Applications for the 2010 Festival open 1st December 2009 and close 14th January 2010
The non refundable entry fee will be the same as last year - £30.

Why should you apply?

Opportunities arising from 24:7 for participants over the last six years have included:

• Invitations to “Three of the Best” at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton
• Invitations to “24:7 Lands in London” at the Young Vic Theatre, London
• Invitations to “Re:Play,” the Library Theatre Manchester’s annual festival
• Critics from the Manchester Evening News theatre reviewing team attending every show – and regularly nominating them for MEN Theatre Awards.

For the writers who participate, it’s often invaluable experience and exposure:

Richard Vergette, As We Forgive Them (2009)
NOMINATED FOR FOUR MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS AWARDS IN 2009
“The 24.7 Theatre Festival is part of the reason I write plays. The task, quite simply, is to write an engaging and compelling 60-minute piece of theatre. Many festivals are aimed at young writers – and there’s nothing wrong with that, but as someone who has come to writing relatively late in life, it’s important to find sources of encouragement and support. 24:7 is precisely that.
I have been fortunate enough to have had two plays put on at 24:7: ‘An Englishman’s Home’ (2007) and ‘As We Forgive Them’ (2009). The latter has received four nominations for the upcoming MEN Theatre Awards, having already won the 24:7 Audience Favourite Production Award and the Vicky Allen Memorial Award for Best Production (donated by Equity’s North West Branch). It subsequently transferred to the Octagon Theatre, Bolton as part of “Three of the Best from 24:7”, then to the Young Vic in London. This is frankly unprecedented.
I have no idea what the future holds for me as a writer but the fact that I can even contemplate that I might have one is largely down to 24:7”

Matthew Landers, A Dog Called Redemption (2008)
WINNER OF BEST NEW PLAY, MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS AWARDS 2008
“For a new writer trying to make headway in an increasingly insular marketplace the 24:7 Theatre Festival provides an essential outlet for new and exciting theatre. As a playwright I have been involved with larger festivals but none in my experience with a greater attendance of receptive industry professionals.

If you are lucky enough to be selected your work will be seen by the people who really matter.  Since performing at 24:7 I have been offered representation by one of the top London agencies. I also had a radio play with the BBC in the final offers stage and won Best New Play at the MEN Theatre Awards 2008 and The Oscar Wilde Award for New Writing at the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival 2009.

All this came about through the contacts gained and the support offered by 24:7. I think the biggest difference between this festival and others is that these people actually care about you and your work. If you can put on something worth the entrance fee then the sky truly is the limit.”

If you have a new play, under 60 minutes, never performed before, and are seeking to develop your career in the performing arts, then we want to read it.

Click here to listen to David Slack (co-founder of the 24:7 theatre festival) talking to the British Theatre Guide about the new festival format for 2010.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FESTIVAL FORMAT AND APPLICATION PROCESS