Explore some of the fundamentals typical to playwriting – writing character and dialogue, unpacking themes, creating effective scenes, and some useful approaches to form and structure.
This is a short three part course designed to give you some practical tools for the stage and help you articulate story in theatrical forms. If you’re looking for some fresh inspiration, or want to explore new approaches or subtext, or simply want to improve your craft, this is for you.
The course has an emphasis looking at practical applications and having a go — allowing you to cultivate ideas — whether your pre-existing ideas or creating something from scratch.
Join acclaimed writer Testament — exploring his relationship the to the medium, focussing on engaging an audience and developing a layered storytelling practice that has something to say about the world.
About Testament
Testament is a playwright, poet, rapper and world record breaking human beatboxer. Theatre work includes writing for The Royal Court, Leeds Playhouse, Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester, Opera North and The Roundhouse. Television work includes work for BBC, Channel 4, Netflix and Disney Plus. His work as a musician includes the celebrated Hip-Hop album Homecut: No Freedom Without Sacrifice.
Testament is the writer of the UK Theatre Awards nominated 2018 play Black Men Walking (Eclipse Theatre/Royal Exchange Manchester/Royal Court) and more recently Testament’s BBC Radio 4 drama Daughter was nominated for the Prix Europa and won special commendation for Best Single Audio Drama at the BBC Audiodrama Awards 2023. Testament wrote, composed and performed in acclaimed show Orpheus In The Record Shop (Opera North/Leeds Playhouse) which was televised on BBC Four.
Testament is writer on the Netflix anime series Castlevania Nocturne which was nominated for Best Adaptation at The Game Awards 2023. Testament was 2019 write-in-residence at The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, and a supported artist of the theatre’s Open Exchange in 2018. He is currently the 2024 Black Nature Writer-In-Residence for The Yorkshire Dales National Park.