It's that time of year again.
Studio Salford Development Week 13 is back to share the freshest new writing from Greater Manchester's most exciting, emerging talent. We're tucked into the cosy Studio space at The Kings Arms Theatre from Monday 30th September until Saturday 5th Octobe.
Development Week started back in 2012 and has gone from strength to strength. We've used the event as an opportunity to give the work developed through the WriteForTheStage courses its first airing in front of an audience, as well as inviting local writers to join in and bring their work.
Some great stuff has been developed through Development Week, including a fair share of work that goes onto the brilliant Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.
Expect rehearsed readings, script-in-hand performances, and workshops to help everyone get involved in the creative process.
We invite our audiences to give feedback which goes directly to the writer to help them develop their next draft; getting their script ready to send off to competitions, festivals or to produce for themselves.
This time we've got a great selection of work from the Intro, Progressing, and Advanced courses from WriteForTheStage, as well as the cream of emerging Manchester talent.
WriteForTheStage writers
We're presenting work from the Intro course writers (Sue Womersley, Lindsay Varley, Susan Kerr, Libby Hall, and Graeme Urlwin) at the Intro Showcase on Saturday, 7pm.
From the Progressing course, we have:
No Hiding Place, by David Chriscole - Danielle is a young girl growing up with her family in Nigeria. She is forced to leave, finding herself the victim of sex-traffickers in the United Kingdom. After many years of suffering, she escapes the brutal regime of manual labour and rape, only to be hospitalised in a road accident. Just as she begins to recover, the past collides with her and the fight for freedom is far from over.
The Lighthouse, by Johnny Temple - Billy Stewart is miserable. He hates his job and his wife isn’t speaking to him, again. Perhaps a few weeks working with his best friend on the lighthouse will do him the world of good. It’ll be like old times, having a laugh and playing games. Just what the doctor ordered.
The Cycle, by Richard Stringer - Jake and Katie both want to be happy. But a night out starts a cycle of toxic domestic abuse that threatens the once happy couple's lives. As the cycle twists, it digs up secrets that will change their's and their families' lives forever. Do they have what it takes to find happiness again?
From the Producing course, we have:
Window Open, by Andrew Seedall - Bran and Tom’s world is changing. Some of that they can control, most of it they can’t; blurring the lines between how much of their relationship they need to keep private and what others make public for them.
Complicity, by Maureen O'Neill - If powerful people abuse their position, are their victims ever complicit in their own exploitation? How far is responsibility shared when bad things happen?
From the Advanced course, we have:
Walk Away, by Sarah Savage - Sophie and Zara have been friends for years. When Zara finds love which soon becomes abusive, will their friendship survive?
We Have Hidden Ourselves, by Richard Hulse - Abby is determined to encourage her artistic but damaged brother. But will she and her politically-driven sister stumble into a terrible unspoken secret?
Other artists
We're hosting work from some of Greater Manchester's finest, emerging artists:
We've got a brilliant solo performance, Bed Of Roses, from Darren Scott (Best Actor, Greater Manchester Fringe Festival, 2018), exploring the world of a lonely, older gay man (Friday 4th, 7pm.
Storyteller and actor, Ilaria Passeri, is bringing her new show, Lady Ilaria's Drawers on Thursday 3rd, 7pm. Ilaria has been developing quite a name for herself on the storytelling scene and is taking the show to Spark York, so she's going to be trying out her material before taking it on tour.
We've also got work from Stockport-based Bronte Appleby, who's opening Development Week 13 on Monday 30th Sept at 7pm. She's bringing her new show, Cock of the Walk, and it's a great piece of dramatic writing to kick off the week's events.
The final piece of work from other artists is Woebegone, by Rhia Burston, Friday 4th, 8pm. Woebegone is an exciting drama about Amy who's struggling to cope with the tensions that life is throwing at her.
FREE WORKSHOP
As usual, we're offering a workshop so that people can try out the WriteForTheStage process. We spend time mining the imagination for theme and character; using exercises to excavate our passions and our bugbears. It's a really useful session and you'll have a good starting point for a new piece of theatre at the end of it.
The workshop is at 8pm on Monday 30th Sept.
The Timetable
You can book directly from this blog or go to developmentweek.eventbrite.co.uk, or check out more about Development Week here.
To book, choose your show with the dropdown menu, and click Register.
Oh - and did we mention that everything's free (apart from The Intro Showcase, £5 on the door).
There's nothing to lose. Come and be a part of the creative process.
We hope to see you at The Kings Arms. They've got a great selection of craft ales, lagers, wines, and a choice selection of cocktails.
