16 August 2017

Wanted: a writer to create a bespoke play for York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre that will be performed in and around the Debtors’ Prison cells at York Castle Museum.

The prison and the curatorial team’s research into the building will provide the inspiration for the 45-minute play being commissioned by York Museums Trust and York Theatre Royal.

The play will be performed by a cast of around 25 young actors, aged 14 to 16, at York Castle Museum in March. Set in the Debtors’ Prison, the work will reflect stories that emerge from the collection with particular interest in exploring the female voice within the stories.

The Trust and Theatre Royal are working together on the project which is part of York Castle Museum’s Changing Spaces project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Theatre Royal Education Associate Julian Ollive says: “We aim to commission the very best plays for young people which provide the best possible performing experience for each young person involved in the project. We are seeking a playwright to create the script for this performance, working with the museum to access research materials and with York Theatre Royal to ensure that it meets the needs of young performers.”

The writer of the £3,500 commission should have written work for young people to perform before, and be interested in using museum and archive collections as the basis for their research.

Lucy Knock, Interim Learning Manager for York Castle Museum, said:

“We are delighted to be working with York Theatre Royal’s Youth Theatre again on an exciting new production at York Castle Museum. The museum’s past as a prison to notorious villains, thieves and murderers will provide a rich history for a talented writer to draw on to create an intriguing, thrilling or moving account of what life was like here. To see this performed in the original cells will breathe new life into these spaces and allow us to share some of the building’s fascinating stories with new audiences in new ways.”

York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre worked with York Castle Museum earlier in the year on a production called Forward to Victory. This saw three groups of young people perform the play about the First World War on the Museum’s recreated street Kirkgate.

For further details and how to apply please click here.