Apply now for the Mercury Creatives Directors programme

The Mercury Creatives Directors Programme enters its sixth year and will be led by the Mercury’s Artistic Director, Natasha Rickman.

The programme will support a group of ten people to guide and mentor them through the page-to-stage directing process through a series of nine workshop sessions.

The successful cohort will also have opportunities to take part in a number of masterclasses led by experienced directors and creatives across the commercial and subsidised sectors facilitated through the Mercury Creatives programme.

Applicants do not need to have any previous directing experience.

If you would like to apply, we ask you to:

– Be over the age of 18
– Complete the form below in as much detail as required
– Tell us about your connection with the East of England – as all applicants must be from or currently live in this area to take part.

The directors’ cohort sessions are from 6-8pm as follows and will take place in person at the Mercury Theatre and/or Zoom:

Wed 8 Jul 2026
Wed 22 Jul 2026
Wed 5 Aug 2026
Wed 19 Aug 2026
Wed 2 Sep 2026
Wed 16 Sep 2026
Wed 7 Oct 2026
Wed 2 Dec 2026
Wed 6 Jan 2027

Applications are now open!

Applications are open from Fri 15 May 2026 and the deadline is midnight on Fri 12 Jun 2026.
Confirmations of your place will be provided by Fri 26 Jun.

Additional information

In addition to 18 hours of mentoring, Mercury Directors benefit from:

• Opportunities to participate in a number of producing masterclasses, led by industry-respected producers
• Mentoring, producer/director shadowing, pitching opportunities and networking events
• Invitations to collaborate with other organisations in the East of England
• Support from the Mercury Team to develop ideas to be considered for future programming
• Free tickets and special invitations to some Mercury events
• Opportunities to collaborate with early-career artists and associate companies.

If you have any queries, please contact mercury.creatives@mercurytheatre.co.uk.

20 July - 7 August 2026

We are excited to open up space at the SPILL Think Tank, Ipswich, for another series of artist residencies. If you’d like to spend a week in our White Room, researching and developing a new idea, then we’d love to hear from you. We provide an honorarium of £1000 for each residency, and the deadline for applications is Monday 15 June at 12pm.

What we offer

• Up to one week free residency space in our White Room between 23 July to 7 August 2026. Our residency weeks are usually 5 days, running from Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm.
• Mentoring/advice from our experienced SPILL staff.
• Access to tech and equipment including a PA system, projection equipment and Wi-Fi. We also have an enormous whiteboard for you to work through your ideas.  
• The option of an informal sharing of ideas at the end of the week to an invited audience. This is not mandatory, but could be a facilitated conversation, a work in progress sharing or just a chat with some of the SPILL staff about where you’re up to in your process. We will work with you to make sure you have a productive and useful culmination to your residency. 
• An honorarium of £1000 per residency. You can use this to cover your fee, travel and accommodation if needed, but also materials or input from collaborators or mentors.
• A fund for access requirements is available, so do state any access needs in your application so we can support you properly.

Who is it for?

• These residencies are intended for solo, self-producing artists, although you can be working with collaborators. We ask that a named artist applies in the first instance. 
• We are looking for people interested in the research and development of ideas and, as such, these residencies are not suitable as rehearsal space for works that are already made or about to be presented elsewhere.
• We’re interested in artists who align with our artistic vision at SPILL - please take some time to explore our website where you can see our recent projects https://www.spillfestival.com/, as well as our curatorial statement: https://www.spillfestival.com/how-we-curate. We are particularly interested in artists who incorporate  any of the following forms in their work:
  • Digital art
  • Experimental Sound + Music
  • Experimental Theatre
  • Film + Video
  • Installation
  • Participatory Practice
• We do not provide travel and accommodation, but the honorarium may be used for this purpose.
• We do not offer residencies to those in full time education. 
• Please note that if you are internationally based, SPILL is able to provide certificates of sponsorship if applicable, but all other arrangements concerning visas would need to be undertaken by the artist themselves

