Roy Williams OBE, one of the most sought-after playwrights of his generation, has joined the Royal Welsh College as its Writer in Residence.
Roy’s role will include writing one of the four plays in RWCMD’s ground-breaking NEW writing season, mentoring and teaching playwriting as part of the acting course’s acclaimed solo written projects, and contributing to the department’s regular Creative Forum discussions about repertoire and programming, as well as to the general cultural life of the College.
Roy came to the College last week to meet the students and start to get to know them, especially the final year students and postgrads he’ll be working with to create his new play, to be performed in the summer term.
From January he’ll be working with the College’s inhouse Richard Burton Company on the production of his playDays of Significance, his response to Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, examining the morality of sending troops into war, to be performed at the College in the Spring.
‘Roy is one of the country’s most celebrated and important writers.’ said Jonathan Munby, RWCMD Director of Drama Performance.
‘I can’t wait for him to join us at the College and for the students to benefit from his insight, generosity and brilliance as an artist and activist. His role is a vital element of our commitment to give each student a world-class training that is rigorous, relevant and responsible.We are focused on diversifying our repertoire, exploring new work and training our actors as creatives ready to work in a ever-evolving and challenging industry.’
‘It’s an honour and a thrill to be the Royal Welsh College’s Writer in Residence,’ said Roy. ‘I’m really looking forward to working with the staff and of course, the students.’
Roy follows in the footsteps of Chinonyerem Odimba who was the College’s inaugural Writer in Residence, working with the students and writing The Toll as part of the NEW21 season.
