Yorkshire playwrights are being offered the career-boosting opportunity to become the next Kay Mellor Fellow. This ground-breaking investment in new writing was created by Leeds Playhouse and Rollem Productions, the award-winning Leeds writer’s TV and film production company, in 2019, when it was awarded to the inaugural fellow, Bradford writer Kat Rose-Martin. It is now continuing in memory of Kay Mellor, who died in May last year, with key additional investment from the BBC and Leeds City Council.
Writers based in Yorkshire are being invited to apply for a paid, year-long fellowship, with one available each year over three years, which will give them the exciting opportunity to work with leading stage and screen creatives from Leeds Playhouse, Rollem Productions and BBC Writersroom, developing their writing, enhancing their skills and building a firm foundation for future success. The applications window will open in July 2023.
In addition to the Fellowship, Leeds Playhouse is also launching The Kay Mellor Fund, which will raise money to nurture local writers – something that was always very close to Kay’s heart – through its industry-leading Furnace Artist Development programme. This fund will support locally rooted emerging writers through bespoke investment, mentoring and training opportunities.
As part of the inaugural Fellowship, Kat Rose-Martin developed her play, Cheap as Chips which has since been fully commissioned by Leeds Playhouse with support from the Writers’ Guild New Play Commission Scheme. In 2020, she was part of BBC Writersroom Voices writer development programme and, in 2021, was selected for Sky Comedy Rep, a writers’ scheme with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Sky.
Three new Fellows will be chosen over the next three years. Each will receive a bursary and spend 12 months on attachment with Leeds Playhouse and Rollem Productions to develop their own script and TV pitch, as well as receiving a place on the BBC Writersroom Voices writer development programme.
Find out more on the Leeds Playhouse website
