Rose Theatre Kingston today announces a week-long New Writing Festival to take place from 9–13 September. The festival will feature rehearsed readings of three new plays selected following an open submission, which will be developed and directed by the inaugural Peter Hall Emerging Artists Fellow Fay Lomas. Lomas later this season will be directing Suzy Gill’s Out of the Dark at Rose Theatre Kingston. The festival will also feature arts engagement workshops for young people focused on new writing.
Early career writers are invited to submit a full-length play to be performed by a cast of up to five actors. Lomas will shortlist ten scripts, with each shortlisted writer receiving a personalised feedback session. Three plays will then be chosen, developed, and performed by professional actors as rehearsed readings for a public audience. Following each play, a debrief session will consider future development for the piece.
As part of the festival, the Rose is running Introduction to Playwrighting workshops for young people, designed both to spark ideas for characters and themes for a play, and to provide certain tools around story, plot and dialogue. Through these workshops, the Rose seeks to encourage and empower young people from a wide variety of backgrounds to tell their own stories, and to think about playwriting as a medium for expression.
Fay Lomas today said “New writing really is the lifeblood of theatre, and its future —and so it’s both exciting and important to nurture and promote the fresh voices of emerging playwrights with the New Writing Festival. I am excited to read through all the applications and very much looking forward to welcoming applicants to the Rose this autumn.”
To submit a play for consideration, early career writers should send their script to [email protected] by 10am on Monday 19 August; the window for submission is open from 4pm today, Friday 9 August. Please include your contact details, including a phone number. Only one script can be submitted per person. The play must not have been professionally performed or be currently programmed at another theatre. The running time of the play should be no longer than 90 minutes, and should be suitable for performance by up to five performers.
This festival is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.