall’s producer-in-residence, Ellie Keel, who is also in the early stages of building a career as a theatre and opera producer.

An Oxford University graduate, she worked from 2014 until last year as the university drama officer, supporting the student drama scene, a role which first brought her into contact with the North Wall’s outgoing creative director Lucy Maycock.

Alongside her post at the North Wall, where she has a special remit to support young writers, Ellie also works for OperaUpClose in London, a partner company of the North Wall, and as a freelance producer in London and on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

She said: “I know first-hand the challenges that young writers are facing and I think something like this festival is invaluable. If I wasn’t running it, I would be entering something - not my own writing, but producing some of the plays.”

She added: “What the North Wall has always been about is nurturing work. These days it’s very difficult for young people to write a play and get it put on if they’ve got no reputation and no money – and if you have to take another job to support yourself, that’s very hard.

“The North Wall has always been about supporting that process and saying ‘yes, you can do this – we’re going to give you a forum in which you can do it’ and create the conditions that make it possible.

“There’s a dearth in funding for opportunities for young writers and very few places have the facilities the North Wall has and the freedom to experiment and create space for the work of young people.

“There are other courses for young playwrights but the difference is that this is really hands-on. They bring the material and work on it with actors, directors and professional mentors. They’re not just sitting down writing their next play.

“We’re very proud of that and we want the public to be able to see the work that these people have created and to know that these are the people who probably in 10 to 15 years’ time will be household names, but are just starting out at the moment.”

As well as supporting the creative process, Alchymy will provide an opportunity for the young writers to get advice and feedback on their plays, both from people working in the theatre world and the public.

Ellie said: “A very important part of the festival is that we are having professional directors, writers and critics coming along to talk to the participants and the members of the public who are coming to see the work. They will include the playwright Stephen Unwin and director April de Angelis among others.

“I don’t envisage it being a one-way audience process – coming in, sitting down, applauding and leaving. There will be time for the public to give feedback and make suggestions, particularly for the rehearsed readings and semi-staged work - that’s what we really want to encourage.”

The full festival programme will be finalised shortly.

Ellie added: “We’ve received most of the submissions for the festival now and the standard is amazingly high. It looks like we’re going to have one play based on the history of the North Wall itself and the history and architecture of the building, which is very exciting, and other plays which are all very different.

“What we hope is that the best work will not end here, it will go on to a short London run or performances elsewhere.

“We have a partnership with Theatre503 in Battersea and we’re hoping they will come and cherry-pick work that they see here and bring some of their writers up here.

“We will also invite people from various theatres and companies, in the first instance because we want them to give their opinion on the work, but if they have more to offer, opportunities at hand, that’s exactly what we want for the participants.

“We want to open doors and move people’s writing on to the next level.”

*Alchymy: Plays from the Lab is at the North Wall Arts Centre from Friday, April 7, to Sunday, April 9. Tickets will be available for individual events, along with passes for the full programme. Full details will be available soon from the centre and online at thenorthwall.com