Playwriting Competitions

The aim is to organise Europa Productions Playwriting Competitions , two per year,
one for each EU country over a period of fourteen years, to encourage new voices
of civil society and social democracy. The first competitions will prioritise central
and eastern Europe. Europa Productions also wish to organise similar competitions
with countries seeking accession to the EU, such as Croatia and Serbia. Sponsorship is
estimated at around 200,000€ per competition, raised partly in the relevant
country.

There is no shortage of public theatres with which to work with in EU and other European
countries. Europa Productions seek to raise commercial sponsorship for each competition,
funded in partnership with the existing resources of the public theatre concerned.

Michael Black has previous expertise in this area. Whilst AD of Hostage Productions,
Michael organised the 1992 post-revolutionary Romanian playwriting competition with
their National Theatre, the winning play, Urma Scapa Turma by Alin Fumurescu, opening
at Tirgu-Mures before transferring to Bucharest. Again, the intention was to encourage new
voices of civil society and social democracy. Alin Fumurescu was a journalist running a
magazine called Nou!, and definitely a new voice at the time.

Hostage Productions raised commercial sponsorship for this Romanian competition from the
UK West End theatre producer PW Productions, as well as raising donations from several
leading English playwrights. The competition was open for a year, and was nationally advertised
in the Romanian press and on TV, as well as being promoted at all six Romanian national theatres.
A panel of four Romanian theatre judges adjudicated, two theatre directors, one theatre critic,
and a theatre translator. Not being Romanian, Hostage Productions had no say in the winning
play. However, the production of Urma Scapa Turma was directed by an English director of
Hostage Productions choice, language rehearsal difficulties being overcome by employing a
bi-lingual Assistant Director. Thus European cross-cultural diversity was encouraged.

The 1992 Romanian model is the model Europa Productions will pursue today, with the
addition that as well as premiering the winning play of each competition in its native country,
it is also the intention to premiere each winning play in Paris in French translation.