Write Now One Act Play Festival 2012

Friday 30th March to Saturday 7th April
The Actors’ Studio, 36 Seel Street, Liverpool, L1 4B

Liverpool’s Write Now One Act Play Festival was an idea which had been slowly reaching germination for more than five years and is back for its second year.

Mention of Edinburgh, Brighton, Buxton even Manchester’s 24:7 are fairly frequent within playwright circles yet it seemed unusual for a city which gave the world Willy Russell, Jimmy McGovern and more had limited occasion for new writing to be aired outside of the Everyman Playhouse Everyword Festival.

Thus 2010 saw the inaugural Write Now Festival, eight days of eight one-act plays at Liverpool Actors’ Studio on Seel Street in the city-centre and Write Now 2012 promises more of the same and more!

As well as ten world premiere plays, Write Now 2012, has exciting new events including MonologueJAM, a chance to showcase new acting talent in front of industry professionals and EndGame, set in a dystopian apocalyptic world where each character only has 5 minutes left on earth.

Write Now also has a fantastic writing forum event supported by North West Playwrights which is free of charge.

Write Now 2012:

“2011 was a huge success” admits Festival Director Ian Moore, “and Easter 2012 will see the Write Now Festival, another ten new one-act plays, all hoping to build upon the astonishing achievement of last year.

“We’ve got something for everyone with comedy, drama, farce and shocking psychological theatre in a great season of new writing.”

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.

“We were more than pleasantly surprised by this year’s submissions. Twenty of them we could have easily taken forward to the festival – the standard was just that high!”

But it wasn’t just the standard that came as a surprise to Ian and the judging panel

“With the media painting such a doom and gloom image at the moment, with job losses and government cuts, you may think that this negativity would be reflected in the plays – but not so! We were overwhelmed by how positive the plays were, even when dealing with the big issues.”

The Plays and Playwrights:

Liverpool playwrights are well represented in Write Now 2012 with three pieces involved this year. ‘Grease Monkeys’, by Liverpool playwright James Antonio, makes its debut on the stage in a tale of wheels, deals and dreams.

‘In the Beginning’ by John Mc is a wry look at the way the world was born and what role the ‘creatrix’ had to play in this endeavour.

Huyton-born Stephanie Blakeborough’s unconventional rom-com, ‘Swim’, promises to delight, as it weaves a tale of two mis-matched couples surviving in a room all of their own. Liverpoolcentric but not Liverpool exclusive seems to be the overwhelming feel of this festival, with submissions coming from as far away as Brighton.

The aim of Write Now is to create a lasting impression and support network for new theatre talent across the North West - and the legacy of the festival is already starting to show.

Following the success of Excess Baggage in Write Now 2011 and its tour to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011, David Griffiths returns with a new production also set in Liverpool. ‘Saving Grace’ is his modern comedy set in a world where a group of friends uncover the realities of living their lives ‘online’.

Other productions also include ‘The Match’ by Marianne Lloyd, ‘Sunday Afternoon Again’ by Michael Yates, a published writer whose play ‘The Bronte Boy’ recently completed a successful tour of the North-East with ‘Encore’ Theatre Group, winning ‘Best Actor’ on its journey and Warrington-based Natalie Hickman’s comedy ‘Alice’, returning to our stage once again with her new production.

Patrons:

The Festival is again supported by actress Pauline Daniels, BBC correspondent Roger Phillips and Liverpool Echo Editor Alastair Machray with new patron Dean Sullivan joining the growing band of supporters.

Dean admits, "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."

Further details about how to get involved is available at:- www.writenowfestival.co.uk
Further information call Ian Moore on 0151 260 3000 or 07752 522279

Timetable:

Friday 30 March
18:30 – 19:30 In the Beginning by John Mac
20:00 – 21:00 Catfish Therapy by Ian Moore
21:30 – 22:30 The Match by Marianne Lloyd

Saturday 31 March
14:00 – 15:30 In Conversation with … Pauline Daniels
17:00 – 18:00 Alice by Natalie Hickman
18:30 – 19:30 Man In A Room by Kevin Heritage
20:00 – 21:00 Sunday Afternoon Again by Michael Yates
21:30 – 22:30 Grease Monkey’s by James Antonio

Sunday 01 April
16:30 – 18:00 Script-in-Hand Reading (in association with Liverpool Playwrights)
18:30 – 19:30 Swim by Stephanie Blakeborough
20:00 – 21:00 Saving Grace by Dave Griffiths
21:30 – 22:30 An Unquiet Mind by David Pattison

Monday 02 April
18:30 – 19:30 The Match by Marianne Lloyd
20:00 – 21:00 In the Beginning by John Mac
21:30 – 22:30 Catfish Therapy by Ian Moore
22:00 – late MonologueJAM @ Parr Street Studios

Tuesday 03 April
18:30 – 19:30 Sunday Afternoon Again by Michael Yates
20:00 – 21:00 Man In A Room by Kevin Heritage
21:30 – 22:30 Alice by Natalie Hickman

