Led by award-winning director and writer Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu (Deep Azure, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy, Pig Heart Boy) and award-winning playwright and dramaturg Somebody Jones (winner of the Tony Craze Award, finalist for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting), this five-day playwriting intensive will help you kick-start and develop your next piece of theatre.
Using Tristan's own Tell Me A Tale Method — a practical framework for building story from the inside out — you'll develop a bold script set in the Speculative world (fantasy, sci-fi, horror), working across devising, structure, character, dramaturgy and world-building.
Expect hands-on exercises, elements of embodied practice (no performance experience necessary), and a safe, creative space to explore the fantastical and unlock your writing — including through physical work on your feet.
This intensive is for:
What to expect across the week:
What you'll come away with:
Essential information:
For more information and to book or apply for a bursary place, click the Opportunity Info link below!
After the announcement of its closure, Forest Forge has allocated remaining funds to support local artists and organisations with grants of between £500 – £5,000.
In 2026 Forest Forge Theatre Company announced its closure after 45 years of making and touring theatre in the New Forest. As the journey comes to an end, the team are eager to support artists and cultural community organisations in the New Forest via some small commissions. We hope that by providing small pots of funding we can support sustainability and can seed fund new ideas.
We have ringfenced some of our remaining funds to support local artists and organisations with grants of between £500 – £5,000. We anticipate making between 5 – 10 Forge Ahead Commission grants.
Projects should deliver activity within one of our three areas of activity:
We are also especially excited to support projects and ideas that complement the Forest Forge ethos; those that are playful, heartfelt, joyful and irreverent.
Funds can be used for any number of costs including artist fees, travel, room hire, materials, marketing, training and can be used as match funding.
We welcome applications from:
Projects must:
Key dates:
Grants are made at the discretion of the trustees and decisions are final. Successful applicants will be required to report back to a Forest Forge Trustee after the closure of the company.
For more information, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Join playwright and associate artist Carl Grose and Spymonkey founder and co-artistic director Toby Park as they attempt to crack open the mysterious, maddening and utterly marvelous process of how to go about writing a show for Spymonkey.
Who's it for:
Why we think it is important:
Spymonkey worked for many years as a devising company. We took a huge step forwards in our creative process when we began working with a writer, and as it happens the first writer we ever worked with was Carl, for Oedipussy. It was a revelation, and we couldn’t understand why we hadn’t done it sooner! The writer brings so much to our intensely collaborative process: provocations for improvisation exercises, hot-seating, taking on the task of dramaturgical structure, of character arc, sifting and compressing the hours of improvisation, creative meetings with designers and directors and ridiculous conversations over tea breaks. And of course for the actual nuts-and-bolts of script-writing. Since then we’ve worked with a load of writers, but we keep coming back to working with Carl because he is brilliant and he understands Clown and our Theatre of the Funny.
What will be explored:
Please note: There will be writing involved, but we also find it essential to explore writing practically and on its feet. All participants will be encourages to join in the work and support the development of others so writers come expecting to get up and play, and performers ready with their pen (or laptop).
Essential Information:
Calling all university students! Spymonkey are offering a 50% discount on this workshop with the promocode SPYMONKEY50 and Name of Uni.
For more information and to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Part of Brighton Comedy Festival, with Kennedy Street Recovery Hub - Find your confidence. Find your community. Find your funny - and maybe even find yourself.
Laughter really can be the best medicine! If you’ve experienced substance use challenges, this unique series of comedy & clowning workshops is for you. Through play, performance, & connection, you’ll discover the healing power of humour – & have a good laugh while you’re at it. Whether you’ve never set foot on a stage or you’re just curious to try something new, Finding Your Funny helps boost self-esteem, build confidence, & create a strong sense of belonging. It’s a safe & supported space to be silly & turn life’s messiness into moments of joy.
Join Spymonkey’s Petra Massey, a world-class comedy performer, teacher, & co-founder of the legendary international comedy troupe Spymonkey. With 40 years of experience in making people laugh, Petra brings warmth, wisdom, & a whole lot of fun to every workshop. Petra will be assisted by the inimitable clown Peter Mielniczek & Kennedy Street Recovery Hub’s Sam Hunt, certified professional recovery coach.
Essential Information:
Taster Session:
If you’re curious but not quite ready to commit, join us for a relaxed 3-hour taster workshop with Petra Massey.
For more information and to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
What is it that makes you as a performer uniquely funny? How do you share that brilliant, special ridiculousness with an audience so that they are helpless with laughter?
In this 5-day introduction to Spymonkey Clown we will focus on how to identify and develop that particular quality of Funny that is special to you, and only you.
You will be supported to develop these comedic skills in a safe, fun and laughter-filled environment. This positive group dynamic will allow you focus on identifying and trusting your best impulses, taking risks, being adventurous, generous and honest as a performer. In this highly enjoyable workshop we will play games and exercises, developing trust and complicity with the group. You will find the pleasure in your own ridiculousness, stay optimistic, discover your comedy gold, and get ready to laugh until your face hurts.
We will share many of the methods that Spymonkey have found essential over the years in creating Theatre of the Funny: physical games, improvisational games, status exercises, physical comedy routines, chorus exercises and parody.
Essential Information:
Calling all university students! Spymonkey are offering a 50% discount on this workshop with the promocode SPYMONKEY50 and Name of Uni.
For more information and to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Learn from leading professionals, create your own work, support your wellbeing and develop your dance, acting and singing skills.
Every weekend DreamArts Creative Labs enable 6-12 year olds to explore and unleash their talents. Our skilled professionals encourage members to devise and perform their own original musicals.
