With over 20 years developing new work by writers from across Ireland and beyond, the team at Sole Purpose has substantial expertise in script development. Finding new writers with unique and challenging stories to tell is at the heart of what we do.


Our success has been built on supporting writers to identify the heart of their script, and develop it to the highest standard. Uniquely among Irish theatre companies, we have always worked with writers from the community as well as award-winning professionals.


Over the years we have supported new, emerging and early stage writers to develop their projects to successful completion. Our Theatre Labs have provided access routes for emerging talents to break into theatre. We make it our goal to enable writers to get their work seen, through script development, labs, rehearsed readings and full productions.

 

 

Productions we have developed by new and emerging writers include:

  • The Shadowmen by Debbie Caulfield and Ray Curran
  • Galatea by Lawrence Aronovitch
  • Life and Love: Lesbian Style by Hilary McCollum
  • Mothers Out Front by Edie Shillue
  • She Wants to be a What? By Berni Kerr

 

We offer a number of bespoke services to writers hoping to maximise the potential of their work

 

Theatre Labs

We run Theatre Labs twice a year. These are workshops where the writer can submit 4 or 5 pages of a script they are working on, and see it acted out by professional actors under the guidance of a professional writer/director. This is an opportunity to experiment and play with your script and ideas. The writer will receive feedback from the actors, director and other writers on how to progress and develop their work.

 

Script Reports

Using a panel of industry professionals based in the North West of Ireland with specialist expertise in writing drama, we read and report on all types of scripts. We offer you a full breakdown of the themes, ideas, characters, design elements and narrative structures in your work, and give detailed feedback, enabling you to take your work to the next stage.


Our reports are written with the aim of identifying what you as a writer want to achieve, and helping you to reach those goals. We provide a detailed and comprehensive report for each script, with a guarantee that our script readers will thoroughly interrogate the strengths of the script, and identify areas where you can develop it further.

 

Pricing

Short scripts (up to 30 pages A4, Font 12) £45

Longer scripts (30 – 70 pages A4, Font 12) £65

Large scale dramatic projects (over 70 pages A4, Font 12) £p.o.a.


To submit your script, please send a typed copy in MS Word or Adobe PDF format only to solepurpose@mac.com.

 

Studio Development

We also offer a tailor-made studio development process for writers that want to see their work activated and performed. Using professional actors in a supportive process we give your characters life and explore the dynamics of the script in our base at The Derry Playhouse. This process is most useful for those who have already completed a full draft of their script and want to see how it plays with actors. The process can be shaped to suit the work and the writer, with half day, full day and weekend development workshops. Every studio development workshop includes a one-to-one session with our company Artistic Director, feedback from an industry development specialist, and time spent working on scenes from the script with hand-picked actors.

 

Half day studio development (10 am to 1pm) from £200

Full day studio development (10 am to 5 pm) from £350

Weekend studio development (two full days) from £600

[Studio development costs are contingent upon the specific needs of the script and numbers of actors needed. Prices quoted are samples based on two actors, director and script specialist.]

 

Rehearsed Readings

For those writers wanting to test their work in front of a live audience, we arrange a small number of rehearsed readings for selected plays, here in Derry's historic Playhouse Theatre. With the full resources of a professional theatre, we present plays to the highest standard for our appreciative and loyal audiences, using quality professional actors.

Writers will be able to participate in the rehearsal and development process in the run-up to the reading. This enables a deeper understanding of the script, its structure and dynamics. With dramaturgical and directorial support, writers get to witness the effects of their authorial choices on the audience experience, and come to understand characters in a more profound way through their embodied presence in the actor.

As our process is tailor-made to each project, scheduling is dependent on the specific needs of each play. Single day and two-day rehearsal and production packages are available for rehearsed readings: £p.o.a.

 


Our aim is to make your script as good as it can be, taking your work to the next level. Get in touch to find out more about our writer and script development options. Contact solepurpose@mac.com

 

Bringing professional theatre to communities

Sole Purpose is a company limited by guarantee, registration number NI37481 and is recognised by the Inland Revenue as a charity, reference number NIC100618