Dramaturgy 101: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and Whether It Might Be You

I’m often asked what a dramaturg does – in fact, this piece grew out of a Q&A I gave at ArtsEd Sixth Form a couple of weeks ago (Hello Year Twelve, and I hope your New British Musicals Project is going well!) It’s a fair question. Dramaturgy is one of those theatre jobs that sounds intellectual and slightly mysterious. People also argue about whether to pronounce the G, which tells you something about how fond theatre people are of debatingRead more

What Three Words (and four entertainment concepts)

Picture the scene. I’ve just wrapped a brutal 70-hour rehearsal week for Lightning Boy. I’m finally heading home for a grand total of twelve hours – to unpack one suitcase, repack another, and get me and my seven-year-old ready to go abroad for four nights to Efteling, the most incredible theme park in Holland, for his birthday weekend. The job was done. I’d clocked off. And then the phone rang. Could I turn around four high-level creative concepts for CirqueRead more

How Lightning Boy Was Made

A brilliant, bold British musical by two extraordinary female writers – Liv Warden and Charlie Turner.  The first original musical to open under the NYMT banner since I became Head of New Work – and the first to be developed in-house by the company.  It began with our Readers Panel, who spotted its early potential. It was workshopped by the 2024 company members, who wrote characters and improvved the blues over a Charlie Turner dirty piano groove which turned intoRead more

In Praise of the Portfolio Artist

(Or: Why “I Haven’t Got Any Work” Is a Lie I Keep Telling Myself) This week, my mum asked why we haven’t been asking her for much childcare lately. And without thinking, I replied: “It’s because I haven’t got any work.” Which is – of course – a lie. The truth is, unless I deliberately carve space, I work every day. Not always glamorously, not always healthily – but constantly. And the strange thing is, I almost didn’t notice. (WhereRead more

What Is Dramaturgy? (And Why No One Can Quite Define It)

Ask anyone to define dramaturgy, and you’ll get a lot of very different answers. It’s notoriously hard to pin down, mostly because it shifts depending on the project and the combination of people you have in the room. But since receiving the very welcome news that I was shortlisted for the 2024 Dramaturg’s Network Fellowship, I thought it was about time I was able to define what it is I actually do – after all – it’s a pretty poorRead more