Saturdays
Sundays
To register, please contact angela@dreamarts.org.uk
Young Identity run free workshops every week throughout Manchester and Trafford for young creatives aged 13 - 25. With regular attendance, you’ll get access to specialist workshops, creative projects and performance opportunities.
HOME - Mondays 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Central Library - Tuesdays 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Old Trafford - Wednesdays 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Respect and Dignity - Mondays 6:00 PM - 7:45 PM
Verse and Vibe - Tuesdays 6:00 PM - 7:45 PM
For more information and to sign up, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Unity Theatre is partnering with Good Chance to offer a hands-on creative role for someone with experience of forced displacement. We are looking for an Assistant Director to join the team on our new devised Christmas show taking place at Unity Theatre this December.
Essential Information
About the Opportunity
This is a paid training opportunity for someone who wants to develop their skills in directing and making theatre. You will work closely with the Director and creative team throughout rehearsals and the production process.
Although you do not need extensive experience to apply, we do ask that candidates have some experience in theatre making or within a rehearsal room. This could be in a professional capacity, through university placements or independent projects. We are looking for someone who is curious, organised, enjoys working with people, and is excited to learn. This role is a chance to gain hands-on experience creating a new devised theatre production.
About Unity Theatre
Unity Theatre is a home for bold, exciting and inclusive theatre in Liverpool. We support artists at every stage of their careers and champion new voices, diverse stories and creative risk-taking.
Each year we engage around 20,500 people through a diverse programme of professional performances, festivals, participatory projects, creative learning, artist development and community engagement. Alongside presenting nationally recognised theatre, we nurture emerging artists, commission new work and provide opportunities for people of all ages to develop creative skills and confidence.
About the Christmas Show
Unity Christmas show is a devised show, with a focus on physicality and visual storytelling, we pride ourselves on offering a family and neurodiverse friendly alternative to panto for all ages to enjoy.
The process involves a core team of 3 actors who have experience in creating physical devised children’s work, and work well as an ensemble.
About Good Chance
In a world of entrenching polarisation, Good Chance creates ground-breaking, heart-thumping ‘theatre that shakes hands with the world’ (Sunday Times).
Founded by playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, Good Chance established its first temporary Theatre of Hope, an 11-metre geodesic dome, in the heart of the ‘Jungle’ refugee and migrant camp in Calais in 2015, promoting freedom of expression, creativity and dignity for everyone. Good Chance now creates powerful and provoking work including The Jungle, Kyoto and A Grain of Sand, and radical acts of solidarity like The Walk with Little Amal, Fly With Me and From Here On. Their work sparks new connections and conversations across divides, through surprise and spectacle. They connect communities through art and explore the big issues of our time, including migration and the climate crisis, to make real change possible. Central to all of this is the development of displaced artists, to become an integral part of the UK’s creative ecosystem.
In just a decade, Good Chance has reached over 1.2 million in-person and 550 million digitally all around the world, and they’ve worked with over 2,000 artists from 52 countries in 904 events across the UK, USA, Europe, Turkey and Algeria.
About Stage Door
Stage Door is Good Chance Theatre's flagship programme dedicated to creating bespoke paid trainee opportunities for creatives from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds. The programme celebrates and nurtures creative industry professionals while addressing the imbalance of opportunities available to people who have been displaced.
Following the incredible success of Stage Door 10, this traineeship forms part of the development of a new cohort: Stage Door 11. This year, the programme will see 11 traineeships rolled out across the country. As part of Stage Door 11 the Assistant Director will receive a series of one-to-one wellbeing sessions with Good Chance’s Deputy Artistic Director. They will also become part of a cohort of 11 trainees coming together to benefit from networking opportunities, skills development sessions, and masterclasses delivered by Good Chance. Towards the end of their placement, the trainee will also receive three mentoring sessions from a member of the Unity team, supporting them as they reflect on their experience and consider their next steps within the theatre industry.
Role and Responsibilities:
You will support the Director by:
Person Specification
This traineeship is offered as a professional development opportunity open specifically to people from a refugee or asylum seeking background with lived experience of forced displacement.
Essential Criteria
You may have experience through university, community theatre, youth theatre, independent projects or your own creative practice. We welcome people from different artistic disciplines, creative backgrounds and levels of experience.
What You Will Gain
By the end of the placement you will have:
Right to Work
We welcome applications from people who currently have the right to work in the UK including those seeking asylum who are permitted to work. If you’re unsure about your current work eligibility, we encourage you to contact us for clarification
Access
We want this opportunity to be open to as many people as possible. If you have any access requirements, please let us know. We will work with you to make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and placement. If there is anything that would help you apply or take part, we encourage you to get in touch.
How to Apply
Please submit the following materials to info@unitytheatre.co.uk no later than 6pm, Sunday 11th October 2026.
Applicants are welcome to submit their applications in a format that is most accessible to them (i.e. a written document, video recording or audio recording).
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss the role in more detail with one of the Unity Theatre team please email elirandle@unitytheatre.co.uk
For more information and to apply, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Join our Artistic Director Nuna Sandy to learn about Affinity Groups at Company Three: spaces for young people to come together with artists who share an identity, and to creatively explore that together.
Nuna will share Company Three's journey and approach to this work, and some tips for setting up your own Affinity Groups and making work about identity, led and owned by the teenagers involved.
Essential Information:
For more information and to sign up, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Practitioners working with teenagers are meeting increasingly complex needs. The Youth Theatre Census 2024 highlighted young people's mental health as one of the sector's biggest challenges, and many youth theatres are now offering far more pastoral support than ever before.
Wellbeing and care is central to Company Three's practice - it's fundamental that young people can feel appreciated, safe and have fun in all our sessions.
This workshop shares practical tools to help adults centre wellbeing and care in creative projects.
Essential Information:
For more information, click the Opportunity Info link below!
