Elisabeth Murdoch and Jane Featherstone’s Chernobyl producer Sister has partnered with the Royal Court Theatre to seek the next generation of TV and theater scribes.
The three-year partnership “acknowledges the interconnectedness of UK TV and theater,” said Sister, and has been “formed to discover, nurture and commission exciting new and emerging voices.”
A series of writers’ workshops to generate new plays will take place, developed and produced at the Royal Court with the support of Sister, the prolific transatlantic drama producer that has also made This is Going to Hurt, Landscapers and Giri/Haji.
The first play to emerge is Baghdaddy by Jasmine Naziha Jones, which will launch today, several weeks before the second play – Ava Wong Davies’ Graceland.
“We are incredibly fortunate in the UK television and film industry to be able to turn to theatre as a rich source of brilliant writing talent,” said Featherstone. “This partnership with the Royal Court is born out of shared creative values and the desire to make a genuine commitment to support the best new writing theatre talent there is.”
The move is not Sister’s first foray outside the TV sector, having taken a 40% stake in iconic London theater and live music venue Koko late last year.