They seem to like to keep everyone on their toes at 24:7, so they've shaken things up alittle for the next year's festival. more>>

DURING this July’s marvellous 24:7 theatre festival, a week of new theatre staged in unusual spaces, audiences were asked for the first time to rate each performance they saw.
Backed up by the opinions of professional reviewers (ahem!) and experts, that gave rise to this showcase. more>>

BY GENERAL acclaim, this year’s 24:7 Theatre Festival was of an unbelievably high standard.
But anyone who didn’t get to see the productions have another chance to catch them with see ‘Three of the Best From 24:7’ next week at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre more>>

Sean Gregson's 'first proper play' is set in a run-down flat where title character Don (Lloyd Peters), on an old typewriter, has churned out thousands of pages of his memoirs, which litter the place amongst the spirit bottles, suitcases and the portable record player. more>>

The audience enters through sweeping seachlights before the lights come up on Lenny and Mike in a prison cell somewhere in a war zone after a night of heavy shelling, sorting and logging clothes and other personal belongings. more>>

Ian Townsend's absurdist comedy, which seems to hark back to the great N F Simpson in style, is based on the premise that there is only one chair left in the world, as all of the others are occupied and no more will ever be made. more>>

There is nothing sneaky or underhand about the way writer James Douglas has used ideas from Kafka's famous character Josef K in The Trial as this connection is explicitly and repeatedly referred to by the characters in the play and then turned on its head in intriguing ways. more>>

Amongst several plays that are set in prison cells, the one named Cell by Irish writer and composer Ailís Ní Ríain is set in a young man's bedroom. more>>

This play's title could well cause some box office headaches as people ask for tickets for 5:30 at 9:00 in 24:7. The programme asks audiences not to give away any plot details (with 'any' underlined) but it is possible to give some information regarding what it is about without spoiling anything. more>>

Steve Timms's story about a group of four student friends three years after graduation begins with a break-up as Susan tells a shocked Martin, as he is about to achieve success as a popular local poet, that "it isn't going anywhere". more>>

Writer Richard Vergette returns to 24:7 after performing his own superb solo piece An Englishman's Home in 2007, this time sharing the stage in this two-hander that begins just as the US is experiencing major regime change in November 2008 and ends seven years in the future. more>>

The Guide Article. more>>

Listings article. more>>

It's the final weekend of the 24:7 Theatre Festival, which is now in its sixth year and which has proved that it has a crucial place in Manchester's theatre ecology more>>

In an effort to find meaning in the murder of his daughter aspiring politician John Daniels (Richard Vergette – who also wrote the play) tries to educate, and so redeem, her killer, Joe Sims (Lee Fenton). more>>

It's a wonder that PE teachers haven't featured in more comedy shows. The bitterness they inspire in ex-pupils and their inherent uncoolness should make them a prime target for revengeful writers. more>>

Have you ever worked on a Temp/Casual basis? It’s increasingly common. Were you forced to wear a white paper suit and lie on the floor while a cheery receptionist fed you Gypsy Creams and tea? No, me neither. more>>

Steve Pearce's Freshers is one of the more refreshing plays to reach Manchester for some time. It opens with a classic comic scene, based at university. On her first day Hephzibah (Christine Clare) stumbles into the wrong bedroom - occupied by Miles (Richard Hand). more>>

Manchester’s 24:7 Theatre Festival continues to present a diverse range of short plays celebrating new writing. As with all festivals it has its highs and lows. However, nestled into the programme is The Last Chair, an utter gem brilliantly written and directed by Ian Townsend. more>>

The title of Alistair McDowell’s play 5:30, running as part of this year's 24:7 Festival, is significant. For that is the time when Rob, a deeply troubled boy who is to grow into an even more disturbed man, gets respite from a weekly bullying and can enjoy the sanctuary of home. more>>

Blinded by the Light has an unusual plot, focussed on a group of photo journalists standing outside the home of a celebrity who has been charged with aggravated sexual assault against a 15-year-old girl. more>>

