View From Here: Yorkshire is set to bring a carefully curated selection of new Yorkshire writing to London. Katherine Nesbitt explains where the idea came from – and why it’s important to tell stories from all over the UK.

Last year I produced a festival of Scottish new writing over four nights at Theatre503 with two creative friends, Isabel Sharman and Philippa Mannion. Having all met in Glasgow, my recent move to London had brought us together to celebrate work from the place that first inspired us to be theatre-makers. We wanted to showcase work we thought was brilliant by people who should be household names across the UK, as well as using it as an opportunity to introduce audiences to playwrights who maybe wouldn’t otherwise reach them.

After the success and positive reactions to View From Here: Scotland, we decided to reach out a little further and out of our comfort zone, and make contacts in a region where we didn’t know anyone. This has been an ambitious move, and whilst not as straightforward as putting our Scottish event together, is developing us as a team and widening our networks.

We made contact with West Yorkshire Playhouse’s literary manager Jacqui Honess-Martin, whose enthusiasm for the project and for emerging writers in Yorkshire has brought us two exciting writers. She also introduced us to their former trainee director Ruby Clarke, who has embraced this project and been one of the best partners we could ask for!  Earlier this year, Ruby began a new writers’ group with the support of West Yorkshire Playhouse, offering dramaturgical support and a chance to nurture work in a supportive environment.

The aim of putting on View From Here: Yorkshire is to learn more about what’s happening around the country; we wanted to discover new playwrights for ourselves, and in the process introduce them to you, our audience.

David Jarman, a poet and playwright whose work Junction will feature as part of the festival:

“Writing can often feel like a solitary art. Musicians make time to jam together outside of gigs and structured rehearsals, but unless you’re attached to a particular company writers often get little or no time to engage with directors outside of specific projects. Because Ruby and I had time to suss each other out in a professional context in the writer’s group, we then felt well prepared to make something together when the opportunity arose to work on View From Here. Also, established theatres can often feel like impregnable fortresses to a writer, so the fact that West Yorkshire Playhouse are prepared to offer regular time and space for writers to be in the building serves as a much appreciated acknowledgment of their awareness of, and commitment to, aspiring artists in the local community. I think this is also evident in the intent of View From Here. Trying to stage a piece of your work in London can feel like an impossible dream if you’re a writer working in the north, so I think that it’s fantastic that Theatre503 are reaching out to engage with voices from across the country and I’m really excited to be a part of this year’s festival.”

Our ambition is to keep growing our network of playwrights and makers across the country, creating new connections and potential for collaboration. As Dave says:

“Working as a poet in Yorkshire does present its own challenges. Mostly geographical to be honest. London has its own scene, but my scene covers the whole of the north of England so you’re chasing gigs in York, Hull, Manchester, Newcastle and everywhere in between.  Obviously this means countless hours spent shivering on train station platforms, but it’s actually a joy because you get to engage with a vast range of voices. And I think that’s really healthy.”

We’re planning more events with companies and writers in Wales and Northern Ireland too, with plans to bring all these regional pieces together at some stage in the future.
Two Yorkshire playwrights further on in their careers, JC Marshall and Zodwa Nyoni, have been generous and enthusiastic in providing us with scripts never before performed on a London stage. I am thrilled to be directing these two pieces alongside the brand new work that Ruby will be bringing you from David Jarman and Kate Stewart.

Along with an ensemble of 6 actors, we’re certain it will be an entertaining night that will have everyone excited for the future of new writing in Yorkshire.