The Role of the Dramaturg

What does a dramaturg do?

This is a question that comes up fairly often when working with writers. What exactly does a dramaturg do?

I talked to different dramaturgs/Literary Managers about this question (most contributions were anonymised). They all worked at a senior level in the UK. 

In practice, different people take on different parts of the overall role, and so it feels more fluid than, for example, the role of the director. 

Mary Luckhurst says in her book “Dramaturgy : A Revolution in Theatre”:

“The dramaturg is rarely employed under that title in the UK, but the role is performed—often by literary managers, producers, or directors—under different guises. It requires adaptability, tact, and broad literacy across artistic and institutional languages.”

The role is central to the development of production of a play. However, their contribution still remains “largely invisible”:

“The role is backstage, behind the scenes, and often unacknowledged publicly. Yet their influence can be deeply embedded in the development, structure, and conceptual framing of a production.”(Luckhurst, 2006, p. 394)

How the dramaturg and literary manager roles map onto one another is an interesting question which deserves more study. Bert Cardullo’s book ‘On Dramaturgy’ has an exhaustive list at the start of it of all the tasks a dramaturg does. 

The principal roles of the dramaturg.

Contributor LMD2 describes the role of the dramaturg as follows:

 “As a dramaturg I work with playwrights, directors, performers, musicians (and sometimes designers or dancers) to create and shape new works: being both an inside and an outside ‘eye’ and ‘ear’ for creative storytelling, structure and content. I feed in an extensive knowledge of world theatre and other art forms that may help and enrich the artist's creative development, and give constructive feedback to the artists as the work develops in workshop or rehearsals. Overall my role is to try and help the work created realise its full potential for audiences and the artists involved.” (LMD2).

One contributor gave this overview of the literary manager as dramaturg:

"The principle role of the literary manager is championship of writers and plays within or between organisations (while seeking broader cultural expression of questions that demand to be asked and which have not yet found a voice). The principal role of the dramaturg is to support the writer in going with strength to places they have not been before."  (Contributor LMD1)

I have also worked with directors who have almost fully taken on the role as dramaturg for the play.

A multi-faceted role

Dramaturgs/Literary managers often act as an internal critic for the theatre — not only evaluating scripts under consideration for production, but also engaging with works in active development. A large part of the role involves reading submissions, assessing their potential, and offering constructive notes to writers as their pieces evolve.

Their contribution isn’t always limited to feedback. Sometimes they’re involved much earlier, helping to shape a piece from the outset — and in some cases, especially within continental European models, they may even serve as one of the originating artists on a project. The role can also expand to include contextual research, drawing on historical, cultural, or thematic material that might inform the production.

In rehearsals, the dramaturg may act as a sounding board for the director and writer, offering an outside perspective while staying attuned to the intent of the piece. They might write programme notes or script introductions, helping to frame the work for audiences and collaborators. There’s also a deep textual component: exploring a script’s intertextuality — its allusions, references, and echoes of other works — and asking broader questions about its urgency and relevance.

Beyond the rehearsal room

Beyond the rehearsal room, dramaturgs often contribute to educational outreach and maintain strong ties to academic discourse. Their knowledge of theatre history, structure, and dramatic analysis can act as a bridge between practice and theory — making them a key part of the intellectual life of a theatre, as well as its creative one.

The breadth of the job and the fact that writers encounter various and different aspects of the role, (depending on who they are working with), often leads to confusion about what a dramaturg does.

Working with a European dramaturg and say, a UK Literary Manager, can be quite different experiences for a writer. If you are interested, this post talks more about the differences between UK and European dramaturgy.

Dramaturgy in a British context

Mary Luckhurst emphasises the multi-faceted nature of the role when working in the UK, particularly when compared to more codified systems elsewhere in Europe.

“British dramaturgs have to be flexible, versatile creatures, moving between many roles—literary managers, workshop leaders, directors, advisors, researchers, editors, and sometimes producers. They are expected to support the development of the script and the writer, while also navigating institutional demands and aesthetic expectations.” (Luckhurst, 2006, p. 393)

They also need to operate at the intersection of creativity and pragmatism. 

 “In England, the dramaturg is often asked to balance contradictory pressures—supporting the writer’s vision while simultaneously considering programming needs, company ethos, and audience development goals.”(Luckhurst, p. 394)

Why writers should know about dramaturgy.

I think it's good as a writer to understand the dramaturg's role well. I certainly wish I had had a better understanding on it much earlier. It would have saved everyone a lot of grief, no doubt, especially when I started to work in other countries like France and Germany.

The main reason I think this is important is that knowing more about the work of dramaturgs and literary managers allows us to reverse engineer how they approach play development, improving our writing. 

I am coming at it from the perspective of a writer and would love to hear from Dramaturgs/Literary managers on how they see their role, how they support writers and a productiona, Also - things writers can do to help the process and make the best of this often amazing creative relationship. 

The relationship between the writer and the dramaturg is of central importance and can be an incredible driver of creativity.

“The relationship between writer and dramaturg is usually built on trust, and can offer the writer a uniquely reflective, supportive, and critical dialogue. This dialogue, ideally, enhances the writer’s own voice rather than imposing another.”
(Luckhurst, p. 395)

I look at this relationship in much more detail in this blog post : Script Development in the UK & the role of the Dramaturg.

Thank you for reading.

FOUR GREAT BOOKS ABOUT DRAMATURGY

1986. Ed. Bly, Mark (Ed.) 1986.  Yale Theatre Magazine - Dramaturgy Edition. New Haven. Theater/Yale School of Drama and Duke University Press.

Cardullo, Bert (1995), What is Dramaturgy? New York: P. Lang. (This is hard to find to buy, but a good University Library should have it.) 

Romanska, Magda (editor). (2016), The Routledge Companion to Dramaturgy. London: Routledge. 

And Mary Luckhurst's book : "Dramaturgy: A Revolution in Theatre" (Cambridge Studies in Modern Theatre).