BP News

From the Production Director

The New Season of Plays - More an Art than a Science…

What makes an excellent season of plays? Ah if we knew that secret my friends, there would never be a flop in the West End, and the QMT would mount hit after hit. As it is – we try our best, use a formula to guide us and pray that we finish up with something approaching a classic season. The formula takes into account a number of factors: a good mix of genres over the season, strong roles for both men and women of all ages and keeps a note of cast size. Of course, on its release the new programme is always greeted with those traditional howls of ‘why on earth are we doing this?’ and ‘why aren’t we doing that?’ – you know the kind of thing. Its sort of a sport and Production Managers grow to expect it. Given that, it may be of interest to know just how we set about the task.

As you are probably aware, we ask for submissions from directors early in the previous season and try to hammer out a programme for the coming year by April at the latest. It’s a funny old business: some hardy souls always seem to submit half of French’s catalogue while others tentatively offer one title along with a strict note that they will only accept the October slot. From this wide combination of possible plays and directors, the Play Selection Committee try to fashion a programme for the coming year. If we didn’t have a formula to guide us, we could easily saddle ourselves with 5 Alan Ayckbourn’s in a season (several of his plays are always submitted) or find ourselves taking on a couple of large cast things for just men (and that’s a question: why do most plays have 5 men and just 2 women in them when all the Societies have twice as many women as men? It’s a bloody mystery!)

Hey – who am I trying to kid? Choosing a season is always more of an Art than a Science. There is not such thing as a perfect season, so we do out best to ensure a good season. Maybe even a classic season. One thing is certain though – you never know what kind of season it is until you look back and ask: did the actors and audiences enjoy the plays and – crucially at the current time – did we make a healthy profit?