Short Plays are the heart of INK Festival, and in 2018 we had more submissions than ever! Everything from radio plays, to plays on a theme to our very first musical.
Five very short plays about suitcases, by five very famous locals.
Directed by Julia Sowerbutts and Huw Brentnall.
An arrogant theatre director infuriates his leading lady and stage crew by fussing about the props during a rehearsal for Evita.
An exchange of suitcases goes awry when a spy approaches the wrong stranger in the park.
A phone call out of the blue offers hope to a woman who has spent her adult life waiting for a future.
A pair of sisters find an unexpected memory of their father wrapped up in a suitcase in the attic.
Two immigration officers unzip an epiphany in an abandoned suitcase.
A call-centre romance turns unexpectedly sour when Rob can’t explain to his irritated colleague-cum-partner exactly where he was last night.
Two hook-ups — one in censorious 1967, the other in licentious 2017 — illuminate the rude and skewed art of the gay pick-up, and asks the question what exactly has changed?
Bill’s last play explores the tragicomic holes left in a woman’s life by the sudden death of her husband. A comedy brimful of caustic wit and subtle insight.
A new and bold one-woman musical about a young teacher, Kate, who struggles to adjust after her first long-term relationship falls apart. A musical first for INK.
Two estranged lovers meet nearly ten years after a traumatic split. It rapidly transpires that neither of them has been entirely honest about letting the other go.
A prospective young employee is introduced to the absurd new world of Fake News. A sharp satire on contemporary office politics.
A handsome young American tourist and an amorous local girl catch more than they expect while waiting for the night bus home.
Two young Londoners go on a drug-fuelled midsummer date. At Christmas, they meet again — for love, friendship, or revenge?
A brief encounter between an MP and a model in a 1960s hotel room turns into a surreal black comedy when his wife makes an unexpected appearance.
A desperate card sharp plays the worst hand of his life — or is it his best? — in a pitch black gothic comedy about revenge.
A breath-taking romp through the refugee crisis in Calais as witnessed by two brassy young girls, fresh out of university and bubbling with savvy cheek.
Contemporary spoof about the drastic lengths people are prepared to go in order to buy the proverbial 15 trending minutes of fame.
Eric Bloodaxe, the godfather of thrash metal, has to swallow some of his own rock’n’roll medicine when his ex-wife introduces him to her new fiancé. With Helen Atkinson-Wood.
Astrid Ronning returns to celebrate the comic genius of her mother, Peg Lynch, one of the first ladies of American radio and television. Incorporates original archive clips and materials from Lynch’s ground-breaking shows. Actors joining Astrid include Tim Brooke-Taylor and Jill Freud.
A diplomatic banquet with alien lizards means entirely different things for the intergalactic participants. A sharp satire on the presumption and pomposity of earthlings.
A teacher convicted of indecent assault struggles to fit into normal family life when he’s released back into the community.
A call-centre clerk unexpectedly charms a sarcastic customer. Their long-distance friendship is turned upside down by a curious quirk of fate.
A landlady is uneasy about the interest of her nosey tenant. A gentle comedy about how the best intentions can be misconstrued.
Each year we invite writers to submit plays focused on a theme – this year, it was the number 147.
Raymond’s perfect new woman, Model 147, has a couple of small glitches, namely a free will of her own and no off-switch.
An overworked young doctor gets the fright of her life when a 147-year-old corpse in A&E starts talking back.
A box of discarded possessions left behind by a loner who lived at number 147 The Crescent reveals an unusual story.