How to apply

• Please apply by completing this application form. The form will ask you to provide a brief bio (up to 150 words) and a short proposal (up to 300 words) summarising what you would like to use the week for. In our experience, the best applications tend to be those that present their ideas and intended activities in clear, simple terms, and indicate why your work is a good fit for the specific context of a SPILL residency.
• Please include links to website/documentation, highlighting material relevant to your proposal. Please ensure any links shared are active and access permissions are already granted.
• Please state which week(s) you would ideally like to come, and any access requirements.
• Please tell us how you intend to spend the £1,000 residency budget. In this answer, you may want to consider travel, accommodation and materials costs alongside your artist fee. We expect to see a minimum of £500 go towards your fee, but also expect any collaborators, mentors, or ‘outside eye’ advisors to be paid a fair hourly rate for their time, including for participation in online meetings.  Any applications without a budget included will not be considered.
• We will get back to all applicants with a decision. We cannot guarantee residency time to all who apply, but keep an eye on our website as we will be offering additional residency opportunities in the near future.
• Please be aware we usually share details of the artists in residence on our website and social media, and we will ask successful applicants to provide us with appropriate imagery for this purpose. 
• If you have any questions or require further information, please contact SPILL’s General Manager, Kathryn Kirton: info@spillfestival.com or 01473 216 545.

Would you like to see your writing performed by professional actors? Are you interested in learning more about writing for stage?

Wac Arts is thrilled to continue our intergenerational series with a free creative writing project exploring how theatre and storytelling can promote positive conversations and relationships across the community.

We are looking for young people aged 16 – 24 with an interest in creative writing and theatre to take part in a series of weekly workshops with members of the University of the Third Age at Wac Arts. Under the guidance of playwright Beth Flintoff, Associate Playwright at The Royal Court, the group will explore key aspects of writing for theatre, receive 1:1 script development support and create a series of pieces that will be performed by professional actors.

Workshop Dates & Times: Monday 1^st June - 13^th July 16:30 - 18:30  

Final Sharing Date & Time: Sunday 19^th July 13:00 - 17:00

Location: Wac Arts, 213 Haverstock Hill, London NW3 4QP 

Cost: Free

Application Form: https://forms.office.com/e/GQeAuaEEuA

No previous experience needed.

For more information please visit our website.

Would you like to see your writing performed by professional actors? Are you interested in learning more about writing for stage?

Wac Arts is thrilled to continue their intergenerational series with a free creative writing project exploring how theatre and storytelling can promote positive conversations and relationships across the community.

They are looking for young people aged 16 – 24 with an interest in creative writing and theatre to take part in a series of weekly workshops with members of the University of the Third Age at Wac Arts. Under the guidance of playwright Beth Flintoff, Associate Playwright at The Royal Court, the group will explore key aspects of writing for theatre, receive 1:1 script development support and create a series of pieces that will be performed by professional actors.

Dates: 1 June - 13 July, 16.30pm - 18.30pm

Final Sharing Date: 19 July, 13.00pm - 17.00pm

Location: Wac Arts, 213 Haverstock Hill, London NW3 4QP 

Theatre Making: the Designer-Director Collaboration is a one-day workshop aimed at early career theatre designers and directors. This workshop uses practical exercises to interrogate the process of making work collaboratively.

As an early career director, you may have graduated from a related directing course and made work in:

• Fringe venues
• Drama schools
• With youth companies around the country

Please note we are only looking for directors as the designer places are now full.

This workshop will take place on Monday 15 June, 10am – 6pm.

Course Overview

This workshop has been developed by long-time collaborators: designer Georgia Lowe and director Anthony Lau. We hope this workshop will be a space for designers and directors to meet and begin new partnerships.

Participants will be asked to read a one act play in advance of the workshop.

There will be optional networking drinks after the workshop from 6pm. There is also an optional breakfast from 9.20am.

This project is free to take part in. We can offer support access support and financial aid for travel bursaries are available to those in the Greater London area.

Are you a playwright based in the UK who would love to work with Middle Child? From next week, for one-week only, we're accepting scripts so that we can get to know writers we may work with in the future.

