Venues for new plays

The nominees for this Sunday's Olivier Award for Best New Play comprise three plays premiered in the last year at the National, and one at the Royal Court: while it's a particular accomplishment that the National has managed to put itself at the centre of new writing, as well as much else, now (and a pity that the Royal Court, which styles itself as a writers' theatre, above all, should be lagging so far behind), the eternal quest (and question) for new plays remains what opportunities there are to develop them elsewhere.

Mark Shenton on The Stage Newsblog says that, with several prominent new-writing theatres struggling, competitions are becoming an increasingly important source of opportunity for playwrights.