“We are nothing, we have nothing, without stories in the theatre, so we hope that out of this
initiative will come some contemporary South African stories that reflect our global society
and people today,”
Julie-Anne McDowell | Founder How Now Brown Cow.
The Writers’ Collective
The Writers’ Collective Encourages a new generation of South African stories for the stage from established and emerging South African playwrights.
Launched in 2020 during the Covid Pandemic, The Writers’ Collective commissioned 12 first draft scripts from which several have been nurtured to second and final draft stages. Renowned dramaturgs and theatre makers William Nicolson, Greg Homann and Paul-Warrick Griffin provided mentorship for our initial group of 12 writers.
From Page To Stage …
A Marry Little Christmas, written by Greg Homann in the first cohort, enjoyed a 4 week festive run at The Market Theatre in December 2023. It was nominated for 2 Naledi Theatre Awards; Best New South African Script and Best Supporting Actress Award.
Multi Award-winning Expelled, written by Rosalind Butler, was commissioned and then developed under the mentorship of Greg Homann in our second cohort. In February and March 2024, it played to critical acclaim at The Baxter Theatre in Cape Town and in conjunction with The Market Theatre in Johannesburg earning 7 Naledi Theatre Award nominations. It won 2 :
Best New South African Script – Rosalind Butler
Best Female Lead Performance in a Play – Charmaine Weir-Smith
“The Writers’ Collective gave me support, a deadline and a community with which to share my work.” Says Rosalind. “The more I write, the more I realise that process is everything. Script development is rare in South Africa and How Now Brown Cow’s vision and support have been invaluable to this process”.