All of the details, including what we are and are not looking for, and where to send your script, are on our website (link in bio).

Pictured is our 2025 production of Biting Point by Sid Sagar, who participated in our 2020 associate writer programme following an open call out.

In the first week of May, Middle Child will accept submissions of full theatre scripts, for our literary manager to read. All you need to do is send it to scripts@middlechildtheatre.co.uk with your name and a location. Please include page numbers.

We want to read a script that shows off your voice and what you like to write about. We’re interested in untold stories that make sense of the world today. We are also only looking for one script per writer.

This Masters gives you a practical and theoretical engagement with the many forms of writing and production for theatre. Blending practice, theory and history, the programme is designed for those wishing to develop playwriting skills and knowledge of script development and support, opening the way to many theatre roles, including dramaturgy. You will learn about the changing roles of the playwright and dramaturge in contemporary theatre in the UK and elsewhere around the world, and be supported to define your own creative practice while developing valuable transferable skills in research, project management and critical reflection.

WHY THIS PROGRAMME

• In addition to being taught by world-class scholars, you will work with professional writers, dramaturgs and theatre-makers ensuring you engage with a wide variety of practices and that the programme content is relevant and up to date with the latest trends in theatre.
• The programme includes the opportunity for playwrights to develop a major script through workshops and staged readings with professional actors and theatre directors.
• In addition to masterclasses and workshops with external specialists, the work placement option and visiting speaker series build on our long-term links and collaborations with an extensive number of theatre practitioners and arts organisations. These include the National Theatre of Scotland, the Playwrights’ Studio, The Tron Theatre, the Citizens’ Theatre, and A Play, A Pie and A Pint at Òran Mór.
• In recent years the playwriting modules on this programme have been led by acclaimed professional playwrights including Lewis Hetherington and Lynda Radley, and the script workshop by leading director Philip Howard.

In this course, you will develop your skills in writing for radio, theatre and screen with an emphasis on your individual voice and style. 

You will graduate with a portfolio of pieces and an understanding of how to approach theatres and film and TV production companies and work towards securing commissions as a professional playwright or screenwriter.

The MLitt will provide you with technically-oriented tuition by leading contemporary and award-winning playwrights, with an emphasis on best practice in recent and contemporary writing.

At RADA, you learn by doing. You will engage in creatively rigorous and fulfilling vocational training that immerses you in the world of the professional playwright, ensuring you're artistically and practically equipped for the industry. Through continuous reflective practice you will workshop your writing, gain feedback and develop your creative work.

Teaching will be delivered by seminar (lecture and discussion), masterclasses, one-to-one tutorials, group tutorials and writing workshops.

Throughout your training, you will receive personalised feedback and career guidance to develop your expertise, resilience and leadership. The course will also include theatre trips, and prioritise an understanding of access, diversity, and inclusion.

This MA programme will enhance your creative and collaborative abilities while developing your playwriting craft. You will establish your identity as a creative practitioner with the skills and confidence to take an original idea from conception to production.

You will consider the role of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, and the impact they may have on the writing process and creative practice and industries.

Through this course you will write two plays; a one act play for a showcase reading, and the first draft of a full-length play for submission to professional production companies.

Gain practical skills and critical insight in directing, design, performing, playwriting and more. You'll explore plays and productions covering theatre’s many pasts and presents. Discover the connections between theatre practice and its histories, theories, politics and ethics. Analyse scripts and develop performance, workshop, and rehearsal approaches. Hone your craft through ambitious production and research projects.

Thrive in exceptional facilities. We have two fully-equipped theatres, rehearsal rooms, and set design spaces. You’ll join an inspiring collaborative community of students and staff in music, film and television and creative technologies.

Our academics are leading researchers in theatre practice, history and theory. Many have worked as professional writers, actors, directors and designers.

Gain industry connections and prepare for your career. Engage with contemporary performance practice through theatre trips across Yorkshire. Build connections and get career insights through masterclasses with visiting professionals. You’ll have access to careers support from our in-house employability team.