Continuing on from our policy of supporting new writing on Merseyside, Valley Community Theatre are looking for an original short play to take to the Leverhulme Drama festival at the Gladstone Theatre in April of 2024.

From Valley Theatre:

We are inviting writers to submit suitable scripts (one only per writer) by our deadline date of Dec 20th. This would give us time to enter the play (Leverhulme entry date Jan 15th) and to cast and rehearse it.

Valley would provide rehearsal time and space for the chosen play, would cast and direct it and pay for reasonable costs such as the entrance fee for the festival. A dry run of the play would be performed at Valley Community Theatre prior to the festival.

What we’re looking for

The play we are looking for would be between 20 to 50 minutes long to fit in with the Leverhulme festival criteria (closer to 20 than 50 preferably). It needs to have two or more actors, but preferably not too many. It should be new writing that hasn’t been submitted before to any of our own short play festivals over the past few years. We would prefer something that doesn’t have too many scene changes, special effects or complex lighting, set or set changes.

There is no theme for the entry but we’d prefer something fresh rather than something that’s been tucked away in the proverbial desk drawer for ages.

Please remember that we tend to look for plays that suit our style and production capabilities. It’s a question of best-fit rather than a competition for the best. However, we do like something with a bite and reserve the right not to choose if we don’t feel we’ve got the right script.

Having said all that, don’t be afraid to have a go and send us your work!

Email scripts by December 20th to info@valleytheatre.co.uk with a heading “Leverhulme script.”

Thanks, the Valley team