Women in Theatre Lab expands to include directors and actors

A project dedicated to strengthening women’s influence in theatre is to expand beyond supporting just playwrights in its second year.

The Women in Theatre Lab, run by partners including the Jermyn Street Theatre, hopes to mentor female theatremakers in disciplines including directing and acting going forward.

In the first year of its existence, it is supporting 10 women to focus on their playwriting efforts, with the cohort including Rafaella Marcus and Titilola Dawudu.

The women have received mentorship from the likes of April De Angelis, Timberlake Wertenbaker and Winsome Pinnock, with sessions taking place both virtually and in-person at Jermyn Street Theatre.

But Jennifer Tuckett, co-director of the Women in Theatre Lab and lead author of the Women in Theatre research project, told The Stage the programme’s "success" proved it was time to open up further. 

Tuckett said she hoped the expansion would "lead to ongoing collaborations" between female theatremakers. 

Reflecting on the success of the inaugural year of the Women’s Theatre Lab, which combines a seed commission with workshops on topics including business and craft skills, artistic director of Jermyn Street Theatre, Stella Powell-Jones, said the scheme proved the importance of buildings supporting writers in whatever way they can.

She said: "These are incredibly difficult times for theatre, and I’m all for people being up front about that. But the truth of it is I think sometimes people let perfect get in the way of good.

"If there is a play by a playwright that you love, and you don’t know if it’s got the legs for a normal run, whatever your normal run is, and you’re a non-subsidised theatre – I say, from experience – I think it’s about trying to think about what can we do… More things are possible, if you start doing something, that has been one big thing I’ve taken away from the Lab."

The announcement comes as Women in Theatre Lab leaders wait to hear whether Arts Council England will move to create an advisory panel on gender inequity.

Towards the end of last year, ACE committed to writing a feasibility paper to present to its governing body, the National Council, regarding the formation of such a group.

It is expected they will present that paper to the National Council next month.