Channel 4 seeks next West End hit

The show takes its title from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

A new Channel 4 reality show in the style of Operatunity and Musicality will seek out plays by new British playwrights.

The winner of The Play's The Thing will see his or her work staged in London's West End in spring 2006.

West End producer Sonia Friedman is to head a panel of theatre experts who will whittle submissions down to a shortlist of three.

Friedman said she was "excited by the prospect" of finding an untried work.

"Theatre critics constantly bemoan the fact that there are not enough new plays in the West End," she continued.

"The reason why is obvious: the financial risks are too high and the pressure to succeed is to intense."

Ms Friedman, whose current productions include Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Woman in White, said she was keen to see "if it is possible for the play to enjoy critical and financial success".

New writers are invited to submit a play synopsis, examples of dialogue and descriptions of its characters.

At this stage, however, full-length plays will not be considered.

2003's Operatunity saw two amateur singers perform with the English National opera at the London Coliseum.

The five winners of 2004's Musicality show appeared in a special one-off performance of the West End musical Chicago.