Royal Court Theatre and Kudos announced that writers Lettie Precious, Rabiah Hussain and Ross Willis had been selected to each receive £10,000 through new writing fellowships created by the two companies.
This is the first year that the fellowships, which support three writers already establishing a career in order to focus purely on their writing for six months, have been in place.
Commenting on the Fellowships Lucy Morrison, Royal Court Associate Director said;
“Stories are still one of the most powerful ways we have to get people to imagine a different life, a different world and to understand our experiences as humans.
We need to ensure that the right people are given the opportunities to tell their stories and this fellowship enables that.
These three extraordinary writers can make change happen. Together with Kudos, we will support, challenge them and celebrate them to make art and tell the stories everyone needs to hear.”
Diederick Santer, CEO of Kudos added;
“I’m truly buzzing at the potential of these three writers and delighted that Kudos has joined forces with the Royal Court again to find and encourage fresh new voices. This scheme really gets to the heart of the issue for any emerging writer; how to live while building a career. It will be thrilling to see how these incredibly talented writers develop given the space and support to immerse themselves entirely in their work.”
The Royal Court and Kudos met with 13 writers who perceived that there are barriers to getting their work developed and produced in theatre and television. These shortlisted writers were Josh Elliott, Amy Bethan Evans, Sami Ibrahim, Yasmin Joseph, Benjamin Kuffour, Joanne Lau, Benedict Lombe, Iman Qureshi, Stefanie Reynolds and Annie Siddons.
Each will have a continuing relationship with the Royal Court and Kudos. During the six months Rabiah Hussain, Lettie Precious and Ross Willis will be able to take part in and challenge the work of the Royal Court and Kudos. They will each be firmly embedded in the organisations, spending time with all departments, shadowing colleagues observing rehearsals, attending first previews and visiting TV sets. There will be opportunities to take part in monthly workshops run by leading creatives in theatre and television; attend script meetings at the Royal Court and development meetings at Kudos to be part of the conversations about potential productions; and have space and time to develop their own projects.
The fellowships continue the relationship between the Royal Court and Kudos who have collaborated for the past two years to deliver bespoke writers groups. This partnership has focused on developing new talent for television and theatre, championing the need for diversity in both sectors.
About Lettie Precious
Lettie is a playwright, poet, author and artist. In a short space of time after quitting their job as a nurse to concentrate on their writing, they became active within the theatre industry and won the Best New Artist Award at Museum of the Mind in 2016, as well as becoming a published author in 2018. Lettie worked with Team Angela Productions to produce a piece at Theatre Royal Stratford East, before producing their own play at the Arcola in 2017. In 2018, Lettie completed a year long Write to Play programme with Graeae Theatre and has had works produced at Soho Theatre, Ovalhouse and the Bush in partnership with Talawa Theatre Company, as well as working with the BBC London Voices Writers Room.
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