THE AUTUMN EDITION OF LIVE WRITES BRINGS A SCRATCH NIGHT WITH A TWIST
Live Writes returns to Live Theatre Newcastle on Tuesday 10 November with a special writer/performer edition crackling with creativity, originality and theatrical flair. Live Writes offers audiences the chance to discover tomorrow's stories at the very start of their journey.
The writers, directors and actors all selected from open submissions and calls, will have their work performed in a scratch setting in front of a panel of industry experts and an expectant audience.
The first of four plays in the line-up is The Bacardi Chronicles written and performed by Macy Stasiak with direction from Katie Stubbs. At the Prince Albert, everyone's got a poison. Most order a double! One pub. One raffle. Several reasons to call the police. Landlady Jackie has it all under control, but how much trouble can one pub get into before last orders?
Best Man written by Sol Taibi and directed by David Kirkbride stars Sol alongside Dom John Holmes, Jack Robert Young and Mitchell Wilson. Best Man is a play about men’s mental health through the guise of a four-way buddy comedy. It’s about fatherhood and wanting to become a better man and how we set a much better example to our children when we live in a system where men don’t speak about mental health, and more often than not, groups of men are frightened to speak about how they are actually doing.
Liv Gilchrist writes and performs with Sam Bell and Craig Pearson in The Other Room, directed by Ginny Leigh. One room. A hot-cold couple in a crumbling marriage. A daughter on a journey of self-discovery and a priest in hiding…with his sexy boyfriend Neil. Underneath the sheets, they confront some hard truths about sex. Come stay in the other room, for an intimate night in.
The final play written and performed by Grace Kirby and directed by Tracy Gillman is The Smell of Waiting. It was an ordinary life with no secrets - until a family friend exposes what really happened when they all went on holiday. Gina’s never been inside a prison before and it won’t be the last time. She’s visiting her husband of four decades. All the while the emotional pain of the last few months has taken its toll and her childhood condition of osmophobia, (fear of specific or unpleasant odours) has resurfaced.
John Dawson, Artist Development Producer said: “Every great play begins somewhere. With a spark, a question, a voice with something to say. But before stories can change the world, they need to be nurtured to grow. Live Writes gives North East writers the time, space and a little financial support to experiment, take risks, ask difficult questions and see where their imaginations might lead.”
Over the past two years, Live Writes has platformed the work in progress of 50 different North East writers on Live Theatre’s main stage, sharing their developing ideas with audiences and fellow artists, in an evening of permitted risk and joyous support, helping shape our own stories of tomorrow.
John Dawson added: “The work is rough around the edges and that's the beauty of it. We get to witness creativity in its rawest form. Ideas finding their feet, stories discovering their voices, and the gloriously unpredictable possibility of something extraordinary taking shape. Many of those first sparks continue to grow beyond it. Full shows, UK tours, London theatre runs, and making waves at the Edinburgh Fringe. All of which started with a little scratch!”
The pieces will be performed in front of an industry panel including playwright, performer and producer Alexis Gregory, actor and writer Christina Berriman Dawson and dramaturg Matthew May. Audiences play their part by showing up, listening, sharing thoughts and championing these artists, helping nurture what comes next.
Live Theatre believes our artists, communities and region deserve the freedom to be bold, challenging, contradictory and risk inclined! Creating new work that doesn't just reflect our world as it is but dares to imagine what else it could become. Theatre that changes the world doesn't arrive fully formed. It begins with someone brave enough to share an idea, somewhere willing to give it space, and an audience curious enough to see where it goes. That is what it is hoped that Live Writes provides.
Find out more and book tickets to see the playwriting stars of the future at live.org.uk.
