About INK
INK is the UK’s leading producer of original short plays and unique in that we produce all our own plays. Since our inception in 2014, we have produced and performed over 500 new plays for stage and radio by first time, as well as, by experienced playwrights aged 8 to 80.
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.
In 2024 The INK Festival, Halesworth Suffolk will take place 11-14th April 2024
INK in the community
Giving a voice to those rarely heard
INK works because it enables people to play a part in the local culture as writers, actors, volunteers, audience, sponsors and supporters.
Because we are a charity, we have no commercial agenda.
The joy, and indeed challenge, of the short play format is that it has next to no rules. There is room for novelty, diversity, anger, and humour. They are versatile, accessible and we are able to showcase a great number in one Festival.
We believe in what we do so much that we teach it in workshops, and bring it to schools, care homes, and prisons. In this coming Festival you will see plays about racism, technology, love, bullying, the environmental crisis, and lots of comedy to laugh at. Of scripts submitted for this Festival, 60% are from first-time writers, of whom 25% are under the age of 30. Submissions are accepted over the summer from everyone regardless of age, gender, experience or ethnicity. There are no rules except that the plays should be between 1 and 20 minutes, unless otherwise stated.
Year on year INK is getting larger and louder. We now have significant partnerships with other festivals and theatres including Snape Fringe, Alde Valley Arts, First Light, Digital Drama, Theatre on the Coast, High Tide, The Aldeburgh Literary Festival, and our long-standing friends University of East Anglia.
In 2024, we are once again, adding a fifth day to the Festival, which will be INK Youth Festival Day on Monday 15th April, a day when local secondary school students can attend the performances of the short plays and experience the thrill of live theatre, for free.
