A new report suggests playwriting is in crisis and producers are retreating into safe old classics. Bold programming, not Chekhov, is what the sector needs nowCrisis? What crisis? <a href="https://www.britishtheatreconsortium.co.uk/britishtheatrebeforeandaftercovid">British Theatre Before and After Covid</a>, a report released this week, is like a comedy-tragedy mask rendered in academic form. If you look at it one way, you see smiles. Look at it another, you see only things to cry about. The media coverage of the report, by the British Theatre Consortium, focused on the latter, with industry bible the Stage reporting: “‘Sharp decline’ in new plays since Covid.” Between 2019 and 2023, the number of new plays produced dropped by almost 30%. If vindication was needed for much recent angsting about the condition of new writing in UK theatre, this report seems to provide it.So is playwriting in crisis? I’m in a decent position to comment, at least insofar as that question applies in Scotland. I run A Play, a Pie and a Pint (PPP), the Glasgow theatre institution producing more new plays than any other theatre in … Europe? The world? The known universe? (We wait in vain for someone to tell us we’ve been trumped.) Based on our experience – fielding hundreds of scripts a year, producing and touring new plays every week, year-round – there is plenty to be concerned about. But there are also reasons for optimism, some evidenced by the report, which was written by director Dan Rebellato and playwright David Edgar. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/commentisfree/2025/nov/28/new-plays-theatres-playwriting-in-crisis">Continue reading...</a>

يشير تقرير حديث صادر عن اتحاد المسرح البريطاني إلى انخفاض كبير في إنتاج المسرحيات الجديدة في المملكة المتحدة، حيث انخفض الإنتاج بنسبة تقارب 30% بين عامي 2019 و2023. وقد أدى هذا الانخفاض إلى مخاوف بشأن حالة الكتابة المسرحية، حيث تفضل المسارح بشكل متزايد الكلاسيكيات المعروفة على الأعمال الجديدة المبتكرة.

Un informe reciente del British Theatre Consortium indica una disminución significativa en la producción de nuevas obras en el Reino Unido, con una caída de casi el 30 % entre 2019 y 2023. Esta disminución ha generado preocupaciones sobre el estado de la escritura teatral, ya que los teatros optan cada vez más por clásicos establecidos en lugar de obras innovadoras.

Un rapport récent du British Theatre Consortium indique une baisse significative de la production de nouvelles pièces au Royaume-Uni, avec une diminution de près de 30 % entre 2019 et 2023. Cette baisse suscite des inquiétudes quant à l'état de l'écriture théâtrale, les théâtres optant de plus en plus pour des classiques établis plutôt que pour des œuvres novatrices.

A recent report by the British Theatre Consortium indicates a significant decline in the production of new plays in the UK, with a nearly 30% drop from 2019 to 2023. This decline has led to concerns about the state of playwriting, as theatres increasingly opt for established classics over innovative new works.

Audiences want fresh new plays – so why are theatres too scared to stage them?

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