WRITE NOW Festival 2011
Having experienced a thrilling and successful precursor, Liverpool’s Write Now One Act Play Festival takes to the stage once more. April 2011 welcomes the event as it sees it’s second year flourishing with a high quality of home grown talent. Inspired by a city buzzing with creative vitality, it is a mere hotbed for new and innovative playwrights. Write Now aims to assist in the development of local writing, directing, technical and performing talent, building an inspirational event for an audience from far and wide.
It seems only right that Liverpool be placed upon the theatrical map since it gave birth to the likes of Willy Russell and Jimmy McGovern. However not all of the writers are from Liverpool, this year the talent has come from Devonshire and Jersey as well as from the city itself.
The Festival presents eight world premiere plays selected carefully by a panel of industry experts, however Festival Director Ian Moore admits "With so many submissions at an even higher standard than last year judging which plays were put through to performance was no easy feat. There was some fierce competition for the eight spots up for grabs."
The magnificent eight plays cover a wide genre spectrum.
"We’ve got something for everyone with comedy, drama, farce, historical pieces and something for the kids in a great season of new writing" says Ian.
Craig Brennan explores the contrasts of events on the cop at Anfield and the Boer War event in The Place Where We Stand, Spion Kop. David P Griffiths presents a farcical comedy set in John Lennon’s Airport where two newly weds are asked to look after an old man’s suitcase with comic results. While Stephanie Blakeborough’s unconventional romantic comedy promises to delight. Other productions also include Mrs Bojangles, the story of a retired showgirl who takes the role of matchmaker; Rocker of Ages, a fly on the wall account of a renewed relationship between grandfather and grandchild; It Works For Us by Dick Curran and Natalie Hickman’s comedy Monkey Nuts.
Write Now 2011 nevertheless promises much more than just a showcase of theatre talent. This year, with the aid of The Liverpool Everyman Playhouse Literacy Department, a fantastic writing forum event free of charge, will hope to attract and involve the city’s budding writers of tomorrow. Alongside this, Monologue Slam, an event whereby performers improvise in front of industry professionals and the Ten Tall Tower Tales event (or the four T’s for short) a rehearsed reading of ten stories from a ten storey building, one on each floor, five minutes in length and written by Merseyside based writers, shall create a more interactive and fun felt environment.
There is also a growing band of professionals adding their voice to the festival including Actress Pauline Daniels, BBC correspondent Roger Phillips, Liverpool Echo Editor Alistair Machray and the newly recruited Dean Sullivan, all acting as patrons to support this great cause.
Dean says that "New writing is the lifeblood of the industry. It’s great that writers will get the chance to showcase their work as there are fewer and fewer opportunities to take risks and discover fresh talent."
Running from Friday 15th April to Saturday 23rd April 2011 at The Actor’s Studio, Seel Street…it would be great if we could support this phenomenal venture within our very own city.
It is certainly not a festival to be missed.
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