Cell is an intense and, at times, disturbing look into a day in the life of Hickey, a very bright but damaged young Irishman who has endured years of over expectation and pressure with the result that he has now withdrawn into a reclusive lifestyle.. more>>

Joint directors James Douglas (who also wrote the play) and Wendy Richardson open their production of Detaining Mr K in style. more>>

It’s not terribly clear at the conclusion of this one act play running as part of Manchester’s 24:7 Festival as to exactly what Donal Fleet’s confession actually is and this is a shame as the piece has the makings of a very interesting ... more>>

Ed Jones uses the best tricks of the trade in his new play Exit Salford, part of the 24:7 Festival of new writing. more>>

After the death of her brother, Paul, in a gang shooting Aisha (Clair Robinson) enrols in college seeking a way out of her deprived circumstances. This aspiration leaves her isolated from her community until Ramone (Dean Fagan) more>>

Lub You is one of the most imaginative, perceptive and amusing plays I’ve seen in this year’s 24:7 Theatre Festival. more>>

Maine Road is a gentle and moving play examining the effect of change upon those things from which we derive our identity and sense of community. In the case of Leo (Daniel Fitzsimons) this is the Manchester City football ground at Maine Road, more>>

Dealing with the consequences of stupidity and recklessness is a common but effective premise utilised stylishly by writer Claire Unwin in her one act play No Wonder, currently showing as part of Manchester’s 24:7 theatre festival, ably directed by Guy Jones. more>>

The venue for Out of Dead Air, a nightclub, is wholly unsuitable for this type of performance. Although the club lights are used to maximum effect to enhance the atmosphere of the play more>>

Simon Carter's Phys Ed tells the life story of Neville Trellis (Nicholas Osmond), PE teacher and identical brother of one of England’s greatest rugby players. more>>

One of the main pleasures of the 24:7 festival is observing fresh ideas being rehearsed to life. Sweet and Tender Hooligans, with their event contribution, Remember Me, do not dissatisfy, proving how being different can so often be desirable. more>>

Now in its sixth year the 24:7 theatre festival, a week of world premiere one act plays, continues to be at the forefront of promoting new writing talent in Manchester. more>>

A small audience and an extremely slow start immediately gives the impression that The Coffee Hour, presented by new-production company, The Third Place, is not going to be the main attraction of this year’s 24:7 festival in Manchester. more>>

The Person Without tackles deep themes and introduces us to some disturbing characters. The audience is asked to consider whether the desire for revenge is stronger than the more rational need to forgive. more>>

The Last Chair , Temp/Casual, Working Title, Detaining Mr K , Donal Fleet: A Confessional more>>

The Coffee Hour , Phys Ed more>>

Freshers , Blinded by the Light , Dancing to the Sound of Crunch of Snails more>>

Out of Dead Air, The Coffee Hour, Freshers, Remember Me more>>

Promising a Story of Football, Family, Bricks and Mortar, Monkeywood Theatre have managed to pull in a good crowd for their lunchtime performance. Is this clever marketing ... more>>

Making her writing debut with Lub You is Eve Steele, using her own experiences of her own children to create the piece she has weaved a fantastic piece of physical theatre that is one of the festivals true highlights that taps right into the mindset of a youngster and all that trouble them. more>>

Friendship can at times be a fickle thing, just how do we make friends when we have never had any? To what lengths would you go to get a friend? and to what length would you make sure that friendship was real and one that will last the test of time? more>>

Mark Murphy’s ‘Out Of Dead Air’ promises in its programme to tell the tale of three prisoners Al, Lenny, and Mike who are locked in an endless routine of monotonous tasks and schedules and live in constant fear and paranoia, more>>

Set amongst the backdrops of now and the Hacienda days of the late 80’s early 90’s Jason Crouch’s production ‘Remember Me’ explores the relationship between Darren (Ste Myott) Sophie (Jo Mousley) & Jessica (Lowri Evans) their daughter. more>>

Set amongst the backdrops of now and the Hacienda days of the late 80’s early 90’s Jason Crouch’s production ‘Remember Me’ explores the relationship between Darren (Ste Myott) Sophie (Jo Mousley) & Jessica (Lowri Evans) their daughter. more>>

