The Power Plays Playwriting Competition goes live at Blackpool’s The Old Electric this May

The Playwriting Competition is part of The Old Electric’s innovative POWER PLAYS Festival, which supports new writing for the stage and is running until July from Blackpool’s newest theatre.

This thrilling new literary competition officially launches on Friday 17 May and is inviting writers to submit original scripts that showcase themes which have resonance to Blackpool, while also exploring positive new perspectives on the region.

A judging panel of illustrious theatre creatives comprising The Old Electric Artistic Director Melanie Whitehead; celebrated playwright Nick Wood (Warrior Square, A Girl With A Book); renowned literary manager, critic and dramaturg Dr Frank Peschier; award-winning writer Iskandar Sharazuddin and POWER PLAYS Festival Writer in Residence Martha Pailing, will read the scripts and choose the winning writer and up to four runners up.

The lucky winning writer will then see their work being workshopped and cast before coming to life in a fully rehearsed production which will be performed to public audiences and invited industry professionals on Saturday 27 July 2024. The Old Electric will subsequently work with the writer of the winning play alongside producers, funders and venues to support production touring aspirations for 2025.

The runner up plays will be workshopped to a seated/scratch/script-in-hand read through, which will be open to public audiences and invited industry professionals in July with dates to be confirmed. Selected scriptwriters will also be offered the amazing opportunity for one-to-one mentoring by industry professionals.

• All submitted plays should be original pieces that have not previously been performed and must be thematically linked to Blackpool and actively connect with the current experience of living in, growing up in, or regularly visiting Blackpool.
• Each literary work needs to be between 45-75 minutes in length and suitable to be performed by 4 actors or less, although appropriate cross-casting for more characters will be considered. Submissions will be accepted from 12 noon on Friday 17 May 2024 until 12 noon on Friday 31 May 2024 and all winners will be notified by 12noon on Monday 17 June 2024.

The Old Electric Artistic Director and the beating creative heart of The POWER PLAYS Festival, Melanie Whitehead, said: “POWER PLAYS as a title for the playwriting competition is intended to act as provocation for thinking about where the power dynamics lie in Blackpool with a view to enacting positive change. It’s also about exploring who holds the power on our stages and taking steps towards redressing the imbalance. All of the judging panel will be most excited by new writing that explores this theme and pieces that demonstrate they are beyond pure nostalgia or misery and offer original and thought provoking perspectives on the region. We want to hear your stories!”

Fellow judge and playwright Nick Wood said: “I’m very pleased and excited to be a part of POWER PLAYS. I think it’s great that this festival will give new, fresh, vital, regional voices a chance to be heard. At a time when it’s so difficult to make the breakthrough that gets your work off the page and onto the stage, this is an opportunity not to be missed. And as someone who was born on the coast, with the sea on the doorstep, why wouldn’t I grab the chance to revisit Blackpool!”

Play a part in the positive creative revolution.

The Old Electric – Community, Creativity, Culture…

For further information and full entry requirements for the Power Plays Playwriting Competition please visit www.theoldelectric.co.uk/playwriting-competition

The four month long POWER PLAYS Writing Festival at The Old Electric also includes visiting artist Q&As, thrilling new live productions, a pioneering primary schools programme, peer to peer projects and keynote masterclass sessions with top literary names including internationally acclaimed playwright Simon Stephens (Punk Rock, The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time) and renowned theatre maker and academic Dr Andy Smith (Citizens’ Assembly).

For full event listings, further information, artist bios and bookings for The POWER PLAYS Writing Festival please call The Old Electric on 01253 834175, or visit www.theoldelectric.co.uk/powerplays

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The POWER PLAYS Playwriting Competition and The POWER PLAYS Festival are supported by Arts Council England and a host of regional and national partners.