this month's
Ink Pellet contains
Top Gs Like Me
Top Gs Like Me is a new play by Samson Hawkins which premieres at Royal and Derngate, Northampton in February 2026. Susan Elkin chats to Anna Simpson about the workshops and CPD sessions they are coordinating with the production. “We are very proud of Samson. He’s a local playwright who has been working dramaturgically with […]
Global Playwright
BIG INTERVIEW Global Playwright Oladipo “Dipo” Agboluaje, 57, is a British/Nigerian playwright best known for Early Morning (2003) and lya-lle (The First Wife) which won the Alfred Fargon Award in 2009. Susan Elkin talked to him. Dipo was born in Hackney, but his family returned to Nigeria when he was nine. “So I did all […]
ROYAL COURT YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS AWARD
The 2026 Young Playwrights Award is now officially nation-wide! Do you have an idea or a story to tell? Can you imagine it performed live, by actors on a stage? It’s time to start your playwriting journey. The Young Playwrights Award is a free, open-access competition for any teenager in the UK interested in writing a play, […]
VOICED: THE FESTIVAL FOR ENDANGERED LANGUAGES
With half of the world’s languages threatened to fall silent by the end of the century comes the first ever UK festival Voiced: The Festival for Endangered Languages, celebrating the power of language and art by highlighting endangered global and local languages through a creative festival. Throughout October, the Barbican, London will be filled with an explosion of voices and […]
NATIONAL THEATRE EXPANDS SCHOOLS PROGRAMME
The National Theatre has announced its autumn programme for schools across the UK, deepening its work with young people to support its continued ambition to reach every child in the UK before they leave school. Over 90% of state secondary schools are already signed up to access the National Theatre Collection to stream world-leading theatre directly […]
The National Plan for Drama and Theatre Education
Following feedback from drama teachers, educators and other interested parties, The National Plan for Drama and Theatre Education document is now completed and you can find a direct link to the pdf here. This is a mammoth achievement and a feat of collaboration. It has been widely circulated including to the DfE Team, whose members are also […]
BROADWAY LICENSING GLOBAL OFFERS UK TEACHERS FREE PERUSALS FOR HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD SECONDARY SCHOOL EDITION
The Critically Acclaimed Show Has Now Been Adapted for UK Secondary Schools (London)—Broadway Licensing Global London, Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions are thrilled to announce that secondary school teachers can now sign up for a free perusal script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Secondary School Edition. BLG London […]
A Final Haunt
After 33 extraordinary years, Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black will haunt the stage of the Fortune Theatre for the final time, as the production ends in the West End on Saturday 4th March 2023. PW Productions announce that after 33 extraordinary years in London’s West End, the theatrical sensation that is Susan Hill’s THE […]
Reaching for the Moon
Susan Elkin paid a visit to Half Moon theatre in London’s East End to chat with CEO Chris Elwell about their extensive education outreach and innovative theatre programmes. Half Moon Theatre sits in the heart of Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, spitting distance from the DLR and mainline station. Formerly a pretty […]
National Youth Theatre Rep Company
The National Youth Theatre’s Rep Company is celebrating its first ten years and Susan Elkin paid a visit to learn more. Each year a group of fifteen or so talented NYT members, aged 18 to 25, are selected by audition to join this company. In just a few months they rehearse three shows, many of […]
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Polka Theatre in Wimbledon presents Levi David Addai’s first play for children – I Have A Dream. The play tells the story of Martin Luther King’s ground-breaking speech through Raheem, a discenchanted 21st century teenager, who ends up meeting King’s daughter Yolanda. Through conversation, the pair reach an understanding of how King changed history, and […]
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The National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain (NCO) is currently touring the UK auditioning aspiring children who want to make the most of its wonderful training and performance opportunities. Once selected, they attend intensive residential courses where they receive first-class training from tutors drawn from major national orchestras and the best specialist music schools around […]
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Catch up with all the latest news on the arts with LESLEY FINLAY'S round-up...
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There is so much going on in 2012 and for us literary types the highlight will be the chance to immerse ourselves in Charles Dickens, to read, to learn and to visit a host of events to mark the bicentenary of the great writer’s birth. LESLEY FINLAY takes a look at the author’s life and times, and introduces some of the events taking place…
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The Polka Theatre commissioned a new work by up-and-coming playwright Levi David Addai. LESLEY FINLAY spoke to him to find out more….
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As if the crunching and rustling of sweet papers is not enough to drive theatregoers wild, there are also the echoes of inappropriate laughter to deal with. It’s enough to drive you wild, says teacher PETER KING…
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Teacher and Ink Pellet reviewer JULIA PIRIE looks on the bright side, and offers you a rather large spoonful of sugar for the new school year…
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There is plenty of action for young film-makers to learn more about their craft. LESLEY FINLAY has a round-up...
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A new website is being launched this month that could help young people to develop film-making skills. LESLEY FINLAY found out more – and discovered even she could do it!
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A new film is set to spark debate about the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. ALISS LANGRIDGE went to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to find out more….