Well, three and a half months after sending off my script of Kath and Kin it has come back with my first official rejection letter.

The Bush Theatre kindly wrote in their stock letter:

Our reader enjoyed Kath and Kin but I’m afraid we can’t see an opening for developing the piece here at the Bush.

The first of many, I’m sure. I’m not disappointed since I’m at the bottom of a steep learning curve. Besides I’m on the third draft of Kath and Kin at the moment and shouldn’t really have sent it to them in the first place.

Each producing theatre has it’s own criteria and although most will receive well over 1000 unsolicited scripts in a year, they will only produce one or two.

Fin Kennedy received rejection letters from all the London producing theatres for his play How to Disappear Completely And Never Be Found, then in 2006 the play won the Art Council’s 38th John Whiting Award for New Writing, the first time an un-produced play had won! Needless to say, it has been produced since.

PS: Just read the play for part of this fortnight’s Nuffield Theatre Writers Group homework. It’s is very clever in its construction and writing. Just the sort of thing I like. (Also, oddly enough, it makes good use of the shipping forecast in it, as does Kath and Kin.) Thanks Pete, for recommending/lending it to me.