Writing B: Daring New Voices

Each Season Company B produces new International and Australian works along with reignited classics and plays by Indigenous Australian writers. The theatre we make springs from the idiosyncratic demands of our home in Surry Hills - a rough and ready, intimate theatre space seating 320.

Our work is highly theatrical, often political, sometimes funny, a bit rude, a little naive, frighteningly savage, moving and always presented with a hugeness of heart that has become the Company B trademark.

It is important to note that new writing is just one part of our overall artistic output. Because we produce such a wide range of work, we only commission new work about twice a year, and we only offer dramaturgy or development for work that we’re really, really keen to put on.

Who are you?

You are deadly serious about writing for the theatre, whether your play is a hilarious comedy or heart-breaking tragedy. You go and see a lot of theatre and understand the difference between writing for the stage and writing for the screen. You are passionate about what theatre can do and will most probably have been inside Belvoir St Theatre sometime in the last two years and are writing with the specific challenges and strengths of our space in mind. Whilst being true to your own voice you are familiar with our anarchic house style and have a natural desire to embrace it. And most of all you have a story you really think needs to be told on stage in a daring way.

If you're a young writer or an emerging writer...

As you might imagine, getting a theatrical world spinning on the Company B mainstage requires a pretty special piece of writing, and it takes time and effort to be ready for the challenge. We can only produce a handful of new works a year. However, we do like to stay in touch with the country's most promising writers, and there are a bunch of ways that can happen.

Let us know when your work is getting on. If you have a show or a reading happening, email our Literary Associate. The more fully we can get to know your work, the better, and hearing or seeing it is always a better option than reading it.

Say hi to our Literary Associate or our Artistic Associate. Feel free to give us a nudge if you think we've overlooked you or you just want to sit and have a chat about your work, Company B or the big picture of Australian theatre.

Think about submitting your play for B Sharp  and the Downstairs Theatre. You don’t need to have a full creative team attached, if the work is appropriate for the B Sharp season we can help facilitate artistic connections to find the right team for the work.

What do we offer?

We’ll give you the opportunity to have your work considered for programming or development by Company B. We’ll read your play, let you know if it’s a Company B play or not, and give you the reasons why.

If we’re excited, moved, thrilled, fascinated or just blown away, we’ll begin to develop a relationship with you – either by developing your work, asking to see your other writing, or leaping at the opportunity to put your play on.

If we’ve had a read and don’t see that it’s a play for us, we’ll get back to you with an assessment which tells you some of the reasons why we won’t be taking your work any further.

Because we’re so busy sourcing material from all over the world and from every era of drama, we need to charge a small fee ($50) to have your play read and assessed by one of our excellent readers. They’re all practising theatre professionals.

It’s important to note that we’re not offering dramaturgy and development – at least not up front. It’d cost a good deal more than $50 to give you next-draft feedback on your work. So if you're after a more extensive service to develop your play and your writing, check out the links on the right.

What do you do now?

Make sure your play is type-written, double spaced on A4 paper and that it is printed in a clear font and the pages are numbered. Then, send your play, a one paragraph synopsis and a current CV to our Literary Associate at Company B, along with a cheque payable to: Company B Ltd, or a money order for $50 to:

Sam Strong, Literary Associate
Company B
18 Belvoir St
Surry Hills NSW 2010

If you would like your script returned, be sure to include a stamped self addressed envelope.

What do we do then?

First of all you will receive a letter of acknowledgment and a receipt. Then your play will be assessed by one of our readers and our Literary Manager will forward you a summary of that assessment.

We receive a large number of unsolicited scripts so it may take us some time to get your play read, assessed and our assessment summary back to you. Thank you for being patient with us. Also, be sure to send your play to us in as near a finished state as you can get it, as we would ideally like to encounter your work at its best.

We look forward to reading your play!