The Playwright's Journey

A clear, supportive and comprehensive guide to writing a play – based on the author's long-running playwriting masterclasses, as taught at the UK's National Theatre.

This book leads you through everything you need to know, including:

• The theatrical tools and techniques you can use to bring your play to life on the stage (and how these differ from writing for film and TV)
• Discovering and trusting your writing process, with a range of approaches for developing your initial idea into a completed script
• Understanding your characters, including their goals and central conflicts, and using emotional logic to connect them to your story
• Finding the dramatic structure and theatrical setting that best suits your play
• The key elements of constructing a great scene, including how to invoke tension, deepen characterisation and create effective transitions
• Writing engaging, active dialogue by finding each character's voice, balancing exposition with subtext, and rooting what a character says in their specific context

Throughout, you'll find examples from classical and modern plays, plus insights from other contemporary playwrights into their own writing journeys. Each chapter provides a set of exercises to help you practise what you've learnt.

There's also advice on what to do once you've finished your script – including redrafting, receiving feedback and taking notes – and how to navigate your play's progress towards production.

Whether you're an emerging playwright or embarking on your first-ever play, The Playwright's Journey will help you develop your creativity, strengthen your connection to your material, and transform your idea into a fully formed play that feels alive on the page – and the stage.

'A very, very smart book which left me nodding in sage agreement with every chapter... [Lays] bare the most complex, convoluted ideas with exquisite lucidity, wit and empathy... A substantial and rare aesthetic achievement which every aspiring playwright, producer and director should read and respect' Joe Penhall

'Kind, good, sane and useable advice, brilliantly written' Blanche McIntyre

Blog Post: 'Write with your heart as well as your head': Jemma Kennedy on getting started as a playwright. Read more on our blog>>