Comedy legend, Dame Julie Walters will be the scheme’s Patron.
Award-winning writers Meera Syal, Simon Blackwell, Danny Brocklehurst and Guz Khan among the scheme’s mentors.
Sky Studios and Birmingham Repertory Theatre today announce the launch of 'Sky Comedy REP’, a new partnership that aims to discover and develop new regional comedy writing talent from across the UK, particularly from communities that have traditionally been under-represented in the Arts.
The scheme – which opens for entries today and features Dame Julie Walters as Patron – will see nine writers selected to develop a one-act stage play. This year, all the plays will focus around a simple premise: a meeting on a park bench. All nine plays will then be performed at a three-day comedy festival at The REP early next year, featuring up-and-coming actors and emerging directors.
Throughout the six-month programme, writers will be paid for their work and receive one-to-one mentoring from huge names in British Comedy including Meera Syal (Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars), Simon Blackwell (The Thick of It, Veep) Danny Brocklehurst (Brassic, Shameless) and Guz Khan (Man Like Mobeen). The scheme will also include a series of workshops and Masterclasses at The REP featuring insights into all aspects of writing and production.
Based in Birmingham, an international hub that is Europe’s youngest and the UK’s most ethnically diverse city, this partnership between Sky Studios and The REP will offer significant talent development in Comedy, helping new writers, who may not have access to conventional networks, emerge and progress, ultimately benefitting the TV, theatre, film and wider creative industries.
The initiative will be overseen by The REP's Artistic Director, Olivier Award-winning Sean Foley (The Play What I Wrote) and Sky Studios Creative Director of Comedy, BAFTA Award-winning Anil Gupta (Goodness Gracious Me, The Office).
Dame Julie Walters, Patron of Sky Comedy REP, said: "I am honoured to be Patron of this important new initiative to provide a platform for new comedy writing talent. Participants will be given access to some of the very best in the business whilst being given a paid opportunity to develop their skills and materials. I very much look forward to seeing, and enjoying, the final results."
Anil Gupta, Creative Director of Comedy at Sky Studios, said: “At Sky Studios, our ambition is to work with the funniest, most talented writers wherever they may be. When new and underrepresented voices are nurtured and encouraged, it creates better comedy, that speaks to more of our audience, a belief we share with The REP.”
Sean Foley, Birmingham REP Artistic Director said: “Sky Comedy REP is a unique and ambitious talent development programme for Comedy Writing in the UK. Developing and nurturing new talent from wherever it springs is a cornerstone of everything The REP does, and we are thrilled that this new partnership with Sky Studios will enable new diverse voices to take first steps in our industry. Comedy is a genre very close to my heart - I’m delighted to be creating this new initiative alongside some of the UK's leading names in comedy, including our Patron, the great Dame Julie Walters.”
The launch of the project further establishes Sky Studios at the forefront of UK Comedy and The REP as the unofficial 'National Theatre of Comedy’. Working together, the scheme will serve as a training ground for a new generation of narrative comedy writers, directors and actors.
To be eligible, writers must not have had their writing broadcast on television or performed in any theatre above 200 seats in size. For further information on how to submit entries writers can visit: https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/get-involved/creative-development/sky-comedy-rep.html
The deadline for submissions is June 28th 2021.
Presenter Black Country Radio & Black Country Xtra
The following Cookies are used on this Site. Users who allow all the Cookies will enjoy the best experience and all functionality on the Site will be available to you.
You can choose to disable any of the Cookies by un-ticking the box below but if you do so your experience with the Site is likely to be diminished.
In order to interact with this site.
To help us to measure how users interact with content and pages on the Site so we can make
things better.
To show content from Google Maps.
To show content from YouTube.
To show content from Vimeo.
To share content across multiple platforms.
To view and book events.
To show user avatars and twitter feeds.
To show content from TourMkr.
To interact with Facebook.
To show content from WalkInto.