About Act 2

Act One is where characters are introduced, relationships are begun and themes are established. 
Act Two is where the exciting things happen.


Act 2 is new writing company and development platform for emerging playwrights, theatre-makers and, increasingly, other artists using text in their performance such as poets and visual artists. 

We work with writers through 5 core roles:

  1. Written dramaturgical notes and feedback
  2. Regular writers' nights - writer focussed
  3. Rehearsed reading/scratch events - work on its feet focussed
  4. Advocacy, mentorship, education/courses and support
  5. Relationships with producing organisations (both NPO and G4A funded) for writers to get their work on
Notes are currently offered via Nottingham Playhouse, where Gareth, our producer-dramaturg, is an associate artist, and script feedback is available for unsolicited submissions from the East Midlands. We’re very grateful to Nottingham Playhouse for supporting writers in this way.

Our regular writers’ night sessions are Write Club - a fortnightly writers' group at Nottingham Playhouse, which we plan to take to other venues too - and PlayShuffle, a collaboration with In Good Company, which we have run at Derby Theatre and Attenborough Arts Centre, in Leicester.

We have taken scripts from these sessions and produced them as rehearsed readings, helping the piece to develop through a workshop process and via feedback from an audience. We also produce other events where we ask writers to create something specifically for that event. For more on these opportunities see our Origins programme and the Archive for past projects.

We are in the process of developing short courses and other workshop events with local partners so watch this space for more information on all of this! We have also brokered relationships between writers and producers leading to productions (including Daniel Hoffmann-Gill’s Kings) and readings. We also think we're pretty good at advocating on behalf of writers with buildings, organisations and funding bodies so get in touch if you'd like any advice.

Act 2 is coordinated by Gareth Morgan, whose website is available here. Act 2, however, is not just one person. We've worked with some brilliant people already, see our Archive for details, but we're still interested in hearing from you whether you're a writer, director, performer, company or just interested in what we do.

To get in touch please go to the Contact page.