Wednesday 04 April
18:30 – 19:30 Grease Monkey’s by James Antonio
20:00 – 21:00 Swim by Stephanie Blakeborough
21:30 – 22:30 Saving Grace by Dave Griffiths

Thursday 05 April
18:30 – 19:30 An Unquiet Mind by David Pattison
20:00 – 21:00 The Match by Marianne Lloyd
21:30 – 22:30 Man In A Room by Kevin Heritage

Friday 06 April
17:00 – 18:00 In the Beginning by John Mac
18:30 – 19:30 Catfish Therapy by Ian Moore
20:00 – 21:00 Alice by Natalie Hickman
21:30 – 22:30 Sunday Afternoon Again by Michael Yates

Saturday 07 April
13:30 – 16:00 North West Playwrights New Writing Workshop
17:00 – 18:00 An Unquiet Mind by David Pattison
18:30 – 19:30 Saving Grace by Dave Griffiths
20:00 – 21:00 Grease Monkey’s by James Antonio
21:30 – 22:30 Swim by Stephanie Blakeborough

Tickets
All Productions & In Conversation with … £8 / £6 Concessions
The EndGame & North West Playwrights £5 / No Concessions
MonologueJAM £5 / No Concessions (Note £10 fee to participate £5 refund after performance)

Tel 0151 0151 709 3789
Please note a surcharge of £1 per ticket is placed on all debit/credit card bookings

Listed below is a breakdown of productions in the 2012 Festival:

ALICE
WRITTEN BY Natalie Hickman DIRECTED BY Russell Tennant
It’s not easy being Alice and sometimes she is her own worst enemy. She knows what she doesn’t want, if only she had a map and a compass to point her in the right direction. A surreal comedy that will make you see things from a different perspective.

AN UNQUIET MIND
WRITTEN BY David Pattison DIRECTED BY Bernie Merrick
Broken home. Children’s home. Abuse. Army. Falklands. Discharge. Homeless. Need a friend. Find a friend. Tell everything. Move forward? Maybe.

CATFISH THERAPY
WRITTEN and DIRECTED BY Ian Moore
What is identity? How do you quantify who you are to others? Would you be prepared to reveal all? And what would you do to protect your identity if someone threatened to “spill your beans”
Catfish Therapy, a new play by award winning playwright Ian Moore, is an exploration of identity, what it is and to what lengths some would go to protect themselves.

GREASE MONKEY'S
WRITTEN BY James Antonio DIRECTED BY Jez Mort
They dream of tearing up Route 66 striking fear into the unsuspecting citizens along America’s ‘mother road’ soaked in grease and adventure, commanding the respect of outlaw bikers from Chicago to California: but they wake to ramshackle Norton’s and the monotony of unemployment in Merseyside. Dispossessed but determined The Grease Monkeys attempt to hold their raggedy brotherhood together as their youthful aspirations fade into middle aged resignation.

IN THE BEGINNING
WRITTEN BY John Mc DIRECTED BY Rebecca Cope
When the Grand Architect designs a new creature to walk on two legs the Divine Creatrix has to interpret the bizarre drawings and manufacture it. Too late, he realises his fundamental error. However, when it comes to the second model, the Divine Creatrix has a few improvements in mind.

MAN IN A ROOM
WRITTEN BY Kev Heritage DIRECTED BY Chase Johnston-Lynch
After an amiable yet disconcerting middle-aged man, caught red-handed in a secret British germ warfare facility, is brought in for questioning by Her Majesty’s government’s most professional interrogator, Agent Stevens, things should have been relatively straightforward. But in this interrogation, nothing could have been further from the truth...

SAVING GRACE
WRITTEN BY David Griffiths DIRECTED BY Peter Mitchelson
Grace is missing, snared by some internet weirdo. Cancelling the planned Hen Night, it’s up to the girls to use every social networking tool available to save her. After all, on MySpace no one can hear you scream. New comedy from the writer of last year’s sell-out success, Excess Baggage.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON AGAIN
WRITTEN BY Michael Yates DIRECTED BY Martha Simon
The war is over! It’s Coronation Year! But what can you do when your mam and dad fight all the time? And what can you do when a wicked witch lives next door? Little Lenny has a lot of growing up to do in this sad and funny drama.

SWIM
WRITTEN BY Stephanie Blakeborough DIRECTED BY Michelle Taylor
A mismatched group of friends spend a weekend in a holiday cottage. They bicker, drink and plan days out to farm shops. But why are objects mysteriously disappearing? Does bumbling Alan really stand a chance with ice queen Simone? Can Carole and Dave save their marriage? And will it ever stop raining?

THE MATCH
WRITTEN BY Mari Lloyd DIRECTED BY Liz Stevenson
Set against the backdrop of the Merseyside derby; a story about love, loyalty and acceptance, about coping with debilitating illness and keeping your sense of humour, about living with ghosts from the past but maintaining an incurable optimism for the future.
That’s life. That’s football