English Play Development under Neoliberalism, 2000–2022

This Element describes the exploration of neoliberalism's claim on the culture of English play development.

This Element is the first study of the institutionalising of English play development practices in the twenty-first century. It identifies how support for playwrights and text increased during the 1990s and 2000s, and draws attention to a liberatory horizon for play development. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.English Play Development under Neoliberalism, 2000–2022 is the first study of the institutionalising of English play development practices in the twenty-first century. It identifies the ways in which support for playwrights and text development increased beneficially during the 1990s and 2000s. It assesses bureaucratic institutional dynamics in key English producing houses as they were surveyed by two reports in 2009, and how these were experienced and transformed in the 2010s. The Element identifies in new play development innovations in the commodification and marketisation of new writing, the bureaucratisation of literary management, the structuring and restructuring of dramaturgy according to Fordist, then post-Fordist, conditions, and the necessity for commissioned artists to operate as neoliberal subjects. It concludes with attention to a liberatory horizon for play development in the English context. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.