BP News

Plays for 2007-2008

This is a very last reminder to all you potential directors out there to suggest plays for next season. You need to get your play suggestions to us asap so we can plan for next season. It would be especially great to hear from new directors by the way as well as our more established ones. We always like to put on plays that sell well of course, but it is really hard to predict which ones will create a queue at the box office.

Looking back over the last few years, it is surprising what has tickled the public’s fancy – who could have predicted that The Boyfriend would pack ‘em in, for example? And Private Lives is on schedule to do very well indeed. Someone mentioned a Francis Durbridge thriller to me recently too (remember them?). Hey – with the West End returning to tried and tested plays and musicals, Francis Durbridge and his ilk might just be back in fashion. So let your imaginations soar – at this moment in time, nothing is ruled in or out.

Here are some ideas to get you going:

• Alan Ayckbourn –his earlier comedies as well as his newer works sell well
• Sailor Beware etc – these old Falkland & Carey farces are still superb
• Shakespeare – especially plays on the school syllabus for 2008.
• Older musicals such as Lock up your Daughters are immensely popular
• New musicals – seen something good and it has a buzz? You’d be surprised how often the rights become available so its worth checking
• Films-into-plays such as The Graduate or The Talented Mr Ripley sell themselves
• Play adaptations of well-known books are also easy to sell: Christmas Carol, Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies etc.
• Modern classics such as Time and the Conways (Priestley), Bent (Sherman) or The Deep Blue Sea (Rattigan)

Got an idea? Jot it down and get hold of a script (if you can – if you can’t then ask us to get one) and pop it into the theatre marked ‘PLAY SELECTION’ together with your name and details. You can always chat things over with me or Sally Hull or Charles Plester at any time too. You are welcome to overwhelm us!