Theatre is a collaborative medium, with each creative – whether they be a playwright, an actor, a director, a designer or another role – playing an integral part in bringing both material and production together. This is particularly true for devised theatre, where many people may be taking on multiple roles, and it may not be obvious who the writer is, or if there is a writer at all.

WGGB is aware that the nature of devising can leave people confused about their rights, which is why we have today (19 August 2024) launched a new guide Devised and collaborative theatre, which covers projects where more than one person is the author, for example in devised work, musicals or opera.

We hope that these guidelines will clarify how to navigate devising processes, how copyright works with multiple authors, and how to design strong collaboration agreements.

The guide covers:

• Who counts as a writer and how rights are enshrined in WGGB’s existing collectively bargained agreements in theatre
• Common writing models in theatre – the single-voice playwright and devised work, plus various ‘models’ within that, plus how to choose a model
• The importance of collaboration agreements
• Copyright, fees, royalties and defining percentage contributions
• Joint authorship and co-authorship
• Common misunderstandings and mistakes
• What to do when a collaboration breaks down

Writer, deviser, director and producer Jenifer Toksvig, a former Chair of the WGGB Theatre Committee who led the development of the guidelines, said:

“I’m very excited about this addition to the Guild’s amazing and comprehensive guidelines. Devised and collaboratively made work is such a huge and magical area of theatre, and these guidelines will support and protect the writers and performers working in a collective space.”