Courses and services on the art of Writing for Theatre
There is no other course that offers the combination of expert tuition, practical advice and the opportunity to work with established playwrights and experienced actors
Our 2025 annual WRITE THEATRE course will take place at The Cockpit Theatre over two weekends a fortnight apart on October 25th / 26th and November 8th / 9th.
The 2025 course is now fully booked. If you would like to be put on the waiting list – in case anyone cannot take up their place – please contact us.
About the course
The first weekend is spent learning about the craft of writing for theatre. On the second weekend, we are joined by three professional actors, who work with the course directors to explore in depth every participant’s scene. We accept a maximum of 8 writers.
Who could benefit from this course?
Anyone with a genuine interest in writing for theatre. The small numbers accepted for the course ensures that everyone can participate actively, and receive personal advice and feedback.
How does it work?
First weekend: writer-participants work as a group, individually and in pairs, undertaking active writing exercises exploring elements such as dialogue, characterisation and plotting.
Two week gap in which each participant writes a short scene.
Second weekend: course directors and experienced professional actors explore these scenes, encouraging and enabling further development. Course ends with short script-in-hand presentations of the re-worked scripts. For further details see Forthcoming Course.
What you gain
Confidence in your own ability as a writer. Ways of generating ideas. Skills for writing dialogue and developing plot and character. The invaluable experience of having scenes workshopped by professional theatre practitioners.
Our ethos
We believe that the writing of plays is a flexible and an organic process, not something that can be taught through the rigid application of rules or application of templates. And it is through this organic process that the writer finds his or her voice. Our aim in our WRITE THEATRE courses, and the through the script appraisal and mentoring we offer, is to enable you to find a process that works for you, and to offer detailed, specific and focused suggestions as to how to develop your work.
Testimonials from those who have attended Write Theatre courses can be found on our Testimonials page.
If you would like to take part in the forthcoming course, or are interested in any of the playwriting services we offer, or have any questions about the course, please contact us.
See also Enrolment and Fees.
Script Appraisal and Mentoring Services
We also offer an appraisal service for your script – anything from a first draft to work in a later stage of development. For more details of this and the mentoring service we offer please go to SCRIPT APPRAISAL and MENTORING SERVICE
Actors workshopping a script during the second weekend of an in-person course
A selection of
TESTIMONIALS
from writers who have participated in Write Theatre courses
For many other testimonials, and to see the full text of all the following, go to the TESTIMONIALS page.
Our most recent course (October 2024)
“What a delight this experience has been. I am so very grateful, and excited to keep writing and see my play take shape. I had previously been trained by Rib in oral history production, so I knew the training style would be clear and articulate, which it was. Rib and Brian worked well as a training duo. The format of the course is very effective. Group work and solo attention. Writing and discussion. Instruction and experimentation. I had never written for theatre before and now have a very clear vision of what and how I am going to write, and the tools and confidence to do it.” Reem Maghribi October 2024
About the online course we ran during the pandemic
“I came into this course a keen writer but with no experience in theatre writing and it was the most perfect entry point I could have asked for… Time flew each week as we had a great balance of on screen conversations, independent or group tasks and activities and comfort breaks. I particularly enjoyed being pushed to write new material in between each session and having a chance to have that reviewed and analysed by a real pro!” Zahra Dalilah July 2020
“The Writing Theatre course with Rib was a fabulous experience and I think the migration to an online format worked seamlessly. As there were fewer students it allowed for greater intimacy and more time workshopping and analysing student writing… Finally I should add that the course is a lot of fun. I got used to spending my Saturday mornings in a virtual classroom and was quite sad that it came to an end…” Shola Asante July 2020
Eralier in-person courses
“Brian and Rib’s wonderful course… is so good because it’s intensive. It forces you (in the most pleasant and interesting ways possible) to consider why you’re writing, what you’re doing with your idea, and how you’re going to get there. A great investment and a whole lot of fun.” Ellie Ross.
“… have just finished the second Write Theatre weekend… incredibly enlightening … very practical … lots of constructive feedback… Highly recommended.” Rachael Forrest
“I am just sitting down to continue work on my play buzzing with all the ideas and possibilities for the writing that were generated by the Write Theatre weekends. … I left feeling inspired and very grateful for the time and energy you both put into all of us and our writing.” Kass Boucher
“Working with Brian and Rib gave me many genuine breakthrough moments… A fantastic course for all emerging playwrights.” Poppy Holman
Working through script details
“Whether you’re an experienced writer or complete beginner, this is a course that inspires and galvanises at every level… An extraordinarily creative course, a joy to be on – thank you.” Ruth Padel.
“An intelligent, incisive, supportive , forgiving and releasing writing environment… Demystifies the process and brings it down to very simple basics. Very constructively challenging… opened up views and insights on my writing that were an inspiration and which gave me courage… A rare and mindful environment for creativity and work and crucially no egos – just intelligence, collaboration and support. Excellent. Thank you!” Elizabeth Kelly.
‘… one of the best courses I have ever attended! Brian and Rib are both so supportive and knowledgeable and they create a safe space for everyone to learn together whether creating character, dialogue or writing a full length scene…. The course is very practical … (and) very intense and they pack a lot in… I now feel inspired to go away and write my first play and feel confident I have the tools to give it a go!” Jamie Phillips.
“One of the richest, most generous learning experiences I’ve ever had. I cannot recommend this course enough.” Rebecca Lee.
“Writing courses can often over promise, under deliver and charge you more than they are really worth. With Brian and Rib’s Write Theatre course, it’s the other way round. I highly recommend taking the Write Theatre course.” Jon Reed.
“I haven’t felt that engaged in anything for a long, long time. I feel as though you’ve saved me about 20 years. Just so much fun. Thank you!” Sass Clyde.
“I enjoyed it on so many fronts – the sheer joy of having a fresh slant on plot and character, your teaching styles and the camaraderie…” Katharine McMahon.
“The best writing course I have ever done… Overall, I found the course hugely empowering. I left after four days and actually felt that I could write!” Justin Joseph
“What a wonderful experience … Pure magic! Thank you, Brian and Rib, for being such inspiring teachers. The creative juices are still flowing …” Robin Lustig
“By the end of the fortnight you’ve moved to places you didn’t know were there, let alone could get to!” Marina Jenkyns
“I cannot recommend this course highly enough… what surprised me was how changed I felt at the end of it… Brian and Rib are excellent teachers. They are generous, thoughtful, engaged, and intelligent, and they create a really supportive learning environment.”
Caroline Doherty de Novoa
“It’s hard to imagine how such a short course (or indeed any length of course) could be more instructive, productive and enriching than this one…. Thrilling and energising.”
Judith Ramm
“Hard work; great fun; transformational; how magic happens. This is the writing community I’ve been searching for.” Lindsey Armstrong
“It took a while to sink in just how visionary a concept your Write Theatre course actually was… experienc(ing) for ourselves how the exploration of a scene between writer, director and actors really works. What a rare treat”. Helen Toft
For many other testimonials, and to see the full text of all the above, go to the TESTIMONIALS page
Workshop with actors
WRITE THEATRE playwriting courses in London 