Elyse Dodgson and the Royal Court’s International Department complete second phase of their work with young Chinese writers in Beijing

15 June 2017

Sixteen young playwrights in Beijing are currently enrolled in a series of workshops and discussions of first drafts of their plays being run by Elyse Dodgson and the Royal Court’s International Department. Meeting in the tranquillity of an old Buddhist temple in the heart of city, the group recently gathered for a week of intensive work with Royal Court playwrights Carl Miller and April De Angelis, along with Elyse and Sam Pritchard.

Two of the playwrights commented on the experience:

“To be part of this group is truly empowering and of course, with their experience, skills, patience and generosity, Elyse, Carl, April and Sam from the Royal Court have inspired us to write that play we’ve always been burning to write…the fact that we are all writing together as a group is, I believe, the beginning of a beginning.” Zhuang Yi

“In this workshop setting, we have all made some breakthroughs that we did not manage to do in the past. They have an atmosphere that I’ve never observed before in similar writing workshops I’ve participated in. I’ve learned some significantly useful techniques about writing, how to discuss my work with others and how to improve my script. It is the connection that really matters – the connection with other young writers who belong to the same generation as me.” Chen Si’an

The work in Beijing is a continuum of many years working in China by Elyse and her team that’s been supported by the Genesis Foundation. The Genesis Foundation has supported the Royal Court’s International Playwrights Programme for almost 20 years, funding workshops and rehearsed readings in diverse countries as well as residencies and productions at the Royal Court. The Foundation’s support enables the Royal Court to find and develop the next generation of professional playwrights, providing a springboard for young writers to greater public and critical attention.