Playwrights Vinay Patel and Chino Odimba commissioned for all-female theatre project

Vinay Patel and Chino Odimba are among the playwrights commissioned to write work for a new all-female theatre company.

Dangerous Space was set up in August to address the “lack of multidimensional roles” available for actresses, with 36 female performers selected to take part.

The company has now announced six playwrights, who will each be commissioned in Spring 2018 to write a play for six performers.

Joining Odimba and Patel will be Abi Zakarian and Amy Ng, whose next play Acceptance premieres at London’s Hampstead Theatre Downstairs in 2018.

Founder of No Offence Theatre BJ McNeill and writer Abraham Adeyemi, whose work has been performed at London’s Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Birmingham Rep, will also be commissioned.

Theatremaker Nastazja Somers, who founded Dangerous Space with vocal coach and theatre director Barbara Houseman, said: “Both myself and Barbara are determined to make sure this project is representational of the world we live in and changes the landscape of contemporary theatre.

“We have a group of 36 fantastic and extremely bold and brave actresses, and we wanted to ensure that our writers not only come from different backgrounds and bring different experiences to the room, but that they also are at at different stages of their careers.”

Participating playwright Zakarian added: “I can’t wait to get involved with Dangerous Space.

“The opportunity to write for so many women of different ages, races and backgrounds is, to me, the perfect way to challenge the traditional theatre power bases that seem to be shifting and weakening all over the place at the moment. Let’s take advantage of that and create something new and dynamic that contributes to the change we’re seeing.”

Dangerous Space is currently in the process of applying for funding and is in talks with investors. The writers will be paid, with the commission beginning in Spring 2018.

Somers added that the venture is currently seeking in-kind rehearsal space, calling for potential supporters to contact her via Twitter.