We are pleased to announce the long list for Play Write! 2020 (see below).  Our reading panel has diligently read and re-read eighty plays between them, and reduced the number still under consideration to twelve. The entry has been of such a high standard that sadly we have had to discard many good plays already. We are very grateful to all the talented writers who have submitted their work.

The next stage of the judging process is to decide the four finalists to be performed at the Festival in July. These plays will be announced at the beginning of April.

The overall winner of Play Write! 2020 will be chosen by three judges who have made a career in theatre and television. The winner of the competition will be revealed at the Festival, which runs from Thursday 23 to Saturday 25 July 2020.

In April, we will be holding casting auditions for all the plays, details of which will be advertised on the website (hblt.co.uk) and Facebook. If you would like to act, or participate in any way, contact the Festival Organiser, Vaughan Leslie (07985 189824; vaughanleslie@hotmail.com).

The plays long-listed are: An Unexpected Urn of Events by Laura Homer, Better Than Cure by Peter Bird, Moment of Grace by Bren Gosling, Angle of Drift by Jonathan Skinner, Heartache by Stephen Mollett, Chasing the Zodiac by Roger Lee, Happiness is a Journey by John Hill, Terminal 1 by Dave Payne, The Wood, the Trees by Jane Sunderland, Lightning Once by Martin Pursey, Privacy Settings by Lewis Charlesworth, and A Weaver’s Thread by Sam Chittenden.

Go to https://hblt.co.uk/play-write-winner-announced and https://hblt.co.uk/archive-items/play-festival-2018, for the story of our first Festival.