An Open Letter to the Culture Secretary from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse Theatre Artistic Directors and cultural leaders on the importance of protecting representation in the sector

28 May 2020 | Uncategorized

The Rt Hon Olivier Dowden CBE Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 100 Parliament Street London SW1 2BQ Dear Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Culture, Throughout the last decade, British theatre has led the world with regard to the Black, Asian and ethnic diversity on our stages. Many of those actors…

10 Minute Masterclass | What’s the difference between theme and story?

27 May 2020 | Uncategorized

Since closing our doors, the Bush team has continued working hard to bring exciting new voices to the UK stage. As part of this work, we are producing a series of 10 Minute Masterclasses to support anyone who is interested in writing and plays. In our latest 10 Minute Masterclass, Bush Artistic Director, Lynette Linton, guides…

10 Minute Masterclass | How to write a character with their own autonomy

13 May 2020 | Playwriting

Since closing our doors, the Bush team has continued working hard to bring exciting new voices to the UK stage. As part of this work, we are producing a series of 10 Minute Masterclasses to support anyone who is interested in writing and plays. In our latest 10 Minute Masterclass, Bush Associate Director, Daniel Bailey,…

10 Minute Masterclass | Use your favourite show songs to improve your writing skills

29 Apr 2020 | Playwriting

Since closing our doors, the Bush team has continued working hard to bring exciting new voices to the UK stage. As part of this work, we are producing a series of 10 Minute Masterclasses to support anyone who is interested in writing and plays. In our first 10 Minute Masterclass Bush Literary Manager, Deirdre O’Halloran,…

Treading Water by Ava Wong Davies

15 Apr 2020 | Lunchtime Reads

Ava Wong Davies opens up about her personal experiences and struggle to meet the expectations associated with being a writer. I worry that I have a small imagination. I worry that I don’t get ideas. I talk to the other writers on EWG and it seems like they have notebooks stuffed with pages full of…

Ambreen Razia: ‘Show the West the pain they’ve caused…the colonial trauma inflicted on your ancestors’

06 Apr 2020 | Lunchtime Reads

Monday – ‘I hid his firearms’ she said through her chestnut eyes, her finger tips lightly touching one another, blonde highlights through her Pakistani hair, each strand telling me who she used to be. ‘This country’s failed me’, her words bouncing off her majesty’s walls, I sit opposite her with my name, she sits opposite…

the lonely creative. by Robyn London

31 Mar 2020 | Lunchtime Reads

I have spent my life immersed in creativity.  As a guide, passion or perhaps what others may interpret as an unrealistic dream.  It is embedded within my earliest memories. It has nurtured my soul. There is beauty in the moments of creativity that healed parts of me, that I didn’t realise were broken. Memories of…

Our doors are closed for now, but our work continues

19 Mar 2020 | The Bigger Picture

Women in Tech: An Interview with Technical Manager Amy Clarey

08 Mar 2020 | Our People

LGBT+ History Month: A Spotlight on Bloom Theatre

25 Feb 2020 | The Bigger Picture

Work Experience Diary: Yeunjin

21 Feb 2020 | Our People

Work Experience at the Bush theatre – Yeunjin Kim To describe the work experience at the Bush theatre, I need all the splendid words that I know in English. I had my work experience for one week and it changed me a lot. As an international student in London, it wasn’t easy to find out…

Bush Staff Recommends: LGBT+ Books

12 Feb 2020 | The Bigger Picture

There must be magic in the atmosphere By Benedict Lombe

17 Jan 2020 | Our People

Benedict Lombe from our Emerging Writers Group writes about diasporic experience. It’s 3am. I’m sitting in my room wolfing down a pack of Doritos and thinking about the night I just had. I’m also thinking – quite intensely – about who decided we needed more than one flavour of Doritos? Bro, you hit the jackpot…

Rachael Merry: The BSL access is ‘rooted in the telling of the story’

10 Jan 2020 | Our Plays

Lauren Clancy: “What can our next government do for the arts?”

10 Dec 2019 | Our People, The Bigger Picture

Bijan Sheibani: Drama is a means of finding our truer selves

18 Nov 2019 | Our People, Our Plays

Essential facts about Bijan Sheibani

11 Nov 2019 | Our Plays

Five things you need to know about Trish Cooke

07 Nov 2019 | Our People

Black History Month: A Conversation with Ryan Calais Cameron

29 Oct 2019 | The Bigger Picture

Black History Month: Artist Inspirations

18 Oct 2019 | Our People

Continuing our Black History Month celebrations we asked some of the wonderful artists that we work with to tell us about the Black artists that inspire their work.  Casey Bailey: Poet, Rapper, Educator Gil Scott-Heron has massively inspired my work as a poet, theatre maker and writer in general. There is a quote of his…

Black History Month: A spotlight on Bush Theatre Staff

04 Oct 2019 | Our People

As part of our Black History Month celebrations, we asked some of the Bush team how they got into theatre. At the Bush Theatre we pride ourselves on working with so many talented black artists and theatre makers, but the roles in theatre go beyond acting, writing and directing. We wanted to celebrate a few…

“I have thought about it every day since”: Our Young Writers review Chiaroscuro

27 Sep 2019 | Our People, Our Plays

We invited our Young Writers 2019 cohort to review Chiaroscuro, our latest production celebrating queer women of colour across generations.  Our young writers are aged 14-17 and meet weekly to build on their writing skills, with the opportunity to write and stage a play in our Studio space. Here’s what they thought: Honor I can honestly say…

Work Experience Diary | Annie: “This is exactly the place to be to feel supported for new ideas and work”

22 Aug 2019 | Our People

Our work experience student Annie reflects on her week with us. Some could say I was thrown into the deep end when I was given my desk to borrow for the week. I can assure you that I definitely wasn’t but still, sitting in the Bush’s Artistic Director’s desk space felt somewhat daunting. As Lynette…

Lynette Linton: “These stories aren’t new. Women of colour have been here all along.”

09 Aug 2019 | Our People, Our Plays

Work Experience Diary: Emily

08 Aug 2019 | Our People

Our work experience student Emily reflects on her week with us My week at Bush Theatre has been such an incredible eye opener and it has completely re-awoken my passion for theatre. Coming to Bush, I had initially decided on an unrelated university degree despite my passion for the arts; However, after a mere two…

Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide

07 Aug 2019 | The Bigger Picture

Cast announced for Chiaroscuro by Jackie Kay

18 Jul 2019 | Our Plays

Work Experience Diary| Hana: “I’m incredibly lucky to have had an insight into this world”

05 Jul 2019 | Our People

Our work experience student Hana tells us about her time at the Bush Theatre. It sounds a little cliché, but I can honestly say I’ve had a wonderful week of work experience at the Bush Theatre. Obviously when we think of theatre we tend to focus on what happens on stage, in front of an…

New Voices – Bold Visions

17 Jun 2019 | Our Plays

Work Experience Diary | Regine “it was truly a special opportunity”

14 Jun 2019 | Our People

Our work experience student Regine tells us about her time at the Bush Theatre. I was slightly apprehensive when I first arrived at the Bush, as I have very little experience with such things. However, everyone was very welcoming and friendly, so my worries dissipated quickly. Holly showed me around and introduced me to everyone,…