Everything about this show at the start ticked all the right boxes, the stark white set, the CCTV images of the audience entering the space, the echo sounds of an atmospheric soundscape. more>>

‘No Wonder’ has been on quite a journey. Since being premiered in 2008, it was invited to be part of the NSDF and is currently playing as part of the 24 7 festival. more>>

‘Freshers’ by Steve Pearce certainly lulls the audience into a false sense of security. more>>

‘The Person Without’ written by Jenny Yates is currently playing as part of the 24 7 Festival. more>>

‘The Coffee Hour’ written by Mike Peacock (who also performs) opens in a Coffee Shop where two strangers Adam and Laura literally bump into each other. more>>

Temp/Casual is the new offering by 24 7 veteran Steve Timms and it is currently playing as part of this years’ festival. This engaging, funny and heartfelt piece follows the lives of a group of University Graduate more>>

Joe Graham’s bittersweet comedy set during a tense family meeting on boxing day, inviting the father that you haven’t had a relationship with in some years to a gathering can bring up all sorts of insecurities, especially when those insecurities and feelings are based on memories. more>>

Frontline is a drama based upon the lives of two young people living within a Manchester area where gun and gang culture are rife more>>

Phys Ed is a solo performance based upon the character of Neville Trellis. As the piece develops we discover that Neville is rugby obsessed PE Teacher with an inferiority complex over his amazing twin brother and previous history of wetting the bed! more>>

WRITTEN and directed by Ian Townsend, making his third contribution to 24:7 since 2004, this absurdist comedy takes as its premise the outlandish notion that there are no more chairs in the world, nor are they being made more>>

IN a unique play on my emotions, writer Sean Gregson claims in the programme notes to be waiting on the M.E.N. review to see how much better his script has been made by the contributions of director Frances Piper and the actors in his intense drama. more>>

SOMETIMES the stories we tell to try to save ourselves from the sheer matter-of-fact terror of daily life can let us down, says Claire Urwin’s striking and provocative play, adapted from her own short story. more>>

Now in it's sixth year, the annual celebration of fresh theatre writing that is 24:7 hasn't changed it's winning formula. more>>

The concept of paparazzi and the media scrum comes under scruitiny in Karl Voden's Blinded By The Light. In it, a group of photographers and one radio reporter wait outside the home of a celebrity who's been accused of sexual assualt, all desperate to get that big-money picture. more>>

With a title like that, and a story involving the struggles of a single parent family living in the shadow of City's former stadium, you have to step carefully to avoid sinking into grim Mancunian cliche. more>>

‘Exit Salford’ written by Ed Jones is based upon a true story about a young writer, Luke, who moves to Salford only to discover the usual rules of the world really don’t apply within this very close knit and largely segregated community. more>>

Ed Jones uses the best tricks of the trade in his new play Exit Salford, part of the 24:7 Festival of new writing. Jones makes sure there is a dramatic opening and an ending which links.He also persuades us that the conclusion will be a bad one when it turns out to be quite good. more>>

SINCE she lost her mother Sophie (Jo Mousley), Jessica (Lowri Evans) has been trying to make sense of her life and imagining what her father Darren (Ste Myott) might be like. more>>

IN Mark Murphy’s drama theatregoers might find hints of not only Beckett and 1984 but also the apparently never-ending TV series Lost. more>>

STEVE Timms’ bitter-sweet drama about the dashed dreams of a group of former student friends three years after graduation is eloquent, moving and completely gripping more>>

WRITTEN by Eve Steele and directed by Ed Jones, this is one of the most innovative pieces of theatre seen at the 24.7 Festival. more>>

IF you've ever had the passenger from hell sit next to you on a train, you'll understand why this disturbing work is so unsettling. more>>

SET in America last year with a new President elected, a teacher arrives at a state penitentiary to give lessons to a convicted murderer classed as retarded. more>>

THIS true-life drama about violence and racism in Salford, written by Ed Jones, has some harsh things to say about contemporary culture, but is based on the playwright's own personal experiences. more>>

