The Show

This screen outlines details of the television series The Play’s The Thing which has filmed every step of the process from first day of rehearsals to set building to the opening night in this unique Channel 4 search for a new British playwright.

The competition has attracted submissions from more than 2,000 previously un-produced writers. The panel of judges - three top theatre professionals, West End producer Sonia Friedman, Literary Agent Mel Kenyon and Actor Neil Pearson – have whittled down submissions to one winning play, which is being produced by Friedman at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London. The Channel 4 Television series is now being repeated on More 4.

See More 4 TV Listings for repeated transmission times.

The first three episodes followed the process as the 2,000 become 30, then 10, and then 3, and the writers discover how difficult it is to produce a play – let alone a new play by an unknown writer – for the demanding audience in the West End. With the help of the panel, a masterclass from playwright Stephen Jeffreys and other theatre professionals, their ideas are developed and one of them sees their play staged in the West End by Sonia Friedman. The fourth and final episode of the series follows the final play in its run-up to the world premiere, with transmission scheduled to coincide with the play’s opening night.

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