The first phase of judging our one-act play-writing competition, Play Write!, is now complete. From an original entry of over sixty plays, our judging panel have selected a long list of ten (published below). Plays have come in from all over the country, and from as far afield as the United States and New Zealand – but with a good representation from the Calder Valley too!

The final short list of plays will be announced at the beginning of April. These plays will be given two performances at the Little Theatre Festival, on Friday and Saturday, 20-21 July, with the outright winner being kept under wraps till Saturday night. The overall winner will receive a trophy, and a prize will be awarded to the audience favourite, each night.

In April, we will be holding casting auditions for the plays, details of which will be advertised on the website and on Facebook. If you would like to be involved in this exciting new venture, get in touch with the Festival organiser, Vaughan Leslie (07415 062810; vaughanleslie@hotmail.com).

The plays long-listed are: Ring by Peter Eyre, The Odd Odyssey of Monsieur Pettipon by Roy Proctor, Let’s Make Sweet Music Together by Doc Watson, Size Zero by Dave Payne, Two Sides by Trevor Suthers, Heaven Help Us by Michael Staniforth, Stranger by Peter Bird, Kelsi and Sam by Amelia Stephenson, Cary Grant is Interested by Stephen Dodwell, Going Country by Theresa Sowerby.