Support Us

PlayMakers Fund

Support Box of Tricks as we embark on the next chapter of our journey. Celebrating 18+ years of making new plays, we’ve launched ambitious plans to nurture and champion Northern talent, revitalising our mission to offer a wide-ranging, responsive programme that empowers and centres playwrights at the heart of everything we do.

Our PlayMakers Network is a creative home for Northern playwrights and theatremakers to connect, create and collaborate; a blueprint for a brighter creative future that radically reimagines our professional development offer, building on past successes and driving positive change into the future.

Now with 700+ members, PlayMakers was launched in 2020 and continues to grow and evolve, offering various touchpoints and opportunities for Northern writers:

- Pen Pals pairs writers to develop a new play through peer feedback, dramaturgy and scratch events;
- PlayBox offers 4 early-career North West playwrights a year-long residency to write a new play culminating in a reading at HOME Manchester;
- New Tricks commissions and develops new plays - with work-in-progress sharings – for future seasons in partnership with leading venues;
- Screen/Play Award in partnership with Sky Studios unearths underrepresented Northern writers and forges pathways for stage and screen;
- Associate Playwrights interrogate their craft and the role of playwrights within the industry;
- Free digital Masterclasses on writing for performance;
- Online Creative Surgeries open the door to freelance writers seeking support and advice.

And that’s just the beginning of our drive to forge a brighter creative future. But we can’t do it alone. All activities and events for PlayMakers are free/PWYD and open to everyone. That simply wouldn't be possible without the generous support of those who have already donated to the PlayMakers Fund since July 2020.

Play your part from just £3 a month. A donation today will spark creative fires and champion the voices of tomorrow; so please consider making a regular donation and help us spread the word. We know that times are hard and that demand for money is high, but every donation – however large or small – goes directly to supporting new voices and the lifeblood of new plays.


As a registered charity, we can Gift Aid donations so that every £1 you give can raise an additional 25p.

Registered Charity No: 1146483 | Company Limited by Guarantee No: 7593599