We are a theatre company and a charity, based in Halesworth, Suffolk whose aim is to encourage and support scriptwriters, giving an opportunity for writers to submit new work, have it read and then, for some, the opportunity to see their work produced and performed by professional actors at the annual INK Festival. To date we have produced and performed over 700 new short plays for stage and radio.
We hope to see you at INK Festival 2025 which will be held 24th – 28th April
INK, based in East Anglia, was established in 2014 to provide encouragement and support to emerging scriptwriters, giving an opportunity for writers to annually submit new work, have it read, and then, for some, a chance to see their work produced and performed by professional actors at the INK Festival.
Throughout the year INK offers writing workshops and forums where writers can experience their work read by professional actors with discussion and feedback sessions.
The short play is a remarkably versatile and accessible art form. They are tales of the unexpected, relevant, funny, sexy, touching and disturbing. The pleasure of watching them is that they invariably leave you wanting more – that is rare in an age that doesn’t sit still!
The INK Festival
The 8th INK Festival took place in Halesworth, Suffolk 11-15* April 2024 and featured more than 70 short new plays for stage and radio, selected from the annual submissions, from writers aged 8-80.
INK is unique: it produces all the plays that are performed. This year we had an amazing selection of new works with topics ranging from environment, treasure, love, loss, sibling rivalry and everything in between.
There was also an exciting lineup of poetry, comedy, music, short new films, talks, workshops, art, extensive children’s programmes and lots more! On 15* April we hosted the second INK Youth Festival, a day when local secondary school students can come to experience the joy of live theatre, for free.
INK Festival 2025 will be 24th -28th April 2025
The INK community is formed by our many partners: writers, actors and theatre practitioners, audiences, volunteers, sponsors and supporters.
We are based in the market town of Halesworth in Suffolk. Throughout the year we work within the community to encourage new writing with on-line and in person workshops, youth drama and literacy projects to hundreds of children in and out of schools and tour to rural areas around East Anglia, prisons, care homes and hospitals.
We involve the whole town in the annual INK Festival, with more than 8 performances venues located within the town, and come together with the business community to bring a greater awareness and prosperity to this beautiful area and a huge injection of performing arts into East Anglia.
INK is delighted to announce an exciting three-year new scriptwriting partnership with Criterion New Writing (CNW).
Find out more
A small selection of images taken at INK Festival 2024.
Find out more
Submissions for 2025
We want to hear from you!
Submission categories are out.
INK’s Online Christmas Charity Auction Raises Over £4,000! A huge thank you to everyone who participated in INK’s spectacular online Christmas Charity Auction! We are thrilled to share that the event raised just over £4,000, …
1000 Script entries for INK Festival 2025 have been submitted … we need your help! We will be reading scripts at: The Coop, Saxons Way, Halesworth IP19 8LU Just near the Rifle Hall Free parking …
We’re thrilled to share that INK’s latest collaborative project is officially underway! Our first in-person workshop sessions took place on November 2nd and 3rd at The Cut in Halesworth, marking the beginning of an inspiring …
