Am Ddrama / Play On is a collaboration between Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, Theatr Clwyd and National Theatre Wales to find new and exciting scripts and plays by playwrights from or/ and based in Wales.
Over the next year, Play On will enable playwrights to send their unpublished scripts and plays anonymously to an eager panel of readers for valuable feedback. There may be an opportunity for the most promising scripts to be developed, matching the script and playwright with one of the three organisations best placed to develop, commission and produce it.
During the process, playwrights will have access to an eager panel of freelance and in-house readers, selected by the three partners following open callouts in August 2021 and August 2022.
Current Readers include:
Cathy Boyce, Fine Art and Independent Film Production graduate who began her career working as an assistant director for film and television.before joining the theatre programming department at Chapter Arts Centre. She currently works freelance as a Creative Producer.
Non Haf, Director, actress and producer, currently working with the Company Cynnwys Ceidiog. She also directed the short film ' Hen Wragedd a Ffyn' for It's My Shout/S4C, and the film was nominated at this year's Celtic Media Festival.
Jafar Iqbal, a freelance creative producer with over seventeen years of experience in the arts sector.
Rachel Treszise, a playwright, novelist and short story writer
Jeremy Linell, a neurodiverse artist and currently working on his project Don't Play With Dead Things. He's been called many things. Theatre maker, writer, performer, facilitator....but mostly prefers professional idiot and curator of mischief.
Sophie Warren, a Welsh actor, writer and co founding member member of improvisation group ‘Pinch Punch’, and has recently finished her MA in Screenwriting.
Previous Readers include:
Charles O’Rourke, who has a background in manual labour, literary translation and queer activism and is a script reader for Liverpool’s Everyman Playhouse and Channel 4.
Lowri Izzard, who trained at RADA and has recently wrapped on a new comedy feature film, Brian and Charles, for Film4 and BFI. Freelance dramaturg
Mary Davies, who has recently completed her PhD at the Shakespeare Institute and RSC.
Melangell Dolma, playwright, actor and Creative Development Coordinator at Theatr Genedlaethol, and
Yasmin Begum who is a Welsh-Pakistani campaigner, writer and creative practitioner. She currently works at Gwasg Honno Press, the oldest independent women’s press in the United Kingdom.
Rahim El Habachi, who is a creative associate with National Theatre Wales, an LGBT+ refugee and asylum seekers campaigner, has worked with the Welsh National Opera and Sherman Theatre; he is a performer and theatre maker.
Welsh dramaturg Ffion Emlyn has worked for the BBC for over twenty years, mainly as a Radio Drama Producer for BBC Radio Cymru. Ffion has also worked as Script Editor and Story Producer on other BBC programmes such as Casualty and Pobol y Cwm, and has enjoyed developing new writing talent over the years.
Elizabeth Freestone is a theatre director, creative consultant and environmentalist. She has directed plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Manchester Royal Exchange, the Citizens Theatre Glasgow, the Young Vic and Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, amongst others. She is a former Artistic Director of Pentabus, a new work touring company.
If you have any questions, you are welcome to email us at post@amddrama-playon.cymru, or contact us via voicemail or text to 07908 439417.