The Playwright's Journey: From First Spark to First Night

A clear, supportive and comprehensive guide to writing a play - based on the author's long-running playwriting masterclasses, as taught at the UK's National Theatre. This book leads you through everything you need to know, including: The theatrical tools and techniques you can use to bring your play to life on the stage (and how these differ from writing for film and TV); Discovering and trusting your writing process, with a range of approaches for developing your initial idea into a completed script; Understanding your characters, including their goals and central conflicts, and using emotional logic to connect them to your story; Finding the dramatic structure and theatrical setting that best suits your play; The key elements of constructing a great scene, including how to handle exposition, invoke tension, deepen characterisation and create effective transitions; Writing engaging, active dialogue by finding each character's voice, balancing exposition with subtext, and rooting what a character says in their specific context Throughout, you'll find examples from classical and modern plays, plus insights from other contemporary playwrights into their own writing journeys. Each chapter provides a set of exercises to help you practise what you've learnt. There's also advice on what to do once you've finished your script - including redrafting, receiving feedback and taking notes - and how to navigate your play's progress towards production. Whether you're an emerging playwright or embarking on your first-ever play, The Playwright's Journey will help you develop your creativity, strengthen your connection to your material, and transform your idea into a fully formed play that feels alive on the page - and the stage.