The Incubator is the egg’s idea development programme. Our aim is to deepen the quality of art that is available for young audiences, and to inspire our theatre makers to think about children and their place in our society differently. We hope we do this by giving artists space, time and support to think and conceive.

How does it work?

Funded by Leverhulme, the egg offers three selected artists the support to develop a piece of theatre for a young audience over the course of a year.

There is no set format to the Incubator, as the programme is tailored to meet the requirements of the small cohort of scholars it facilitates each year.

However, there are some things which often reoccur.

An artist’s year starts with the establishing of their lines of enquiry – their ideas, their big ambitions, the nagging questions or pieces of research that they’ve wanted to explore in order to realise their ideas. They receive a bursary, and a budget. And an egg journal with which to begin their doodling.

They become Leverhulme Scholars.

Artists are then often paired with a mentor to help untangle any knots. Sometimes this takes place on a residential retreat. We put them in rooms with other artists, who, based on their own lines of enquiry, are exploring their own, similar fascinations. Sometimes these artists work in theatre. Sometimes they don’t. They could be someone extraordinary in their own particular field. But they are united by integrity of practice, depth of thought and the willingness to do things differently. Together we form a merry band of accredited anarchists. Previous Incubator artists have received mentoring and masterclasses from a range of cross-artform industry leaders, including mentoring from Tony Reekie, Jo Belloli, Jamie Luck and Lee Lyford, masterclasses from Tim Crouch, Kate Cross, Penny Hay and 5x5x5=creativity, Jenny Sealey and Emma Finch, and the chance to take part in conversations with practitioners such as Complicite and Purni Morell. Artists are exposed to high quality work, often in festival settings, and expert-led critical analysis.

What follows next is weeks, months of supported exploration and research. We provide artists with test audiences, match them with partners , read scripts, give them space, the staff, and as many resources as we can to support the development, deepening and realisation of their ideas. Scholars can disappear down rabbit holes, make mistakes, make glorious discoveries. Try and work in a new language. Listen to unheard voices. Engage those who might not be reached. We try to alleviate the pressure of target driven activity. Artists are encouraged to take a step back and view the world (and their own practice) differently. Experience the unexpected.

And at the end of their year, the scholars bring the fruits of their labour to the Incubator showcase, to share their work with an invited audience who might have a hand in whatever happens next. We don’t ask that this work is finished, complete, or perfect. We do ask that this work celebrates artists’ big ideas.  It may be a scratch. It may be a presentation. It may be something entirely different that we haven’t thought of yet.

How to Apply

The Incubator is a curated programme and scholars are appointed yearly. Our appointments for 2018/19 have now been made. If you have any questions regarding the Incubator, future call outs, its Scholars past and present, or how you can watch or book the work that we’re creating, get in touch with Creative Producer Tim Bell – tim.bell@theatreroyal.org.uk

The Incubator Showcase 2019

This year’s Incubator Showcase will take place on 19th and 20th September 2019. For more information please contact Creative Producer Tim Bell – tim.bell@theatreroyal.org.uk