Theatre puts new talent centre stage

A CELEBRATION of a city theatre’s 50th anniversary is to include a series of new plays by emerging talent.

The Traverse Theatre is planning a programme of work for its half-century in 2013. The city council has agreed to provide £50,000, with the theatre and other funders expected to make additional contributions.

New artistic director Orla O’Loughlin, who will join the company in January 2012, will work on the programme.

Established playwrights are to mentor 50 writers in a series of workshops. Theatre bosses also hope to inspire ten new plays to be produced during 2013 and identify five emerging writing talents and five further plays to be produced over the next five years.

Alastair Maclean, director of corporate governance at the city council, said: “This initiative will celebrate the Traverse’s legacy of finding new talent.”