VICTORIA Ofovbe grew up in Manchester, began her writing career as a young writer-in-residence at Contact and has since studied at the Arden School of Theatre. more>>

OUR fine city has seen many spectacular events over the recent weeks, but tonight’s 24:7 launch party has brought something to rival many of the rarities that have been on offer, as we are given a rare treat to be in the company of Billy Childish. more>>

ANY play that starts with a sword-fight is already ahead on points in my book, and it’s one of the many clever flourishes in this comic romp from writers James Jowett and Adam Davies, who also play the two central characters, writers Will and Antony. more>>

JENNY Yates’ first play is full of mysteries - including, I’d have to say, exactly why director Ian Moore has opted to stage it as a promenade production. more>>

SARAH McDonald Hughes’ engrossing “Manchester story about football, family, bricks and mortar” has already been highly commended in the recent Alfred Bradley Bursary Awards and, as a result, she will receive a year's mentorship from a senior BBC radio producer. more>>

WHO would have thought old-school board games and the Blue Danube could be so laden with dark potential? more>>

WHEN a household celebrity is charged with a serious sexual assault, a group of press photographers gather outside his home, eager to get shots of him. more>>

PLAYWRIGHT and classical composer Ailis Ni Riain premiered her first work at the initial 24:7 Festival in 2005. more>>

MORE stand-up character comedy than new drama, Phys-Ed is a wittily-written – and rather brilliantly performed – tribute to PE masters everywhere. more>>

TWO strangers literally bump into each other in a crowded coffee shop.She’s distinctly unfriendly, trying to bury herself in her book, but he tries harder and harder to break down her defences and eventually succeeds. more>>

SET in a student dorm and hopping back and forth over a couple of decades, Steve Pearce’s witty and perceptive new play also has three excellent performances and sharp direction from James Blakey. more>>

THE chilling warning from James Douglas’ black comedy about detention without trial is that all it took was five years and an economic crash for Hitler to gain power and use the existing laws to stay there. more>>

PLAYWRIGHT Sarah McDonald Hughes from Flixton is hoping to strike a chord with football fans as well as theatre goers with her new production Maine Road. more>>

Maine Road is a play about the closure of a famous old football institution and the impact it has on the life of a troubled teenage boy. more>>

ENDORSEMENTS don't come much bigger than ones uttered by Aussie pop princess Kylie Minogue, and backers don't come with much more cult appeal than Kurt Cobain . more>>

Kevin Bourke finds out what this year's 24:7 Festival has to offer. more>>

A DRAMATIC feast of 21 new plays is on the programme for Manchester's acclaimed and innovative theatre festival this year.more>>

The 24:7 festival is at various venues all over Manchester, premiering more new plays in a week than most theatres manage in a year. more>>

Manchester was alive with excitement and confusion on Friday afternoon as ‘The Last Chair’ took to the streets of the city centre. more>>

HURRAY! It’s nearly time for this year’s 24:7 Theatre Festival, an event that has grown since its foundation in 2004, into one of the most exciting theatre events in the country. more>>

If you've ever sat in a theatre surreptitiously checking your watch, you'll appreciate the thinking behind 24:7 Theatre Festival. All the plays are short: less than an hour long. You can bring drinks in with you. more>>

IF someone was to ask me to name one of the ways the high street has changed in the past 15 years or so, I’d have to say the increase in the number of coffee shops.Now it’s become very trendy to be seen relaxing in such establishments and business seems to be booming. more>>

NEVER judge a book by its cover, the old saying goes. Or a play by it’s title.That’s the message from Steve Pearce, one of two Sale writers having a piece performed at this year’s 24:7 Theatre Festival. more>>

One of the plays in the forthcoming 24:7 Theatre Festival, Maine Road by Sarah Macdonald Hughes, received a commendation this week at the ceremony for the biennial BBC Alfred Bradley Bursary Award for radio plays. more>>

THE sixth annual 24:7 Theatre Festival showcasing newly-developed Manchester writing and acting talent includes 105 performances of 21 plays in five venues over seven days. And writer/producer Steve Timm’s new play Temp/Casual, more>>