Skip to main content
NSDF Logo NSDF
Donate
What's On
NSDF HUB
What We Do
What We Do
What is NSDF all about?
NSDF HUB NSDF CREATES Access Toolkit How to Enter a Show Our Yearly Festival The Bigger Room Project
Support Us
Support Us
How can you support NSDF's work?
Alumni Supporters Scheme Our Supporters Make a Donation Leave a Legacy
Our Story
Our Story
Find out more about the 65 year old Festival.
Our Mission Our History Our Principles Our People Our Alumni
The Fourth Wall
The Fourth Wall
Read articles from Noises Off, our Festival Magazine, and catch the latest from Team NSDF at Blogs & News
Blogs & News Noises Off
Register
Noises Off Article

Wtf is a dramaturg?

Published on
17th April 2019

You may have asked; Liam Rees is here to answer

Share this article

There’s an urban legend that the reason Britain has Literary Managers rather than Dramaturgs is because it sounded too German and foreign. Is it true? I don’t know. Do I care? Not particularly – it still paints a pretty clear image of the confusion surrounding what this somewhat wanky word means. Especially when it's bandied about in reviews and theatre seminars in which everyone has a different definition.

Well never fear, after a few months working in continental theatre and a Q&A with the Donmar Warehouse’s Literary Manager, Clare Slater, I’m here to enlighten you and settle the argument once and for all.

In British ‘writers' theatre’ Literary Managers read scripts, develop relationships with writers and do a lot of, well, management on a programming level. An inside tip from Clare: the Literary Manager is one of the best people to talk to because they’re not as busy as the Artistic Director and more likely to fit you in for a chat over a cup of tea.

Across the pond, in the land of ‘directors' theatre’ where the concept is king and the text knocked off its pedestal, the Dramaturg has a significantly wider remit. Somewhere between an in-house critic and researcher, a dramaturg focuses on the making-of, working on the production as a live theatrical experience, providing feedback and ensuring the concept and intentions of the writer or director or whoever it may be is as clear as possible. They make the work more like what it’s trying to be. Kind of like an assistant director that doesn’t make tea and coffee. However, depending on the nature of each show their role will probably change. Devised piece? They’re probably giving constant feedback and providing the show with an overall structure. New play? A lot of researching and assisting on redrafts. One-man Hamlet set in a Slovakian toilet? Well I’m not sure where they’d start on that but they’re going to have a lot of work to do in making sure that concept is solid.

And that’s not even touching on their role on an institutional level! A significantly wider remit indeed, some literary managers are also dramaturgs but not all dramaturgs are literary managers. But also some directors and producers are functionally dramaturgs even if that’s not their title. Arts job descriptions are hard...

Sooooo…..after all that... it kind of can mean whatever you want it mean…

 

@noffmag / noff@nsdf.org.uk

Latest from Noises Off

Latest from Noises Off

See all
NSDF 2022

Powerful discomfort

14th May 2022

Nathan Hardie on the confronting NSDF Late show MANIC

Read More
NSDF 2022

To meet us here

15th April 2022

Taiwo Ava Oyebola interrogates the history and heritage of Them

Read More
NSDF 2022

Up down up down

15th April 2022

Zoe Callow gets to grips with the staging of Great Mother - Iya Ayaba

Read More

Sign-up to our newsletter

Sign-up for our newsletter
Follow us
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
Contact Us Frequently Asked Questions Young Person Protection Policy Website Accessibility Privacy Policy
© NSDF Site by Grandad.digital
Sign-up to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date on all our upcoming events, information and news. Read our Privacy Policy to learn more about how we process your data.